The Debate Over Indigenous Land Acknowledgement

 

Two Row Wampum

Not everyone thinks that making an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement (ILA) at meetings is necessarily a good idea. For example, on Jan 5th the New York Times published a guest essay titled, "Enough With the Land Acknowledgments." In her essay, Dr. Kathleen DuVal, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina, who makes no claim to being Indigenous, makes some good points, most of which I have made myself on various occasions, including this one about the point of an ILA: "The point is to make us more aware of the dispossession and violence that occurred in the establishment and expansion of the United States. But they’ve begun to sound more like rote obligations." The point applies equally to Canada, of course. Generally, I do not disagree with the points she raises but rather with her conclusion: therefore we should STOP making Indigenous Land Acknowledgments. That's quite a leap of logic when there is a host of alternatives to consider.

A decision to make an ILA should be researched and decided with forethought and consultation, and then implemented in an intelligent and meaningful way. At a minimum, it must include a commitment to learn more about Indigenous history and issues. I know someone who works for a local health organisation. They make an ILA at all their formal meetings with the understanding that whoever reads the ILA follows up by taking one or two minutes to tell attendees about some fact or issue pertaining to First Nations, Metis or Indigenous Peoples that they have learned. This person I know is from Winnipeg and told her colleagues about Louis Riel and the Métis Rebellion of 1885 and the present day follow-up which honours Louis Riel. More recently I heard the president of the Peterborough Particular Council, after he read the local ILA, share how the development of the Trent Waterway flooded vast areas of agricultural land reserved for local first nations, in violation of treaties, making them dependent on 'hand-outs' which White people today consider 'charity'. This is one easy way you can overcome an ILA becoming rote, and a better way than simply abandoning the practice which will take us backwards.

Indifference - The Opposite of Love

 

“The opposite of love is not hatred, 
it’s indifference…

and the opposite of life is not death,
it’s indifference.”

Elie Wiesel, quoted by Pope Francis on July 25, 2022 when the Pope apologized for the role of the Catholic Church in the abuse and forced assimilation of Indigenous Peoples:

"I think back on the stories you told: how the policies of assimilation ended up systematically marginalizing the Indigenous Peoples; how also through the system of residential schools your languages and cultures were denigrated and suppressed; how children suffered physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse; how they were taken away from their homes at a young age, and how that indelibly affected relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren.

I thank you for making me appreciate this, for telling me about the heavy burdens that you still bear, for sharing with me these bitter memories. Today I am here, in this land that, along with its ancient memories, preserves the scars of still open wounds. I am here because the first step of my penitential pilgrimage among you is that of again asking forgiveness, of telling you once more that I am deeply sorry. Sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the Indigenous Peoples.

I am sorry. I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the Church and of religious communities cooperated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools."

National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples 2024

 

Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops remind us that on 12 December, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Church in Canada marks the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples:

This initiative of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has been coordinated since 2002 by the Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council (formerly the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council).

This year, the reflection by the Council is inspired by Pope Francis’s words of healing and reconciliation spoken during his “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada.

To mark the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, the Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council (CCIC) recalls the profound sorrow expressed by Pope Francis, during his Penitential Pilgrimage to Canada in July 2022, for the catastrophic effects of the residential school system on Indigenous communities, as well as the journey of reconciliation and healing we have embarked upon together. Two years later, the Pope’s words still compel us to recognize this painful legacy and walk alongside the Indigenous Peoples in a spirit of repentance, solidarity, and hope.

We contemplate the Holy Father’s words: “The Church is the house where we conciliate anew, where we meet to start over and to grow together”. This vision of the Church as a “living body of reconciliation” has guided us in our ongoing commitment to justice and healing. In this spirit, we reaffirm our pledge to work for healing and reconciliation, and to reflect on our efforts since the Holy Father’s visit to Canada in 2022.

Together we pray:

O God, Creator and Father of all,

with humility and hope, we, your children, 

acknowledge the relationship in You

of all living things.

For this we thank You and praise You.

We call on You, Great Mystery, our God who comes to us

in Jesus Christ, Your Son

– our Lord, teacher, prophet and brother –

to open our minds and hearts

as we continue to walk the difficult, yet critical journey

of reconciliation and healing.

In our world of such blessed diversity,

we see so many struggles and obstacles to oneness and unity.

We implore You to heal our brokenness and division.

Show us in Jesus the way to unity among the multiplicity

of Your peoples in our world.

We also pray that You will guide and lead us in the Truth,

and show us how to be a people who walk with You. 

May we be a people of

Respect, Humility, Courage, Honesty, and Compassion

- as we find Your Wisdom on the Spirit-led journey

that supports deep healing

and fosters renewed relationships.

Lord, make us channels of Your Peace, Hope, and Love!

+Amen