The Grace of Being Unsettled

“Reconciliation always happens when an oppressed people reclaims their humanity. Our role is to recognize the stake the rest of the world has in this process. What great good will come if we heal this moral wound that 152 years of residential school has inflicted on Canada’s aboriginal peoples.” (Bishop Mark MacDonald)

Having had the privilege of participating in the Ottawa T & R event we saw the beginnings of reconciliation unfolding. We stood as witnesses to years of “cultural genocide” coming to the surface. We shared in the hope generated at the possibility of creating a new story together as indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.

At the opening of the intergenerational event sponsored by KAIROS, we listened to women and men survivors speak of some memories of years at residential schools. One of the most heart-wrenching of these stories was how so many survivors, not having received love and nurture themselves, did not know how to love their own children. In the words of one survivor, “I fed my residential school experience to my children.”

Along with about 20 other sisters and priests, we walked in solidarity the 5 kilometers through the streets of Ottawa from Gatineau to City Hall carrying the CRC banner. We were constantly reminded that the Truth and Reconciliation process is not about a “native issue. It is a Canadian issue.” When we arrived at Marian Dewar plaza, we experienced a very poignant moment. Justice Murray Sinclair, the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, asked the survivors to raise their hands. He then invited the entire assembly to acknowledge the survivors and to thank them. There were tears shared between the survivors and the rest of us.

On Tuesday, June 2^nd, the Truth and Reconciliation report was released at Ottawa’s Delta Hotel. The huge ballroom was filled as were two overflow rooms. As each commissioner spoke in turn, we had the impression that we were present at an historic moment. Something was shifting in our understanding of who we are as Canadians.

Now comes the hard work of embracing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation report. As we were reminded, truth and reconciliation has to be more than words. Recognizing land rights; teaching the story of residential schools in our education system and reclaiming Aboriginal languages are just three of the recommendations.

We wonder what the Truth and Reconciliation experience holds for us as Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada as we journey toward Chapter 2016.

Jean Moylan CSJ and Margo Ritchie CSJ

Photo: L to R Sr. Jean Moylan, Sr. Priscilla Solomon, Sr. Margo Ritchie

Never Forget This Day

“What great good will come if we heal this moral wound that 152 years of residential school has inflicted upon Canada’s Aboriginal peoples.” Aboriginal Bishop Mark MacDonald

I felt that Canada took a huge step in this healing process  on Sunday May 31^st when over ten thousand native peoples, members of mainline Christian churches and many other Canadians joined hearts and hands to make the five kilometer solidarity walk from Gatineau to Ottawa’s City Hall.  As the sea of people - youth, middle aged and elders made their way over Portage Bridge and overflowed into Marian Dewar Plaza, I sensed that we were all one.  Something much larger than ourselves was happening. As we walked together, respect, love and solidarity filled the air as our hearts pulsed in the rhythm of the native drumbeat along the route.

Once gathered in the plaza, a succession of dignitaries addressed the exuberant, colourful crowd:  local band chiefs, mayors, Kathleen Wynn as Premier of Ontario, Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Marie Wilson and T&R Chair Justice Murray Sinclair who held the assembly in the palm of his hand. Mr. Sinclair urged the people, “Never forget this day.  It is the day we began to move forward in Canada.”

As we reached out to each other in that gathering, I felt that all of Canada was present with us in that moment.  Surely great good will come from the resolve and determination of a nation bent upon healing the wound that residential school has inflicted on the people of the land.

Jean Moylan CSJ

An Event of Global Significance

On June 2, 2015, I sat in the Delta hotel as the three commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation commission presented their findings and recommendations after 6 years, 7000 stories of survivors and several events across the nation. It struck me that in my lifetime, so far, I add this to two past events of global significance and heartfelt hope. The first is the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and all the oppression and separation that its presence signified. The second is the dismantling of apartheid which was heralded as Nelson Mandela took steps from prison into freedom.

The third is the releasing of the Truth and Reconciliation report with its clear naming of a century of cultural apartheid in Canada. The systemic racism and colonialism represented by the residential school system deadened the spirit of our country. Children were taken from families, parents were left childless, aboriginal spirituality was deemed inferior. Seven generations of children went through this system and the losses and dislocation at such a young age played out in their lives with their own children. As one survivor named it, “We fed our experiences to our children,"

Over and over, we heard that this is not an aboriginal problem. It is the crisis of a whole country seeking to rediscover its spirit...its soul.

There were representatives from indigenous communities from around the world. They know the experience of radical disrespect for their culture, spirituality and languages.

The mood here is one of hope, commitment to take responsibility, gratitude for those who bore the burden of the residential school experience. Most of all we all left knowing that reconciliation shows its face through changed mindsets and hearts and through changed policies and practices.

Margo Ritchie, CSJ

It Matters to Us!

How many of us really know our Canadian history?  In grades 5 and 6 we learned about John Cabot, Samuel de Champlain and others who arrived on our shores as explorers and claimed Canada for France and England.  However, are we really aware of what their conquering ways did to the Native Peoples who inhabited this wild, wind-swept and magnificent country?

