Let Goodness Prevail

On the sixth day of creation, God, the Creator, ”looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good!” Gen. 1:31 (from The Message)

Such a message of hope for us in these days of fake news, the violence of wars, natural disasters, racism, verbal abuse at so many levels and even genocide: goodness is inherent in all of creation. It is in our DNA, and it is now that we as a species are called to live that reality of being a force for goodness in this world.

In my personal experience of facilitating and co-ordinating Kairos Blanket Exercises, I, with the facilitators and participants have the privilege of seeing how truth, when revealed and received by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, is freeing. For the Indigenous peoples, their story is told: of the impact of residential schools, of being given Hudson Bay blankets as “gifts” that were full of the small pox virus, of the seizure of lands that were sources  of food, of the murdered and missing indigenous women and children…boys and girls, of the Indian Act that reduced whole nations to being put on small isolated reserves and forbidden to practice their spirituality or cultural practices, and who were “assimilated” into the white society to be made “civilized”, as the settlers defined the meaning of the term of being “civilized”.   The non-Indigenous participants hear this same story as told by an Indigenous and a non-Indigenous facilitator. If the participants come with an open mind, heart and will, they are INformed, TRANSformed, and empowered to work together to seek ways of “Returning to Harmony” (see Richard Wagamese’s article: https://teacherlauragroome.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/returning-to-harmony.pdf

For ALL participants, the telling and hearing of this story together is the beginning education of the truth of Canadian history: painful to tell and to hear but nonetheless a vehicle for further dialogue, leading to sowing initial seeds for reconciliation, or restoring a relation of collaboration that once existed. See Murray Sinclair speak about reconciliation in this 4-minute video https://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/video/ssontr-eng.aspx

Senator Murray Sinclair, the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was issued in 2015, quotes:"It is education that got into this and it is education that will get us out of it.”

Being a retired teacher and educator, I am convinced that education is a beginning to living in right relationship, if we work together toward this. We are ALL inherently GOOD: we can choose to live out of that belief in all our interactions.

Submitted by Kathleen Lichti, CSJ

Sharing the KAIROS Christmas video

The Sisters of St. Joseph wish to share this Christmas video and letter from our partner, Kairos Canada:

“This Christmas, let’s settle only for great joy—not for the few, the powerful, the privileged—but for all. Peace and goodwill for   all     peoples.”

Dear Friends,

With Christmas approaching, I would like to share with you a short video message and invite you to take a moment to watch it and share it with your family, friends and community. 

In the last few weeks I have been honoured to be with people who know all too well that peace and goodwill don’t arrive in tidy packages.  Our global partners have heard the message and choose to believe peace is possible. They dedicate their lives to the journey. We stand with them, as well as many partners in Canada who seek justice, and hope you do too.

We are always deeply grateful for your support—in your action and with your    donations.

On behalf of the KAIROS community, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, peace and goodwill to all peoples.       

Jennifer Henry, Executive Director

View the Christmas video from Kairos by clicking here

KAIROS Reconciliation in the Watershed - October 14, 2017 @ 10 am – 4 pm

In partnership with the Sisters of St Joseph in Canada – London, KAIROS Canada will host a full-day Reconciliation in the Watershed workshop at King’s University College on Saturday, October 14, 2017. Supported by the Echo Foundation, this workshop is part of a series being delivered by KAIROS Canada across Canada this fall.  The KAIROS Reconciliation in the Watershed Program aims to increase the number and diversity of Canadians who are, knowledgeable about their immediate watershed, able to identify issues related to its protection, and make connections between local ecological issues and Indigenous rights.  The full-day workshop aims to renew the relationship between Canadians’ and their local watershed on a path towards reconciled relationships with Indigenous Peoples.

Wherever we live in creation we are part of a watershed, an interdependent eco-system nested in a larger eco-system, which is also a watershed.  We all have a relationship with the bodies of water that sustain our lives and we too are living parts of a watershed.  In Canada, our watersheds continue to be threatened by mining, fracking, oil exploration, pipeline development, agriculture, water bottling, and more.  The impacts of colonialism and industrialization have alienated us from our watersheds by creating political territories that ignore watershed boundaries and turning our water and natural resources into commodities.  Colonialism has also damaged the relationship between non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples, who affirm the interconnectedness of our watersheds, continue to offer gracious welcome to settlers and seek partnership in a just transformation of the land. 

It is time to repair these relationships and build relationships of ecological integrity with our local watersheds and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.  To do so, we need to go in to our watersheds and listen to the voices of Indigenous peoples who were its first protectors and stimulate learning, affection, and ultimately a commitment to protect our water. The Reconciliation in the Watershed workshop is a great place to start! 

This day of learning, relationship-building, and action, will include presentations and activities focused on decolonization, Indigenous rights, environmental issues, and reconciliation.  In the afternoon, the workshop will move to the Museum of Ontario Archeology, where participants will learn about the history of the land and the watershed’s first peoples.  Participants will also engage in a medicine pouch activity, to learn about the importance of medicine pouches to Indigenous nations and the sacred plants that are used, as well as the significance of the Medicine Wheel.   

