Walking and Talking Together - We're not there yet

During the past week, I viewed the live stream version of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Gathering in Vancouver, B.C.  This is the second-last national gathering in the TRC's five-year mandate, to listen to and record the statements of residential school survivors and others who wish to contribute to the true history of Canada.

Once again I listened with sinking heart and terrible sadness as First Peoples brothers and sisters told of their experiences in being taken away from their families and the familiarity of their First Nations communities to spend years in institutional schools, returning to their homes bereft of their languages and culture, unable to communicate effectively with their families on reserves and unaccepted by employers and neighbours in mainline society.   As a life-long member of the Anglican Church that operated many of these schools, I am once more filled with a sense of horror and guilt, eroding the feelings of hope I try to nurture within myself that one day, First Peoples brothers and sisters will find the strength to lift themselves beyond the trauma to reclaim, for all of us, the uniquely beautiful people they are created to be.

So I am somewhat relieved to report that I saw a number of burgeoning signs of hope in this latest TRC Gathering - some of them quite remarkable to my mind and heart.

* Archbishop Michael Miller, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, offering an apology on behalf of himself and his people http://tinyurl.com/oqupurm.

* The Vancouver Giants hockey team, wearing the jerseys of the Alkali Lake Braves at their regular game during the time of the TRC Gathering to honour the contribution of First Peoples to the game of hockey   http://tinyurl.com/lmf5fph

* The number of influential people who continue to accept the role of honourary witness, pledging to do all in their power to make sure that Canadians know about the Indian residential schools legacy and the work of the TRC, including, at this Gathering, Stephen Lewis, Vancouver City Councillor Andrea Reimer, Hon. Chuck Strahl, and others whom I can't remember at this moment - but all impressive..

 * Hundreds of students from schools across B.C. who came to take part in educational endeavours around  Indian residential schools, and to meet and listen to survivors, and to share in the Gathering in a good way.

* Robert Waisman, a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp, who shared with IRS survivors the horrors experienced during World War II, and to encourage them to be strong as they seek to overcome the trauma of residential school experiences.  

* The thousands of people who walked on Sunday in support of Reconciliation Canada http://reconciliationcanada.ca/,  listened to Dr. Bernice King, http://tinyurl.com/khgpp4d,  and bore witness to the concerted efforts of Chief Bobby Joseph to encourage both the First Peoples and the people of British Columbia to seek ways to build a new relationship of truth, healing and reconciliation.  And see http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/Opinion+Another+step+road+reconciliation/8939584/story.html.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, September 22 here in Peterborough, the Purple Onion Festival http://thepurpleonion.org/ was in full swing in downtown Millennium Park, so I skipped church and joined a couple of hundred people who were gathering to celebrate the "local food revolution" and "food security", hosted by Transition Town Peterborough http://transitiontownpeterborough.ca/.

A group called For Our Grandchildren http://forourgrandchildren.ca/?p=4134 also shared concern about climate change, as discussed at http://350.org/en/about/science.  And there were a number of high school students with posters and placards, indicating interest and knowledge about this subject.

But the concert part was a lot of fun, with lively music and singing and dancing and speeches interacting with  the people, and I quite enjoyed myself, although eventually the cold got to me, and I had to leave before I turned to ice.

As I looked around, I realized that there probably was not one First Peoples person present in the crowd, which somehow reminded me of how much time I spend with First Peoples in this area.  From the Idle No More events last winter to the number of articles I read every day about First Peoples communities across the country who are constantly fighting to preserve clean water, and prevent the ever-present damage to Mother Earth caused by settler/immigrant governments pushing resource development; to the number of gatherings I am continually attending where the First Peoples are talking about the very same things that I was hearing in the songs and speeches in that park yesterday.

Are we two solitudes in this area, each concerned with the same issue, but not able to listen to each other?  If so, is it possible to begin a process to change that?

Last winter, the local Council of Canadians chapter made an effort, bringing together Idle No More folk with other groups concerned with the environment and ecology.  There are some learning curves to navigate - we settler/immigrant types are not very good at listening, but  I sense some goodwill to try to make this happen.

The next test will be on Tuesday, October 15th, when author Maude Barlow comes to Peterborough's Market Hall Theatre, to introduce her latest book: "Blue Future". http://www.canadianprogressiveworld.com/2013/09/10/blue-future-protecting-water-people-planet-forever/.

Hosted by Council of Canadians and several of the same local organizations that took part in the Purple Onion Festival , along with Idle No More Peterborough, and the Sacred Water Circle; this gathering will have First Peoples' participation with Anishinaabekwewag Water Walkers Shirley Williams, Liz Osawamick, Dorothy Taylor, Georgie Horton-Baptiste and the Nitaawe Language Class sharing  Ojibwe words and songs of welcome.

And so we move forward, one slow, small step at a time.  But perhaps, at least, we are moving.

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