Memories of Lac Ste. Anne

With the anticipated visit of Pope Francis to Canada this summer, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact location where he should spend time to meet with the natives and deliver an apology from the Catholic church for the harm that has happened in residential schools. 

Where can he stand to satisfy the desire of each nation traumatized by the harm done to the native children and their families?

Where can he voice apologies to all the people who suffered as students in residential schools?

I believe that Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta is the proper place for Pope Francis to deliver his message.  It is on the banks of Lac Ste. Anne’s sacred waters where many residential school survivors can gather.

Lac. Ste. Anne is a pivotal point; the Spirit blows to south, north, east, and west.

The Pope’s apology will blow in all directions to represent the tribes who will gather at the shrine.  Lac Ste. Anne is sacred ground with openness to reconciliation.  There will be more meaning to having the Pope’s apology given at Lac Ste. Anne than in his visiting a school here and a grave there; this is not the same as going to holy ground where people’s minds and hearts are open to reconciliation in a prayerful, peaceful atmosphere.

Lac Ste Anne is located 45 miles northwest of Edmonton, Alberta. It is an hour’s drive from the village of St. Albert to the waters of Lac Ste. Anne.  Years ago, in the mid-eighteen eighties, the Oblate Fathers, established a mission along the shores of God’s Lake which today is known as Lac Ste. Anne. Their mission was to serve the Cree Nation in the area.  In July 1889, the first annual pilgrimage to these sacred waters was founded and organized by the Oblate Fathers and the Cree of the mission. 

In 1974, I made the day-long trip from Yellowknife where I was a missionary to be present for the annual July 26th retreat pilgrimage at Lac St. Anne.  This was a special, important day when the native peoples brought their tents and travelled great distances from all directions to take part in the deeply spiritual celebrations. Throughout the years, Lac Ste. Anne become a widely known pilgrimage destination.

The native peoples have deep devotion to pilgrimages.  They leave their homes in great anticipation and travel in groups, often on foot, prayerfully singing and praying along the week-long route. They arrive just in time to celebrate the July 26th feast of St. Anne, who is referred to as the mother of Mary to whom Jesus was born.

Each day of the pilgrimage is hosted by the native communities: the National Aboriginal Parish (Edmonton), the Cree of Northern Alberta, communities from the NWT, northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and the Blackfoot from Southern Alberta.  All the pilgrims join in the liturgy, singing and praising God in their own language.  The cacophony of sound produced by the various languages singing and praising together is an amazing, uplifting experience.

Spiritual activities that occur during the days of the pilgrimage include recitation of the rosary with each praying again in their own language. Stations of the cross are recited by the faithful and confessions are heard everywhere by the clergy.  A highlight of the entire days is the evening procession with a statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  It is adorned with flowers and rosaries and carried along a winding pathway.

Many bishops representing the northern dioceses attend the pilgrimage activities at Lac Ste. Anne, especially for the daytime ceremony of the blessing of the lake and its healing waters.  It was inspiring to see fully clad people and leaders walk into the sacred lake. People fill their gallon jugs with the blessed water to be taken to their homes.

First Nations people enjoy pilgrimages and celebrations.  It is a time to gather, share food and tell stories.  Feasting and fun are important parts of special occasions.  Caribou, smoked fish, and bannock are brought to every table. There is never a dull moment.  Children run around playing games, yelling, screaming, and enjoying life.  Tarps are at hand for any kind of weather.

Sister Mary Jo

In the late 1980s, Lac Ste. Anne became more widely known.  Vendors arrived to sell their wares on the outskirts of the beautiful sacred grounds.  This has resulted in more settlers visiting the area.  Consequently, people stray from the shrine to buy the cheap wares on display.  Despite this encroachment, the Native peoples have never lost their love for their grandmother, Saint Anne.

- Sister Mary Jo Fox

The schedule of Pope Francis’ visit to Canada has now been released, it can be viewed here.

Generous Listening

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

Our Society’s Soul

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” 

 - Nelson Mandela 

We find ourselves feeling a sense of disgust as we repeatedly view images of children impounded under deplorable conditions in US detention centres. We might even silently rage, “Children deserve much better”.

Let us not be too quick to our wag our fingers at our southern neighbours. A recent study, “Towards Justice: Tackling Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada” released jointly by the Assembly of First Nations and Upstream, a non-partisan thinktank, paints the lamentable circumstances faced by First Nations children in Canada.

