Anne Pattel-Gray. Through Aboriginal Eyes: The Cry from the Wilderness. WCC Publications Geneva

Transcription

1 Through Aboriginal Eyes 1 Rev. Dr. Alf Dumont February 8, 2009 There are many elders who have touched my life, elders who shared the journey, who had the common dream, who lived out the vision of finding our place in the United Church of Canada, and our rightful place as First Nations people in this country known, in Huron, as Kanata the village or the settlement. Many of those elders have passed into spirit world. Some still share the journey, here, with us. All their voices continue to speak to me. We, who are members of First Nations, are taught to remember and honor our elders, who continue to call us to fulfill our responsibility as we find our place, in this church of ours in this country of ours and as we challenge our brothers and sisters in non-aboriginal communities to honor all of us who bring unique gifts from our traditions and our culture, from our way of seeing the world, from our way of worshipping the Creator and from the way in which we honor the teachings of Jesus Christ. 2 1 Anne Pattel-Gray. Through Aboriginal Eyes: The Cry from the Wilderness. WCC Publications Geneva Alf Dumont. Reflections from My Personal Journal September 2002 revised May

2 We all view history through our own eyes. Our eyes have been trained to look at history through our culture. 3 As a person of Aboriginal ancestry and European ancestry, I find myself looking at history from two distinct perspectives. Sometimes these perspectives are in conflict. At other times, they are in harmony. I have learned to allow those different ways of seeing things to stand together in my mind. These perspectives will always be different. And, in my thinking, they do not need to be unified into one whole system of thought. 4 The way First Nations people saw and talked about the world was never honoured, when the missionaries from the Methodist or Presbyterian Churches or other denominations, European explorers and government officials and historians, first came in contact with the original people, the caretakers of this sacred land called Turtle Island. Why? Principally, because many though not all - of those missionaries and government officials came with a belief and a mandate. For the missionaries the mandate was to convert all people to there way of thinking and believing 3 Luther Standing Bear. Land of the Spotted Eagle. Bison Books, University of Nebraska revised Page Jamake Highwater. The Primal Mind: Vision and Reality in Indian America. A Meridian Book: New America Library

3 and the government representatives the mandate was to make good citizens or Europeanize the First Nations peoples 5. In 1856, John A. MacDonald, then the attorney general for Upper Canada (Canada West), introduced and defended the Gradual Civilization Act 6 and An Act for the Gradual Enfranchisement of Indians, in Once passed by the Assembly of the Canada s, it became an integral part of the Canadian Indian policy for over a century. Assimilation carried with it a certain attitude of arrogance and the oppression of First Nations people. In very few minds were the original people to be respected and accepted as people of equal worth people who had much to share, to teach and offer those who had come to their land. Sir. John A. MacDonald summarized his own opinion: The general rule is that you cannot make an Indian a white man You cannot make an agriculturalist of the Indian. All we can hope for is to wean them, by slow degrees, from their nomadic habits, which have become almost an instinct, and by slow degrees absorb them or settle them on the land. 7 What Sir John A MacDonald and many others did not realize, because they did not take the time to really come to know the people, were the many teachings and many different traditions that the original people of the land always carried with them - teachings that were followed to the best of their ability, teachings that called out the best in human beings: 5 Charlotte Caron. In Essential Agreement: A Look at Ministry. Page 3 6 John Milloy. A National Crime The Canadian Government and the Residential School System. University of Manitoba Press p Sacred Feathers: The Reverend Peter Jones and The Mississauga Indians. Donald B Smith University of Toronto Press p

