Indigenous History Month?

 

TRC Call to Action #59

As Indigenous History Month starts drawing to a close, let's ask ourselves what new thing did I learn about Indigenous history this month?
It's not too late to learn at least one new thing.

Do you know anything about the Catholic Church's role in colonization?
... about the history and legacy of residential schools?

Do you know why apologies to former residential school students, their families, and communities were necessary?

Do you know what a treaty is in Canada?

Do you know that the first formal treaty between the British Crown and Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island (North America) is considered to be the Two Row Wampum, established with the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) in present-day upstate New York? This agreement dates back over 400 years.

Two Row Wampum.
Image credit: https://www.onondaganation.org/culture/wampum/two-row-wampum-belt-guswenta/

Do you know that all of us in Canada, Indigenous First Nations peoples as well as Colonial Settler descendants, are treaty people, and still bound by the subsequent treaties that were made between the British Crown and the First Nations of Turtle Island?

A Vincentian View of the Indian Act of Canada

By Terry McCann.

Views in this video are the personal opinions of the author and do not officially represent those of any organisation.

A critique of the Indian Act of Canada from the perspective of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Canada.

This video is a follow-up recording of a workshop presentation that was given in Sarnia at the Ontario Regional Council Spring AGM of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SSVP), Canada. It explores from a Vincentian perspective what some elements of the Indian Act of Canada might mean for non-Indigenous Canadians. The presentation is primarily targeted for Canadian Catholics, especially Vincentians, but should also be of interest generally to non-Indigenous Canadians.

The presentation is in four parts:
 1. What is the Indian Act of Canada?
 2. What are its historical roots?
 3. A look at some social consequences of the Act that are or have been systemic causes of poverty, and therefore should be of concern to members of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Canada (Vincentians.)
 4. A look at some considerations for a Christian, and Vincentian Response.

This video is most beneficially viewed in a group setting, even with just two people, followed by discussion.

It has become evident to me (the author) that for most Canadian Catholics, including clergy and religious, the perception is that the need for reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples is primarily because of abuses that occurred at Residential Schools, exacerbated by subsequent 'cover-up'. The perception is that these abuses were perpetrated by some 'bad apples', and covered up by their ecclesiastical superiors - something that the average Catholic feels they were not responsible for, and so can ignore. Hence today's plague of indifference. I wanted to correct this distortion of our history.

Thus, focus is on the Indian Act itself and a moral evaluation of the role that the Catholic Church played in its justification and implementation, as perceived by many Indigenous People and the public generally, which begs the question: What now? I deliberately did not want to end by offering simplistic solutions or offering ameliorating defences, but rather to get people talking. There is a lot more excellent material that I could have added, but was reluctant to do so for reasons of length and losing focus.

Comments or other feedback on this video can be sent to the author in email: terrycmccann@gmail.com

Remembering Pope Francis – A Shepherd to the Poor

 

By Linda Dollard, National President, SSVP Canada
reprinted from Chez Vincent Bulletin

How exciting it was to see the white smoke in Rome on May 8! How exciting it was to hear Pope Leo XIV’s first address and blessing to the People of the world!

Thank you to the Holy Spirit for guiding the Cardinals in their choice. Let us pray for Pope Leo XIV as he leads his flock, bringing peace and unity and hope to the poor and marginalized.

We will always remember Pope Francis for being a Pope for the People and going out to be with the people in the streets to meet them where they were.

How fitting that Pope Francis was able to give the Easter Blessing in St. Peter’s Square before dying the morning of Easter Monday. He is now home with Our Lord.

In his World Day of the Poor messages, Pope Francis poured out his heart to those on the margins, and to those who serve them. In 2021, he wrote, “The poor, always and everywhere, evangelize us, because they enable us to discover in new ways the true face of the Father.” Those of us involved with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul know the truth of those words. We encounter Jesus in the trembling hands of the hungry, in the fear of a single mother who does not know how she will be provide for her children, and in the loss of hope of someone about to lose their home.

Pope Francis was not content to merely speak about the poor — he went to them. He visited hospitals, refugee camps, prisons and homeless shelters. His actions loudly reinforced his words: “We are called to discover Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them.” (World Day of the Poor, 2017)

In a letter to the Superior General to celebrate 400 years of the founding of the Congregation of the Mission of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, Pope Francis stated, “The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is an extraordinary force for good in the service of the poor, with hundreds of thousands of members worldwide.

We thank God for the gift of his life. We thank Pope Francis for all that he did reaching out to the poor and bringing us World Day of the Poor.

During this Jubilee Year, let us be Pilgrims of Hope!

