Reconciliation at church

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This article was published 26/06/2017 (3119 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Over the month of June, two St. James churches and one North End church have come together to educate their congregations about Indigenous issues.

Rev. Murray Still of St. James the Assiniboine Anglican Church and St. Stephen & St. Bede said the initiative is a response to the Truth and Reconciliation calls to action.

“I’m conscious of the fact that we’ve got Lutherans, and they didn’t run any of the (residential) schools,” Still said. “It’s an opportunity to bring some education for people who have been a part of it, too. They’ve found it to be quite eye-opening.”

Still said a personal discovery really demonstrated to him how much ignorance still exists around Canada’s history. Over the last 25 years, Still has been researching his family’s genealogy and has learned that he is of Aboriginal descent.

“My mom got her treaty status and then I got mine, and then I got a full membership to the Peguis,” Still said. “That was a long, long process.”

He said some of the reactions he’s received have been misinformed and racist.

“It’s amazing the amount of ignorance we face in the Canadian public today,” he said. “I still get comments to me personal—‘You’re not a real Indian, you didn’t grow up on a reserve.’ That’s the racism we face on a daily basis. When you face issues like that, you know there’s lots of education to do.”

Still said he’s grateful that he and his family “escaped the things some people do have to face,” but it doesn’t erase his origins.

“Until we are living in equality, we have a lot to do.”

The sessions at church have included art, speakers and film screenings. West Broadway filmmaker Brad Leitch, who runs Rebel Sky Media, will be presenting his documentary Reserve 107 on June 29. Leitch spent six months on the film, which is set near Laird, Sask.

In the ’70s, the largely Lutheran and Mennonite settlement discovered that the land they lived on had been part of a Chippewa reserve. Since that time, young Chippewa descendants and the townspeople have been working together to resolve the discrepancy.

“A century-old crime, but regardless of the past, there was a present obligation to want to do something about this land claim,” Leitch said.

He said that through the relationships that have been built over the years, the Chippewa aren’t asking anyone to move off of the land. The community has come a long way, Leitch said.

“When (the Chippewa) first came to town there was a lot of fear and apprehension among the settlers, but after quickly finding out there wasn’t too much to be afraid of, they were invited to come have a party,” he said.

“It’s unresolved but they have taken those concrete steps to being this journey together.”

For more information on the film, visit rebelskymedia.com

Information on the education sessions can be found at stjamesanglicanchurch.ca