4 teachings about loving all of God s creation, and in this way bringing peace wherever you travel as a human being on the earth, respecting all that God created from the smallest being to the largest, and respecting each other as human beings, respecting each others traditions, values and sacred teachings, and respecting life itself, showing bravery by always knowing who you are and always showing your true self before others that is how you live with integrity, being honest in all communications and that is being brave, walking humbly by recognizing who you are as a scared part of God s creation and recognizing that you are equal with every part of God s created order and every being is equal with you, knowing and sharing truth every time you talk, and, in all this, gaining wisdom to share with others, gaining wisdom as you cherish these truths. Edward Ahenakew, a Plains Cree from Saskatchewan spoke these words about the Sun Dance and about true respect, in the land, for religious belief and practice, of the original people: The Sun Dance is a sacred institution. Through it prayer is made for all people; and in the camp there is reverence. Today the dance is forbidden; those who have made their vows cannot fulfill them, and it is heart-rending. Can things go well in a land where freedom of worship is a lie, a hollow boast? 4

5 To each nation is given the light by which it knows God, and each finds its own way to express the longing to serve God. It is astounding to me that a man should be stopped from trying in his own way to express his need or his thankfulness to God. I have listened to the talk of the white man s clergy, and it is the same in principle as the talk of our Old Men, whose wisdom came not from books but from life and from God s earth. Why has the Whiteman no respect for the religion that was given to us, when we respect the faith of other nations? 8 In the minds of some people in power in Canada the aboriginal people needed to be eradicated. In some more liberal minds they needed to be assimilated. The European churches, for their own reasons, based, in their beliefs, sought to convert the heathen. This was, in part, based on their belief that they were a superior to the original people of Turtle Island. So, as part of this process of assimilation, the churches began to work with the government in running residential schools. Even though, some elders called for the recognition and honoring of their traditional teachings and cultural ways they were not heard. They said to their white brothers and sisters: 8 Ibid. p S.VI L.22 Addendum 5

6 For all your arguments, and you can bring a thousand of them You can have your way and we will have ours; every one values his own wares. 9 Or even if they chose to become Christians they did so thinking that they could also carry with them their own spiritual teachings and ways. As Chief Keketoonce of the Saugeen Nation after a day of instruction in Christian ways said to the Rev. Peter Jones, one of the first aboriginal ministers, in the Methodist Church: I will be a Christian. It may be, while I stretch out my hands to the Great Spirit for the blessings, which my Christian brethren enjoy, that I may receive a handful of the same before I die 10 The churches supported the endeavors of the Government of Canada, in establishing and running Residential Schools. Some First Nations people embraced the possibility. Many became victims of oppression. The United Church inherited those schools run by the Methodist Church. 11 The United Church carried on the mandate of the denominations that formed it. As history unfolded, in the 1960 s, 70 s and 80 s, the theological principle of assimilation was challenged, by First Nations people, 9 J.R. Miller Shingwauk s Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools. Page 39. (Taken from R.G. Thwaites, ed. The Jesuits Relations and Allied Documents Cleveland and Burrows Brothers 1897.) 10 Ibid page A National Crime, John Milloy, P. 28 In 1911, the Methodists in Alberta said: The Indian is the weak child in the family of our nation and for this reason presents the most earnest appeal for Christian sympathy and co-operation we are convinced that the only hope of successfully discharging this obligation to our Indian brethern is through the medium of the children, therefore educational work must be given the foremost place. 6

