Indigenous Justice

I was so self-conscious. I felt like everyone was looking at me, at my blue eyes. I am not Native American, and these were not my ancestors we were honoring at this cemetery.

It’s a bit one-sided. They share their pain, and we listen (and hopefully are changed and respond). But are we willing to be vulnerable with them? Or with other marginalized people?

My mom called and wanted me to pick her up so she could rest and be ready for work the next day. This is not an unusual request in and of itself, but my mom is an alcoholic and today she was under the influence. 

This morning a radio announcer went with a pithy headline: "Yesterday First Nations Chiefs Left $1.9 Billion on the Table."

Reconciliation requires lamentation. An expression of sorrow at the ways we allow oppression to persist is an important step before true reconciliation can take place. Accordingly, this is my reconciliation lamentation…

Growing up, I had very little contact with my Mohawk heritage. As a third-generation, church-going, Indigenous person who grew up off-reserve, I feel this scenario is reflective of the separation that has occurred between the Indigenous nations and the rest of Canada – and also of the rift that currently exists between the church and Indigenous peoples. 

If you won a court case for horrendous abuse, what would you demand? Money? Indigenous peoples in Canada asked for a chance to tell their stories of residential schools to the nation, to teach others about a part of our history that often doesn’t get much space in the history textbooks. (If you’re American, you’re not off the hook. Our countries share a very similar story about residential schools.)

When I started to learn about injustices that were happening to indigenous peoples all over the world I wanted to do all that I could to help and fix them. I wanted to move all over the world and help everyone with everything. This, I soon realized, was impossible. I started trying to figure out how I could help best. This led me to study environmental studies and international development in college, which led to thoughts about working internationally on human rights issues.

Over the past year and a half, myself, as well as the community surrounding me have gone through quite a reformation in thought in terms of indigenous people, their impact on our lives, and vice versa. I had the opportunity to be apart of a team of students from Trinity Western University to visit, and live with the people in Fort Babine, an indigenous reserve located an hour north of Smithers, BC.

"Over the past three years I've been wrestling with my role in Reconciliation as an emerging teacher in Canada and my identity within Canada’s past- that is, what can I as a young, white, idealistic Christian woman do? All of these identifiers set me apart as ‘the other’."