Indigenous

September 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

94 Calls to Action.  How Are We Doing?

On Monday, September 30, we will celebrate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day provides an opportunity to consider what progress we are making in remedying the harm caused by the policies and practices of settlers, and in creating a climate of respect and friendship among all of us.    

In December 2015, on the eighth anniversary of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a Canadian Government statement asserted that over 85% of the 94 Calls to Action involving the Government were completed or well underway. However, according to Indigenous Watchdog, only 11 of the Calls to Action were completed and 39 were “in progress.”  At this time, seventeen years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report, there are still many of the 94 Calls to Action that have not been completed.

I suggest that we look beyond the 94 Calls to Action in assessing progress on rectifying the imbalance concerning the wellbeing of Indigenous people in Canada. We still have indicators that all is not well in our quest to reconcile relationships between our Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. However, in weighing progress on completion of the 94 Calls to Action, the prevalence of problems such as higher rates of incarceration, and reports of abusive treatment in hospitals of Indigenous persons contrast with indications that Indigenous members of our country are making significant progress as respected citizens, and that relationships between settlers and Indigenous persons are improving.

There are now many well-educated Indigenous persons who are writing books, teaching in schools and universities, negotiating land claims, providing health care services, exercising political power, and operating successful businesses.  I am aware that churches no longer disparage the culture and spirituality of aboriginal people; traditional aboriginal practices are incorporated into the teachings and liturgical practices of Christian churches. Efforts to educate non-aboriginal Canadians about the history and culture of our native population have effectively improved respect and altered attitudes.  Schools and colleges have been making consistent efforts to welcome Indigenous students and provide any services needed to support academic and social success.

We still have many hurdles to overcome in our quest to treat all aboriginal citizens with respect and to resolve issues such as economic disparity, settlement of claims for compensation of past wrongs, or ill-treatment of Indigenous patients in hospitals. But such issues are publicized now, regarded as unacceptable, and stimulate action to stop harm and promote justice.  There is a welcome change in attitudes towards our Indigenous neighbours and a growing population of competent aboriginal persons who  will no longer tolerate being treated as second-class citizens.

Let us celebrate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation wearing our orange shirts, attending local festivities, and extending friendship to our Indigenous neighbours.

- Sister Patricia McKeon

image: Denise Bossarte @dbossarte / Unsplash

A Prayer this Canada Day

Today, on Canada Day, O Creator,

We offer You gratitude for Canada’s great beauty,

for the power and the majesty of its land and waters.

As descendants of settlers and newcomers

we recognize the Indigenous Peoples

who have long cared for these lands and waters.

Creator, we ask for your guidance

as we commit once again to truth-seeking, to self-reflection,

and to building just and mutual understanding

between ourselves and Indigenous Peoples.

Mohawk Institute - Public Virtual Tour

June was designated as Indigenous History Month in 2009 and June 21st, (originally named National Aboriginal Day) in 1996 and renamed in 2019, as National Indigenous Peoples Day. Both are becoming more meaningful. Greater numbers of Canadians are taking concrete steps towards meaningful Truth and Reconciliation through the righting and building of relationships with Indigenous Peoples. One of the concrete ways we can do this is through truth-seeking and self-reflection on the under-told stories of our shared history with Indigenous Peoples.

The Woodland Cultural Centre is presenting a public screening of the Mohawk Institute Residential School on Wednesday, July 20/22 and Wednesday, August 17/22 at 7 p.m.

The cost is a small donation of $10. Your donation will support continued virtual programming at the Woodland Cultural Centre and ensure that we can continue to deliver the highest quality programs centered on a Hodinohsho:ni worldview, celebrating, and sharing Indigenous cultures, languages, and art.

This virtual tour video was created with local production company Thru the Reddoor, and it follows the guide, Lorrie Gallant, as she gives a tour of the former Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School. During the video Lorrie provides the history of the institution over its 140- year history.

Viewers will get to see the different rooms in the school, from the girls’ and boys’ dormitories, the cafeteria, laundry room, and other rooms throughout the building, as well as hear interviews from five Survivors of the Mohawk Institute.  To view: Register Here

 -Sister Nancy Wales, csj

Credit: Text on Virtual Tour directly from https://woodlandculturalcentre.ca/events/

Weekly Pause and Ponder

Weekly Pause and Ponder

We must return to the spiritual values that are the foundation of life. We must love and respect all living things, have compassion for the poor and the sick, respect and understanding for women and female life on this earth who bear the sacred gift of life –

Indigenous delegates to the Global Forum on Environment, 1990.