7 in the church. I was privileged to be part of a movement that still continues today. The First Nations people involved in the United Church convened at 11 Consultations, across Canada, from 1979 to 1988, to explore their histories, to share their stories and to redefine their place in the United Church of Canada and to reflect on their pain and their hope. Through the voice of Alberta Billy, an elder from British Columbia, the Consultations called on the United Church to apologize for not recognizing and acknowledging the spirituality or honoring the culture of the First Nations people. Many of the people, both elders and leaders, who helped form the All Native Circle Conference and the British Columbia Consortium, had always maintained that the traditional ways and spiritual teachings of their people could walk side by side with Christian teachings and ways. And some began to practice these ways again within their communities, in concert with their participation in church services. They felt freed up to explore, to the fullest, the two ways of walking spiritually, because that is what the apology which was given to them, at the 31 st General Council in Sudbury in , meant to them Apology to First Nations People. Record of Proceedings 1986 Page 85 Long before my people journeyed to this land your people were here, and you received from your Elders an understanding of the creation and of the Majesty that surrounds us all that was deep and rich and to be treasured. We did not hear you when you shared your vision. In our zeal to tell you of the good news of Jesus Christ we were closed to the value of your spirituality. We confused Western ways and culture with the depth and breath and length and height of the gospel of Christ. We imposed our civilization as a condition of accepting the gospel. We tried to make you like us and in doing so helped destroy that vision that made you what you were. As a result, you, and we, are poorer and the image of the Creator in us is twisted, blurred, and we are not what we are meant by God to be. We ask you to forgive us and to walk together with us in the Spirit of Christ so that our peoples may be blessed and God s creation healed. 7

8 At the 32 nd General Council in Victoria the Elders, through Edith Memnook, acknowledged the apology. 13 With the openness that was apparent in the United Church, leaders of the Consultations sought approval from the General Council to establish the All Native Circle Conference (1988) and the British Columbia Native Ministries Council (1988) to work with the three training programs for Native Ministry, which had been formed already: The Dr. Jessie Saulteaux Resource Centre (1983), the Francis Sandy Centre (1987) and the B.C. Consortium at the Vancouver School of Theology (1985). Later as we dialogued together, recognizing the church s complicity in administering the Residential Schools, the General Council on behalf the whole church offered an apology to First Nations people for their role in the Residential Schools. 14 And 13 Response to the Apology. Record of Proceedings 1988 p. 79 The Native people of the All Native Circle Conference hope and pray that the apology is not symbolic but that these are words of action and sincerity. We appreciate the freedom for culture and religious expression. In the new spirit this apology has created, let us unite our hearts and minds in the wholeness of life that the Great Spirit has given us For Immediate Release, Tuesday, October 27, 1998 Toronto: In a statement released today, the Moderator of The United Church of Canada, apologized to Canada's First Nations peoples for the United Church's complicity in the operation of Indian Residential Schools in Canada. The decision to apologize came during a four-day meeting of the church's General Council Executive, October 23-26, After lengthy deliberations, including a two-day process of reflecting on the meaning of repentance, the Executive came to the conclusion that an apology was a necessary next step for the church to take in its journey of healing and reconciliation. At a news conference announcing the church's decision to apologize, the Moderator of the United Church, the Right Reverend Bill Phipps said: I am here today as Moderator of The United Church of Canada to speak the words that many people have wanted to hear for a very long time. On behalf of The United Church of Canada I apologize for the pain and suffering that our church's involvement in the Indian Residential School system has caused. We are aware of some of the damage that this cruel and ill-conceived system of assimilation has perpetrated on Canada's First Nations peoples. For this we are truly and most humbly sorry. To those individuals who were physically, sexually and mentally abused as students of the Indian Residential Schools in which The United Church of Canada was involved, I offer you our most sincere apology. You did nothing wrong. You were and are the victims of evil acts that cannot under any circumstances be justified or excused. We pray that you will hear the sincerity of our words today and that you will witness the living out of this apology in our actions in the future. We know that many within our church will still not understand why each of us must bear the scar, the blame for this horrendous period in Canadian history. But the truth is we are the bearers of many blessings from our ancestors, and therefore we must also bear 8