The foreign invaders scooped up a wealth of furs and natural resources and brought settlers who introduced disease and pestilence. Land was bartered away in a series of treaty agreements that were ignored by the settlers.

Eventually, there ensued over a century of residential schools established by the government “to take the Indian out of the Indian”.  The residential school experience has left a huge black mark on the Canadian psyche.  Much healing needs to occur.

Today, most Canadians have heard about the Truth and Reconciliation Process which is an effort to bring healing and reconciliation among Aboriginal Peoples and Non-Aboriginals, the settlers of the present day. 

Come and join us on Tuesday, March 10^th and Wednesday, March 11^th at Western University’s Faculty of Education Building as we advance the work of transforming the legacy of residential schools.  Join us for an evening with well-known singer Susan Aglukark and the Sisters of All Nations Singers from Western University.  Be with us the following day to hear Wab Kinew one of “9 Aboriginal movers and shakers you should know” share his message of truth and healing.  Participate in workshops to facilitate learning about the residential school experience and our way forward.

Our conference promises to be an uplifting, healing experience.

All are welcome.  Click HERE for poster.  We would be happy to have you join us.

Jean Moylan, csj

Sharing salt and breaking bread – facing racism head on

Recently, Winnipeg has been in the news as a hotbed of racism. But I have encountered racism and discrimination everywhere I have lived, and when I lived in Lethbridge, Alberta, I took action.

It all started when I was at a Tim Horton’s and heard some customers making racist remarks about aboriginal people. Looking up, I saw the hurt and shocked face of an aboriginal woman sitting at a table near mine. It was not the first time I had heard racist remarks in my city, and I thought to myself “they can’t do that anymore!”

I contacted two friends from the aboriginal community and a church minister. We formed a small committee and set up Lethbridge Action on Racism Circle. Eventually, our small group of four expanded into a board of directors which also included another church minister, an aboriginal graduate student, an immigrant woman, and two university professors.

Our first step was to get people talking about racism and discrimination. We set up a blog: http://lethbridgearc.blogspot.ca/ with posts about initiatives taken by other community groups such as Lethbridge Immigrant Services and the Aboriginal Council of Lethbridge. To help get the city talking, we participated in CTV special about racism and discrimination in Lethbridge. We also went to the community college and spread a big sheet of brown paper across three tables and laid out markers. As students walked by, we urged them to write their thoughts about racism and discrimination.

Throughout the coming year, we worked to support events put on by community organizations that promoted diversity and tolerance, such as the aboriginal Friendship Festival, the Immigrant Achievement Awards, the Sisters in Spirit Vigil, the Amnesty International Demand Dignity campaign, and Anti-Hate Crime Week. Our view was that if we worked in partnership with others, we could make our community stronger.

We undertook a really innovative poster campaign. The “Show Your Face” campaign featured the faces of southern Albertans with the tag line “I live in southern Alberta, and I am standing up against racism and discrimination. Show your face – speak out!” We simply called for volunteers to have their photos taken, made the posters, and then put them up all over town. It was really effective, because people would walk by and see their neighbor’s face with the anti-bigotry message.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of our work was the two potlucks we held. We wanted to get the community together to talk about racism and discrimination and come up with a grassroots plan for action. We invited religious organizations, civic society groups, aboriginal organizations, Lethbridge City Council, the Lethbridge City police, and extended an open invitation via the Lethbridge Herald to members of the public. We were donated space in a church to hold the potlucks. We had no idea how many people would show up!

We gave each attendee a number when they arrived, so that people would be sitting with people they did not already know. We wanted everyone to meet new people and break out of their familiar circles. Each table had a facilitator who helped their fellow dinner guests answer the set of three questions which were posed. We had simple ground rules: everyone's ideas were equally important, everyone must show respect, and everyone was worthy. We began to eat at 6:00 pm, and at 7:30 pm the facilitator from each table presented the results of their discussions to the whole room. Notes were taken on flip chart paper, and posted around the room as we progressed. By 8:00 pm, we had so many good ideas for positive action!

The recommendations from over 100 people who attended our potlucks were published in two booklets: “Sharing Salt” and “Breaking Bread.” These recommendations were presented to Lethbridge City Council, the Standing Committee on Community and Social Development, the Holy Spirit School Board, and in collaboration with the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs at a public library event. The reports were widely disseminated and published on the web.

I felt that, in one year, our small group, the Lethbridge Action on Racism Circle, accomplished a lot, and planted the seeds for social change in our community. And most amazing of all, we did everything without any funding! People brought food to the potlucks, the churches donated space, we used a free blog hosting site, we all donated our labour, and the booklets were printed by the YWCA who incurred the costs. It just shows that all that is needed to make change is to act. I moved away from Lethbridge when the year ended, but I hope that racism and discrimination continue to be openly addressed, because that is the only way to bring about change. It starts with talking and sharing and learning.

Mary Kosta
Archivist
Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada