Sweet songs under Alberta skies
| |

Sweet songs under Alberta skies

“Forget about Eddie Van Halen, forget about what the idiots on YouTube say. Learn your chords. Learn C, G and F – it all starts from there, the rest comes later.” Most amateur guitar players will chuckle at this comment made by Ray Mitchell (played by Alberta country singer-songwriter Corb Lund) to his 15-year-old guitar…

A generational project
| |

A generational project

Lead Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Commissioner Murray Sinclair is known for speaking in memorable one-liners. Seven years after the TRC’s release, two of these have stuck with me: “education got us into this mess and education will get us out” and “reconciliation is a generational project.” Both of these zingers have inspired our long-term…

To the seventh generation
|

To the seventh generation

“If you make a decision, make it good for the seventh generation from now.”  That was the message Adrian Jacobs, a Six Nations Cayuga member, shared with his Ancaster, Ontario audience on November 10. Understanding that we are individually part of a larger story can meaningfully shape our worldview. As Christians, we belong to a…

Eat, drink and be reconciled
| |

Eat, drink and be reconciled

Lisa Raven’s first reaction to hearing Pope Francis apologize on Indigenous land in Canada this summer was: “Wow. That was really powerful.” She did not expect to be moved to tears. Thirty-six years ago, Raven was a student at Saskatchewan’s Marieval Indian Residential School run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. When she first heard…

An arduous journey and the long road ahead
|

An arduous journey and the long road ahead

It was a bus filled with hurt and hope. Sponsored by the Archdiocese of Saint Boniface, it carried 41 residential school survivors from the First Nations communities of Poplar River, Berens River, Bloodvein, Little Grand Rapids/Pauingassi, Hollow Water, Manigotogan and Sagkeeng to Alberta to hear the Pope’s apology. The hurt came from experiences at residential…

Sir John & King Jeroboam in an Age of Decolonization
|

Sir John & King Jeroboam in an Age of Decolonization

The Pope is coming to Canada next week, with stops planned for Edmonton, Quebec and Iqaluit. He will visit Indigenous, Inuit and Métis communities to speak with and listen to elders, church leaders and survivors of residential schools. This comes on the heels of the Pope’s meeting with Indigenous and Métis leaders in the Vatican,…