9 the United Church worked hard in challenging its ecumenical partners and the governments in seeking restitution and in taking responsibility for the roles they took in establishing and maintaining residential schools. In the words that Edith Memnook delivered to the 32 nd General Council, there was now hope that the apology was not symbolic but that these were words of action and sincerity. In this new spirit that the apology created, there was hope that the hearts and minds of the First Nations people, and in the members in the United Church, that they would be united in the wholeness of life that the Great Spirit had given to them. 15 The First Nations representatives with support from churches like the United Church continued to pressure the Federal Government to deliver an apology. Finally after years of challenge Prime Minister Harper delivered an apology and asks forgiveness for residential schools, but for some it's too little, too late. 16 Some received the apology with the words, like those of Jeanette Baker, a 50-year-old Squamish-Haida woman, their burdens. We must now seek ways of healing ourselves, as well as our relationships with First Nations peoples. This apology is not an end in itself. We are in the midst of a long and painful journey. A journey that began with the United Church's Apology of 1986, to our Statement of Repentance in 1997 and now moving to this apology with regard to Indian Residential Schools. As Moderator of The United Church of Canada I urge each and every member of the church, to reflect on these issues and to join us as we travel this difficult road of repentance, reconciliation and healing. Other actions of the Executive included the decision to appoint a small group of individuals who, in consultation with others, will determine the means by which the apology can be delivered to First Nations peoples. 15 Response to the Apology. Record of Proceedings 1988 p Catherine Rolfsen, Vancouver Sun Published: Thursday, June 12,

10 who said that she was, "very happy that the Prime Minister was courageous enough to stand up and be held accountable. 17 Others like Alberta Billy, a 63 year old woman from the Wewaikai Band, and a United Church member, were more skeptical recognizing the years of unfulfilled promises, and years of empty words and non-action in resolving disputes and land claims. Berta said: "He [The Prime Minister], really, was pressured into doing this." The journey is long and it is painful. But it is a journey we have to take for the healing of the nation. This walk continues within the church and within the larger Canadian society. We, who have been blessed with two roads to walk, or two ways of seeing the world, are also given the awesome responsibility to share our stories with the wider Canadian community, in hopes that all will understand: that continuing to walk with each other, in integrity and in truth, will not be easy, but will be essential and vital for the health of this nation; that there will continue to be those times when we do not understand one another; that there will be those times when we will stare at each other across the barricades; 17 Ibid 10

11 that there will be those times when agreements will be signed and land claims will be settled and we will rejoice together; that there will be those times when we realize that there are more than 800 land claims that have not been settled and need to be addressed, before more barricades are erected; that there will be Fist Nations communities that will become as prosperous, if not more prosperous, than other Canadian communities, and some of us will celebrate; that there will be the challenge for all people, both First Nations and other Canadian communities, across this country, to see that we are not greater or less than one another, but that we are equal, and though we have unique heritages and lifestyles that need to be honored, together, we need to take responsibility for each other as brothers and sisters in this land that we call Canada, o as we address concerns like Grassy Narrows First Nations, who, for years, protested forestry agreements, that governments and private industry have made in their territories until finally the provincial government listened and made with the agreement of the Boise company suspended cutting in June 2008 and now as Justice Iacobucci said he believes that both parties "can move forward based on the principles of mutual respect, mutual understanding, mutual participation and mutual accountability"; Environment News Service (ENS) AbitibiBowater Chainsaws Stop at Grassy Narrows First Nation 11

12 o or as we address concerns in the Kashechewan First Nation community, a Cree First Nation community located near James Bay in Northern Ontario, a community that was given hope for new possibilities. They waited to see if any of the promises from the Federal Government were true and would be fulfilled. On July 30 th of 2007 they signed an agreement with the Federal Government. Kashechewan Chief Jonathon Solomon said, "We have faced a number of challenges and uncertainty in the past. My community is pleased to be moving forward"; 19 o or as we address concerns of Seven First Nations in Manitoba who used the National Day of Action in June 2008 to launch a "Caledonia-type" protest of proposed oil pipelines in southern Manitoba. While the Assembly of First Nations held peaceful rally on Parliament Hill to draw attention to poverty, poor education and other plights of First Nations children. Trying to find ways of addressing the inequity and of find ways to settle claims and disputes, Roseau River First Nation Chief, Terry Nelson said Treaty One First Nations in Manitoba will be going after a share of profits from oil sales to the United States. 20 TORONTO, Ontario, Canada, June 9, 2008 (ENS) Mia Rabson, Winnipeg Free Press Published: Tuesday, May 27,

