Eleven years ago this month, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) hosted its closing events in Algonquin Territory-Ottawa and released 94 Calls to Action to the people of Canada. At that event, and others before it, TRC Lead Commissioner, the late Murray Sinclair, explained that reconciliation will take at least several generations. June…
On March 25, breaking news that the RCMP used tax dollars to spy on First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders grabbed headlines for one day. It warrants more attention, especially by Christians committed to reconciliation. Non-Indigenous citizens should be just as angry as Indigenous people, who were treated as enemies rather than fellow citizens trying…
From January 23 to 25, several hundred people gathered on Treaty One Territory in Winnipeg to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Elijah Harper’s Sacred Assembly. In 1995, Elijah Harper, a Red Sucker Lake Cree leader and politician, convened thousands of Indigenous leaders, faith leaders and public figures to share his vision for Canada. He believed…
In November 2024 I was involved in a public event at Toronto’s Church of the Redeemer, a historic Anglican church with beautiful stained glass and some monuments related to the First World War. Our event was called “Voices for Peace.” The organizing team represented five different organizations and networks: the Henri Nouwen Society, the International…
If you wonder why progress on Indigenous reconciliation seems slow, Olthuis’ new book provides an explanation. If you think reconciliation has to mean more than land acknowledgements, it adds substance. If you wonder what you can do to advance reconciliation, it offers an ambitious yet achievable action plan. And, if you enjoy reading behind-the-scenes accounts…
A long time ago, in the time when most Anishinaabe still knew how to talk with and listen to the animals, the deer abandoned us. This was a serious decision, and not one that the deer took lightly, because it meant breaking a promise. As each new layer of creation had formed, the previous layers,…
It’s 2018. Downtown Eastside Vancouver. It’s an Indigenous-focus school, the first (and only) of its kind in Vancouver, and I tutor elementary school kids after school. The school is changing its name from Macdonald Elementary to Xpéy, which means “cedar” in Musqueam. The ministry I volunteer with aims to alleviate the poverty of the Downtown…
The holy fool is someone who loves extravagantly. In a world that teaches us to play it safe and self-preserve first and foremost, holy fools dare to love at great cost. Holy fools do insignificant, small things because they are the right things to do, not because there is any fame, influence or money to…
Ten years ago this month, in the Delta Hotel in Ottawa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) held its closing ceremony. The executive summary and 94 Calls to Action were released. The event was so well-attended that an overflow room was needed to accommodate the large number of witnesses. And I, new to my position…
When a Christian Reformed Church (CRC) pastor prayed a prayer lifting up Indigenous ways of being, Shannon Perez recalls feeling for the first time as if “I could belong here as my full self.” At the time, Perez was a young volunteer member of the CRC’s Canadian Aboriginal Ministry Committee (now known as the Canadian…
In September, Canadians mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. If only one percent of your church’s operating budget was shared with your local First Nation, you would be making progress towards healing. On Saturday, July 6th more than 160 people from 52 congregations representing 11 Christian denominations, plus almost a dozen other organizations,…
“‘You will probably die at this table.’ That’s what my wife said.” Those are the words of John Olthuis, now in his 80s – former law firm partner who continues serving as senior counsel for treaty negotiations in Newfoundland and Labrador in a case that was started more than 30 years ago. In December 2023,…
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