Living into Right Relations: January 2022

Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice News from The United Church of Canada Have A Heart Day – February 14 Have a Heart Day at Christ First United, Mississauga, 2020 (taken pre-pandemic) [Photo Credit: Courtesy of Victoria Keane, Christ First United Church]   The government of Canada may have finally stopped fighting Indigenous kids in court, but the details are not all settled and there is still a lot to be done to ensure that Indigenous kids are no longer discriminated against in healthcare, welfare, and education. That’s why the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society continues to observe Have A Heart Day on February 14. Go to the United Church of Canada webpage to find resources you can use in your community of faith to learn more and remind the government that every child matters.  Bringing the Children Home A collage of images taken at Tk'emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nation, 2021. [Photo credit: Julie Graham, Prairie to Pine/Living Skies/Northern Spirit Regional Council Office] This information may be traumatic for residential school survivors, families, and community. If you are feeling pain or distress, please call the free 24-hour crisis line: 1-866-925-4419. Stories about the children who remain in unmarked burial sites at residential institutions continue to be shared. On January 25, Williams Lake First Nation announced the initial results of ground-penetrating radar on the grounds of the former St. Joseph’s residential institution. The children, survivors, and families must remain at the centre of this work. The United Church remains committed to assisting communities in their work to identify, commemorate, and honour any children who are buried on the grounds of the institutions we operated. More information is available here. The Moderator was recently interviewed by Radio-Canada on this initiative. (Please note that the article is in French.) Good Reads If you haven’t already picked them up, here are two critical new books on the reconciliation journey. Honouring the Declaration: Church Commitments to Reconciliation and UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples features essays from Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices across a range of disciplines, all of which respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action to discuss how The United Church of Canada and other denominations can enact their commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance by Jesse Wente, as described by the publisher: “A prominent Indigenous voice uncovers the lies and myths that affect relations between white and Indigenous peoples and the power of narrative to emphasize truth over comfort. Part memoir and part manifesto, Unreconciled is a stirring call to arms to put truth over the flawed concept of reconciliation, and to build a new, respectful relationship between the nation of Canada and Indigenous peoples." Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram YouTube Donate to The United Church of Canada and help fund life changing work around the world!

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