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