Registration for this event is $20 regular/$10 students and includes lunch and activities at the Museum of Ontario Archeology.  Register here or email Mary Shamley at mshamley@csjcanada.org.

Flyer

Guest blogger: Beth Lorimer, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives

So what ARE we Celebrating on this 150th Birthday of Canada?

After having just returned from the Kitchi Blanket Exercise on June 2, on Parliament Hill and having been involved in “blanketing the city of Ottawa” that same morning, in 16 different locations, by presenting the Blanket Exercise, we KAIROS facilitators asked ourselves:
“WHAT are we really celebrating this July 1^st?”

I guess it depends on the lens through which one views the birth of Canada. If we celebrate the British North America Act of 1867, through Indigenous eyes, we are celebrating the resiliency and firm commitment of the Inuit, Metis and First Nations Peoples in Canada, to seek Truth in order to find Reconciliation, as they rightfully strive to have jurisdiction over their lands ….lands which they occupied long before the settlers arrived.

In light of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission findings and the 94 Recommendations, how can we NOT live in the reality of walking with each other as two nations, instead of one?

Reconciliation is in the Wind. Is THIS not what we need to be celebrating and toward which we MUST be moving? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh2Ol48mSmE

The Blanket Exercise is one very effective Teaching Tool that is literally blanketing Canada at this time. It is a movement that is rapidly expanding, sweeping across this land uncovering the TRUTH of our birth. One participant, Heenal Rajani, of the Blanket Exercise expressed his experience of it on April 9, 2001 when he first encountered the harsh truth of our history for the first time. Heenal expressed it in this rap, which is a 6 minute overview of the Blanket Exercise.

https://soundcloud.com/heenal-rajani/kairos-blanket-exercise-poem

After you have heard this rap and read this blog, you are invited to answer the question, Just WHAT ARE we really celebrating?  What do you and I WANT to celebrate in order to bring about Reconciliation?

Kathleen Lichti, CSJ

What is the Blanket Exercise?

I frequently ask myself, how could I have lived almost all of my life in Canada and never became acquainted with neighboring First Nation people or their struggles? A few years ago, I was blessed with a visit to a good friend in the Yukon and came to know some wonderful women, respected elders of their people. They were very warm and I was welcomed into the fold as if I was family, not the non-indigenous stranger that I really was. I am still deeply touched by their total acceptance and kindness. Since that time I have come to learn more about the First Nation people in this country, and I have wept. We need to have our eyes opened to the injustices and struggles of our dear First Nation neighbors.

One way I/we can contribute to building awareness in others is through an historical re-enactment known as the Blanket Exercise. The Blanket Exercise is an experiential learning tool that helps participants understand how the arrival of European settlers impacted the Indigenous people who had lived here long before these colonists arrived. It traces the history of the relationship between them, exploring how and why their relationship was damaged over the years.

The Blanket Exercise is a teaching tool designed to help both Indigenous and non-indigenous groups gain a more truthful knowledge of our early Canadian history (i.e. the history of the relationship between the Indigenous People in Canada and the European settlers). In this interactive workshop, the participants take on the roles of the Indigenous peoples and some Europeans. The narrator guides the group through the story as the roles are mimed. The participants walk around on the blankets, which represent the land. It becomes obvious as the story unravels, that the once friendly and collaborative relationship between the Indigenous and non-indigenous people gradually erodes as the land is taken through broken treaties and laws made by the Europeans.  This is visibly illustrated by the blankets being folded smaller, the participants leaving the blankets because they have been isolated from each other through the Residential school system, or have died off due to the hazardous health conditions to which they were intentionally exposed. This allows all participants (whether indigenous or non-indigenous) to know the reality and the impact of the injustices experienced by native peoples. A discussion session follows.

Awareness of this untold part of our history can hopefully lead to constructive action that will help us build alliances and create the trust necessary to repair this broken relationship. Those of us who are Non-Indigenous can contribute to the ongoing work of reconciliation by establishing and maintaining respectful relationships with our First Nation neighbours. First we must learn how to reconcile our privileges, our education, our judgment and our unfair stereotypes with the harsh reality experienced by Aboriginal peoples. Reconciliation also calls for personal, group, community and political ACTION. Broadening our own awareness and changing the way we educate our children is an important step toward healing our broken relationships. We hope that The Blanket Exercise event can help in a small way to bring this about.

Dara Hartman, CSJ Associate
Karen Rawlings, CSJ Associate

Note: In light of the Truth and Reconciliation Report that came out from the Royal Commission recently, the Blanket Exercise, created by Kairos, http://www.kairoscanada.org/product-category/blanket-exercise has been offered in many cities and towns for anyone who wishes to experience the more accurate historical story of the relationship between the Indigenous People in Canada and European settlers in a creative and experiential learning format. Look for one in your area.