13 As a person who has First Nations ancestry, I am proud to live in this country we call Canada. The word Canada or in Huron Kanata meant village or settlement and eventually became the word for the land. And the word for Ontario in Huron was onitariio or kanadario and meant beautiful lakes or sparkling waters. I am proud to live on the land, or in a shared village or settlement, or, to live in a land of sparkling waters, with all who call this land home. My history tells me that when the first settlers and explorers came to this land, there was, already, a prophecy that the Ansihnawbe people received. In the time of the Fourth Fire, the fourth prophecy was given by two prophets. They came as one. They told of the coming of the Light Skinned people. One of the Prophets said, "You will know the future of our people by the face the Light Skinned race wears. If they come wearing the face of brotherhood (NEE-KON -NIS-I-WIN) then there will come a time of wonderful change for generations to come. They will bring new knowledge and articles that can be joined with the knowledge of this country, in this way, two nations will join to make a mighty nation. This new nation will be joined by two more so that four will form the mightiest nation of all. You will know the face of the brotherhood if the light skinned race comes carrying no weapons. If they come bearing only their knowledge and a hand shake." 21 The Other Prophet said, 21 The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway. Edward Benton-Benai. Indian Country Press Inc p

14 "Beware if the Light Skinned race comes wearing the face of death (NI-BOO-WIN). You must be careful because the face of brotherhood and the face of death look very much alike. If they come carrying a weapon, beware. If they come in suffering, they could fool you. Their hearts may be filled with greed for the riches of this land. If they are indeed your brothers, let them prove it. Do not accept them in total trust. You shall know that the face they wear is one of death if the rivers run with poison and the fish become unfit to eat. You shall know them by these many things." 22 The prophet of the Fifth Fire said, "In the time of the Fifth Fire there will come a time of great struggle that will grip the lives of all the original people. At the warning of this Fire there will come among the people one who holds a promise of great joy and salvation. If the people accept this promise of a new way and abandon the old teachings, then the struggle of the Fifth Fire will be with the people for many generations. The promise that comes will prove to be a false promise. All those who accept this promise will cause the near destruction of the people." 23 The Prophet of the Sixth Fire said, "In the time of the Sixth Fire it will be evident that the promise of the Fifth Fire came in a false way. Those deceived by this promise will take their children away from the teachings of the Elders; grandsons and granddaughters will turn against the Elders. In this way, the Elders will lose their reason for living; they will lose their purpose in life. At this time a new sickness 22 Ibid p Ibid p

15 will come among the people. The balance of many people will be disturbed. The cup of life will almost be spilled. The cup of life will almost become the cup of grief." 24 Respect is one of the greatest teachings that comes from the original people of this land. Our ancestors followed that teaching, when they met with their Christian brothers and sisters, so many years ago. They saw a truth and a sacredness they could not deny in Christian teachings. Many were willing to embrace these teachings and leave their traditional teachings. Some were willing to embrace the teachings but still hold to their own. Some did not leave their own traditions, and when persecuted, went into hiding either deep in the mountains or deep inside themselves. Our ancestors, in trust, made a handshake without weapons and felt that they made an honest agreement to walk in good faith with those who had come to this land. As the former Moderator, The Very Rev. Stan McKay would say, we have made a covenant with each other and a covenant, or an agreement, is one where both parties are equal, and both parties have responsibilities to fulfil, their part of the agreement, and hold each other to account. 25 This has not been so in our land called Canada. In the village there has been disharmony and disunity. But it does not need to be so. Some of us have taken the covenant seriously and are calling all those who made the covenant to honor what we have agreed to. We are still young in this land and it is not too late to bring 24 Ibid p From the Cousland Lectures. Given by The Rev. Dr. Stan McKay in Victoria Chapel at Victoria College March 7,

