the First Nations Alliance Churches
of Canada, one of the CMA’s “
multicultural ministries,” came together in
Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask., specifically to
explore reconciliation.
“It was pretty awesome,” recalls Rev.
Larry Wilson, the Cree director of the
First Nations Alliance Churches. “We
sat in a big circle, maybe 100 people. The
first question was ‘What do we want as
native leaders?’ My response was ‘
Respect as a leadership and as a people. We
want a deeper level of relationship with
our denominational leadership.’ ”
The straightforward answer to a
simple question “opened up a lot of
hearts. By the end of the day, we all
stood in the middle of the floor crying, embracing and praying with one
another and for one another. We had
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a real relational reconciliation” and
it led to a healthier dynamic with the
CMA. “The healing of that relationship between the denominational leadership and our leadership as aboriginal
people really shot us a thousand years
ahead in terms of how we function as
organizations.”
Ray Aldred also remembers that
meeting and the compelling questions
asked of the attending non-aboriginals.
“The question put to them was ‘Has
society’s attitudes about aboriginal
people affected how you have treated
aboriginal people?’ And they said yes. I
think for many people in Canada that’s
the question they have to ask themselves: Have they adopted whatever
attitude [about First Nations people]
has been popular?”
Two years later, another watershed.
Ottawa expressed “profound regret”
not only for the establishment of residential schools but also for all “past
actions of the federal government”
toward aboriginals. A $350-million
“healing fund” was established to help
turn the page.
Pushed to the fore was the issue
of residential schools, where about
150,000 aboriginal, Inuit and Métis
(mixed-race) children were forced to
attend after being removed from their
communities and essentially stripped of
their native culture, language and religion. The schools were run jointly – Ottawa teaming with the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United
churches, opening Christians to more
black eyes. (All the denominations except the Catholics have apologized for
their roles in residential schools and
contributed directly to a compensation
package. At press time, Pope Benedict
announced a meeting with Canadian
aboriginal leaders in late April.)
The general mood of contrition culminated in last year’s apology by Prime
Minister Stephen Harper to survivors
of the residential schools. “We believe
that good will come out of the apology