“Child rates are deplorably high for a country as rich as Canada”, critiques the report’s co-author, David MacDonald, senior economist of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Current statistics cited in in the article, “Study finds poverty rife among First Nations Children” by Nicholas Keung in the Toronto Star concretize the shameful and unpardonable situation endured by First Nations children.

• 47% of status First Nations children live in poverty (53% for those living on reserve and 41% for those living off reserve)
• The poverty rate of First Nations children is two-and-half times above the national average
• First Nations children have experienced long-standing underfunding by government since 1996 when increases were tied to inflation not to need or population growth, a growth rate 4 times that of their non-Indigenous counterparts
• These poverty rates have not markedly changed over the last decade
• The report calls for increased investment to tackle insufficient housing, nonpotable water, and gaps in education and health services

As federal hopefuls begin in earnest knocking on our doors, showcasing their platforms, and bombarding us with TV ads, Be Prepared. Be ready to question, yourself and them,  how they will enact policy changes and budget allocations to change the numbers and categorically change the present and future lives of First Nations children. May future reports spotlight how WE THE NORTH are making it right.

Click here to view the full report

- Sister Nancy Wales, csj

Toronto Star article cites the study here, "Almost half of Status First Nations children live in poverty," study finds :  https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/07/09/almost-half-of-status-first-nations-children-live-in-poverty-study-finds.html

Where Have all the Flowers Gone?

Where have all the flowers gone? (1)  Well might we apply this question, from the song made popular by Peter, Paul and Mary, to the First Nations peoples in Canada in regard to the violence against children?

Recently, Chief Justice Murray Sinclair, who headed up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report (2) to the Federal Government, spoke at the London Museum, hosted by Atlohosa, a Native Family Healing Service in London.

Tara Overholt, from CTV, was the MC for the evening as Justice Sinclair heartfully presented some of the findings the TRC and their ramifications for our consideration.

His focus was on violence against children, as the com had been asked, “What happened to the children?”  He highlighted the commission’s motto “For the children taken, for the parent left behind”.

For 130 years, Aboriginal children in Canada were kept under the government’s thumb.  Over seven generation of Aboriginal children went through our Residential Schools, and each time there wasn’t the capacity to treat them well.  Aboriginal children who went to Public School fared little better.  Aboriginal children were demeaned so that not only were they themselves affected directly by being made to feel inferior, but furthermore the non-indigenous kids were also affected in believing themselves superior.

Of the 80,000 children in care, 50% are Aboriginal.  Reconciliation within families, as well as, nation to nation is urgently needed.

Justice Sinclair stressed that the country has an obligation to provide all of its people with an opportunity to find the answers to the following questions:

Where do I come from?  What is my creation story?

Where am I going?

Why am I here?

Who am I?

Who do I want to be?

Justice Sinclair gave some suggestions as to what individuals and groups can do, education being a key component.  He commended those groups who are tackling one of the reports 94 recommendations. (3)  Some positive effects can be seen on google where there are 130 YouTube videos of students reading the TRC report. (4)

In closing, Sean Couchi presented his art piece to Justice Sinclair as a sincere thank you from Atlohosa and those in attendance.  The painting included here depicts 94 butterflies symbolizing the reports ninety four recommendations and pointing the way to a more hopeful future.

The evening was inspiring, hopeful and very energizing as we all want to move forward in sowing and nurturing the seeds of reconciliation.

Kathleen Lichti, CSJ

(1) http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/peter+paul+mary/where+have+all+the+flowers+gone_20107752.html

(2)http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Findings/Exec_Summary_2015_05_31_web_o.pdf

(3) http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Findings/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf

(4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY2JfsEQ4fo

Another Messenger Came…..Will We Listen?

Another Messenger Came…..Will We Listen?

...David Suzuki came, a voice crying in the wilderness; we laughed and barely listened as the smog increased.

...The First Nations came, beating drums for Mother Earth; we polluted the water and raped the land.

...The scientists came, with unquestionable evidence – the sea is rising, the earth is warming, the ozone is disappearing; we silenced them and destroyed their research.

...The poor came, unable to till the barren soil now becoming deserts; we turned away and continued our destructive ways.

...The hurricanes, fires, tsunamis and blizzards came; we rebuilt and carried on as usual.

...Pope Francis came carrying peace and Laudato Si.  Will we listen and mend our destructive path to end it all?

Will We Listen?

Jean Moylan, CSJ