16 respect to our agreements and lift up integrity again among our peoples. It is good to be with you today and to share with you, what living in this land means to me and what it can mean to all of us. We have been blessed with much, but that gift of plenty will only be plentiful when it is shared equally. Then perhaps we will live into the final prophecies "In the time of the Seventh Fire, New People will emerge. They will retrace their steps to find what was left by the trail. Their steps will take them to the Elders. They will ask the Elders to guide them on their journey. But many of the Elders will have fallen asleep. They will awaken to this new time with nothing to offer. Some of the Elders will be silent out of fear. Some of the Elders will be silent because no one will ask anything of them. 26 The New People will have to be careful in how they approach the Elders. The task of the New People will not be easy. If the New People will remain strong in their Quest, the Water Drum of the Midewiwin Lodge will again sound its voice. There will be a Rebirth of the Anishinawbe Nation and a rekindling of old flames. The Sacred Fire will again be lit. It is at this time that the Light Skinned race will be given a choice between two roads. If they choose the right road, then the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth and final Fire, an eternal Fire of peace, love, brotherhood and sisterhood. If the light skinned race makes the wrong choice of roads, the destruction which they brought with them in coming to this country will come back 26 The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway. Edward Benton-Benai. Indian Country Press Inc p

17 to them and cause much suffering and death to all the Earth's people. 27 Let me end with the words of Luther Standing Bear, written in 1933, in a book entitled Land of the Spotted Eagle, with the words God spoke through Micah the prophet, and the words of Richard Wagamese in his book for Joshua, written in Luther Standing Bear in his book Land of Spotted Eagle: But now is the time for a destructive order to be reversed, and it is well to inform other races that the aboriginal culture of America was not devoid of beauty. Furthermore in denying the Indian his ancestral rights and heritage, the white race is robbing itself. But America can be revived, rejuvenated, by recognizing a native school of thought. The Indian can save America. 28 The words of God through the Prophet Micah: what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Ibid p Luther Standing Bear. Land of the Spotted Eagle. Bison Books, University of Nebraska revised Page Micah 6:8 17

18 The words of Richard Wagamese, from his book for Joshua: I started to think about Canada as a nation. And that meant history. History told me we got a raw deal. It told me that we had our land stolen from us. It told me that we suffered through the tearing away of our culture, languages and ceremonies. It told me that we had become second-class citzens on the land that onced belonged to us Because of that we have suffered great injustices and hurts someone had to be responsible for fixing things. Until that happeneded we had no choice but to be separate, to stand to one side and demand our due. That was how I saw Canada. But Canada is not a nation first. It is a people. It is a feeling for the land. And it is a feeling of the people of the land, on the land for the land. That s what defines this country: the feeling of the people for the land. Not only those of us who were here first, who are native to it, but everyone. There aren t many people in any part of Canada that don t love the country for itself You don t have to be Ojibway, Cree Haida, Inuk or Blackfoot to love Canada. You don t have to be Native, because the truth is that everyone born here is native to this land. 18

19 Everyone who has ever laid a loved one to rest within the breast of this earth has a spiritual tie to it that is as strong, as valid, as our own. Everyone who can trace a line of ancestors here, everyone whose lives have sprung from a relationship with the land, everyone whose family story is one that includes hardship, struggle, and reclaimed dignity, has a right to claim themselves as native to Canada. We are the orginal people of this land, and that will never change, but everyone who first breath is from the crystal clear air of Canada is native to this country. 30 When we honor each other, when we recognize those spiritual gifts each person has brought with them, when we listen carefully to the spiritual teachings that each person has been given, and when we truly respect each other, then we will find the peace we have been seeking. And my prayer is that we will find that peace together. Hetcha welo. Meegwetch. 30 for Joshua. Richard Wagamese. Double Day Canada Page