Remember, reconciliation is yours to achieve. We owe it to each other to build a Canada based on our shared future, a future of healing and trust.
Justice Murray Sinclair
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.
CANADA DAY - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
July 1, Canada Day: From Another Perspective
Our hard-working Refugee Committee has had the privilege of welcoming and accompanying several individuals and families settle in Canada over the past 7 years. I invited 3 individuals to share the significance of becoming a Canadian Citizen. Their names are withheld for privacy reasons, but their stories are uplifting and instructive.
One woman from Eritrea came to Canada through Cairo, a second woman fled Ethiopia to Cairo and then on to Canada, the third a young man who immigrated from Thailand. We feel blessed to have been a part of their journey, and share their feelings this Canada Day.
-Sister Ann Marshall, csj
Image: Unsplash/Hermes Rivera
1. I have voted for the first time! Canada is very important to me because I believe it is the most peaceful country in the world. It is my country that gave me the freedom to speak and learn. Above all, I have received equality, honor, and respect from this blessed country. When I am in Canada, I feel much safer than in any other country.
I want to say a lot, but I do not know enough words to describe my country, Canada, and the people in Canada. God chose me to be a Canadian - who I could be. I love Canada and everything about Canada and Canadians!
Image: Unsplash/Lewis Parsons
2. Being a Canadian citizen to me is critical. Being a Canadian citizen means, being a person who has the freedom to travel in and outside the country with respect and safety, and always knowing that you would come back home at any time. As well as having access to more opportunities in the communities. For example, having the right to vote, and working in the parliament. In addition, speaking up for your rights against the government.
Image of Thailand: Unsplash/Panuson Norkaew
3. This is what I have been feeling about citizenship. There is a tiny hole in my chest whenever people ask me "Where are you from?", I always answered, "I am from Thailand." I also wanted to tell them that I'm not Thai but I am Burmese from Thailand. If I say it, it usually causes confusion, and I must explain to them why and how. So, I don't usually say it. Also, I am not really proud of myself for saying I am from Thailand because I am not a Thai citizen. I cannot really say I am Burma/Myanmar citizen either.
I was born in Thailand and raised in a refugee camp. My parents are from Burma/Myanmar, which makes us a Burmese family. As a Burmese child who did not legally become a Thai citizen according to Thai law even though, I was born in Thailand. Also, I did not have Burma/Myanmar citizenship because I was not born in Burma/Myanmar. Legally speaking, I do not have a country until this. Now, I can say I am a Burmese Canadian proudly. Becoming a Canadian citizen will fill the tiny hole in my chest next time I get asked. I think this is why it is important to me to be a Canadian Citizen.
Weekly Pause and Ponder
10,000 Ways to Love
On July 1st, some of us had the opportunity to see 10,000 manifestations of Love in the Healing walk that took place in Victoria Park to honour the thousands of children who had died as a result of the Residential School system.
There was a general sense of respect, gratitude, and kindness among the throngs of people as the Indigenous-led event took place with the drumming, the Gingo dancers, and the little children dressed in their regalia, danced, stepped to the beat of the drum.
Chief Jason Henry, with the ceremonial flags of some of the Anishinabe clans surrounding him, gave a very compelling speech in which he respectfully stated the truth of the Residential School System and the importance of ALL of us working together toward Reconciliation.
The gigantic drum beat in the crowd reminded me of the pulse of Life that flows through all of us, and somehow that was well captured and expressed by the young, old, and all those in between, Indigenous and Settlers alike.
As I was observing the Circle Dance, I felt a breeze coming over me and looked up to see an Indigenous man of about 50, gently fanning me to keep me cool. It was so simple and yet, so profound.
Another Settler woman commented that for her… “Seeing the children and young people gathered gives me the hope that we can build a better Canada. I am compelled to educate myself and just purchased the audiobook “21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act.”
The experience has remained with me and many others since the event took place. Afterward, in a mixed group, one Indigenous woman suggested that we are entering the period of the 8th fire prophecy where Indigenous and Settler will once again live in harmony, caring for the earth together. https://roncesvallesvillage.ca/seventh-fire-prophecy/
“…there has been a talk of an Eighth Fire in which the ancestor prophets say that to light the Eighth Fire Indigenous People will come forward with their knowledge connecting with the western knowledge and from this union a new people will emerge lighting the Eighth and final Fire. This will begin the golden age of peace, explains lead artist and Indigenous art & history educator Phil Cote.
Reflecting further on this image is a source of much hope as the Orange flame that is planted in each of us by Creator is meant to spread throughout the earth as long as we are alive.”
A visual reflection, courtesy of Lindsey Mills. The sculpture is the Spirit Catcher Sculpture on Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie, Ontario
It is as if we are entering into a new period of history as noted by Lindsey Mills in this visual reflection. https://thetransfiguration.ca/2021/06/27/general-announcement-12/
In conclusion, I am grateful and VERY HOPEFUL after having had this experience. I am hopeful because of the young Indigenous leadership that is emerging. I am hopeful that more of us settlers are becoming more educated about the history of this land that is meant to be shared between the Indigenous peoples and us. It is from the grassroots that I believe real change is happening and this is a transfiguration for all of us.
Let us embrace this opportunity to be the change that we really want.
Submitted by Sister Kathleen Lichti, CSJ