Finally, attention to the almost-lost art of listening! September 26th being the National day of Listening, I thought it might be appropriate to focus on how we are called to listening to what Indigenous voices are saying to us these days as Canadians. To what are we listening and what are we really hearing about Residential Schools, about murdered and missing women, men, girls and boys?
What are we really hearing and believing from Indigenous Elders who are survivors of Residential Schools? What is heard? What is heart-felt? What is the message in the revealing of hundreds of graves found on the grounds of former residential Schools? Are we brave and sufficiently honest to acknowledge this dark history of Canada that was one form of cultural genocide?
Krista Tippett says of listening: “Generous Listening is an everyday art and virtue, but it’s an art we have lost and must learn anew. Listening is more than being quiet while others have their say. It is about presence as much as receiving; it is about connection more than observing. Real listening is powered by curiosity. It involves vulnerability — a willingness to be surprised, to let go of assumptions and take in ambiguity. It is never in “gotcha” mode. The generous listener wants to understand the humanity behind the words of the other and patiently summons one’s own best self and one’s own most generous words and questions.”
In being present to Indigenous Knowledge Keepers who have committed themselves to truth telling, I have found from my own experience that it requires of me, the listener, to be open minded, eager to learn the truth, respectful, and have the ability to create an atmosphere of hospitality and to provide a safe environment. When that happens, relationships begin to develop, because of the mutual respect that grows.
If one has already made up one’s mind about Aboriginal people, true respectful listening cannot happen. One is simply unable to move the shared intellectual truths from the head to the heart. For any steps toward reconciliation to happen, the heart must be affected.
The Doctrine of Discovery, promulgated in 1493 by Pope Alexander VI, has done incredible harm to the valuing and appreciation of the First Peoples of any land, and especially, in this case, of Canada.
Thankfully, THAT doctrine has been definitively denounced.
The scar tissue left from this doctrine has left a deep wound that is in need of healing. We, non-Indigenous people, need to be healed from our ignorance and arrogance, our shame and shock. Indigenous peoples need to healed from the belief that they are inferior, less than, and hence are not worthy to be in relationship with all creation and to share the resources of the earth equitably.
If one opens one’s heart in this listening process, one discovers that the First Peoples of Canada have a deep respect for the land, for all creation. “All my relations” is not just an idle phrase.
For us non-Indigenous people especially, but not totally, there is a useful resource available for further assistance in developing relationships between First Nations peoples and us non-Indigenous people. It is the guidebook put out by the Jesuit social forum: A Guide to Listening to Indigenous Voices .
Ideally, it is very workable with an Indigenous person or more, to be in these Sharing Circles.
The time is now. The place is here. Let’s move forward together in creating a more just and sustainable world.
- Sister Kathleen Lichti, csj
Images provided from Unsplash: Jonathan J. Castellon | Lee Campbell