Linda Dollard, National President

National Volunteer Week 2025

 

A special thank you goes out to all our SSVP volunteers. Our volunteers are making positive waves in Newmarket and East Gwillimbury #VolunteersMakeWaves #NVW2025 @VolunteerCanada. Your sharing of time, skills, and empathy is vital to the inclusivity, strength, and well-being of our communities.

Our SSVP volunteers help our families become more aware of the resources available in our community:
- free meals in our community
- free income tax help
- applying for the Canada Learning Bond
- summer camp possibilities, to name a few.

Our Bingo volunteers raise money through our charitable gaming fundraising at Bingo World and Gaming Newmarket. The funds raised assists our SSVP Conference to support needy members of our community by providing food cards and boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables. This bingo fundraising is supported by the Newmarket Charitable Gaming Association and Charitable Gaming Community Good.

Thanks again to all our volunteers for all the things you do.

#VolunteersMakeWaves #NVW2025

A Tribute to Pope Francis

 

- by Guido Kelly, ONRC President.

As Vincentians, in our opening prayer at each meeting we attend, we call on our Lord to be with us and to help us: “Lord Jesus, make us responsive to the Christian calling to seek and find the forgotten, the suffering or the deprived, so that we may bring them Your Love”. Along came Pope Francis, a friend of Vincentians, who instituted the “World Day of the Poor” which is now celebrated by the Church on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time since 2017.

In addition, Pope Francis has left us a number of “his words” listed here on the poor, on helping them…

1. “There is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. May we never abandon them”.

2. “At times, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else's responsibility and not our own”.

3. “The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase. In the meantime, all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us”.

4. “I encourage financial experts and political leaders to ponder the words of Saint John Chrysostom, one of the sages of antiquity: "Not to share one's wealth with the poor is to steal from them and to take away their livelihood. It is not our own goods which we hold, but theirs”.

5. “Each individual Christian and community are called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society. This demands that we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and to come to their aid”.

These messages of Pope Francis surely strengthen us in our resolve, as Vincentians, to “go to the poor” as Christ himself had asked us, when He said, “Feed My lambs, feed My sheep”. Let us continue to pray for the Pope and to him as he encourages us when we reach out to the poor, the hungry and the homeless. May he rest in peace.   

Proud Participant in Newmarket Charitable Gaming

 

SSVP Newmarket/East Gwillimbury is proud to be part of Newmarket Charitable Gaming Association, and Charitable Gaming - Community Good by volunteering at Bingo World and Gaming Newmarket.

The funds raised assist us in supporting those in need in our community.

Donation of Stocks and Securities

We are now pleased to offer the option of accepting the donation of publicly traded securities. Donation of securities offers unique tax-saving benefits. 

The donor pays no capital gains tax and receives a charity tax credit based on the market value at time of donation. 

The Society of St Vincent de Paul, being a registered charitable organization, can dedicate the full market value of the donated shares, tax free, to its charitable initiatives.

If you would like more information on this donation option, please call us at 905-898-4264, select option 6,  and leave a message with your name and phone number and reason for the call. Thank you.

Black History Month - February 2025

 

Image Credit: UFCW Canada Local 1006A

From an article by Wayne Hanley
published in the UFCW Canada Local 1006A Newsletter

Black History Month

Learn more about famous Black Canadians

Viola Desmond
A businesswoman who was jailed and charged in 1946  for refusing to sit in the racially segregated section of a Nova Scotia theatre. She is pictured on the $10 Canadian bill. 

Mary Ann Shadd
In the mid-1800s, Mary Ann became the first female publisher in North America and founded an anti-slavery newpaper and established a racially integrated school.

Carrie Best
In the mid 1900s, she co-founded the Black newspaper, the Clarion. She and her son were also arrested and charged in 1941 for trying to sit in the non-segregated section of a theatre. She filed a civil suit, citing racial discrimination which ultimately failed.

William Hall
He fought with the British and was the first Canadian sailor to be honoured with a Victoria Cross in 1859.

Josiah Henson
Author, abolitionist and minister. The character, Uncle Tom, in Uncle Tom's Cabin is based on Henson. 

*****
From an article by Wayne Hanley
published in the UFCW Canada Local 1006A Newsletter

Thank You Bingo Volunteers

 

Newmarket Charity Bingo

SSVP Newmarket was approved to participate in Newmarket Charity Bingo in early 2024. 

Since then, our Bingo volunteers have earned enough funds to purchase almost one thousand $20 grocery store food cards to be distributed to families in need in Newmarket and East Gwillimbury.

#ThankYou #BingoWorld #BingoWorldandGamingNewmarket #CharitableGaming #CommunityGood #NewmarketCharitableGamingAssociation

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."