On Sept. 20, a group of people from around the Fraser Valley sit in a circle of chairs in the All Saints Anglican Church in Agassiz .
The group has gathered for the first of twelve sessions in a three-month book study and discussion about the complicated, painful history of colonization and oppression of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the role religion played in their mistreatment.
In 2015 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada published a Call to Action Report that included ways for churches to advance the reconciliation process. Last year Monica Gibson-Pugsley of All Saints Parish responded with the first season of the church’s book study, focused on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
She says the goal of the meetings is to “walk in friendship in our long road to reconciliation with Indigenous people.”
“There needs to be a lot of education becayse many settlers who have a colonial way of thinking. the more educated we can become the more education we can pass on to our family firends and whoever we can speak with.
For it’s second season, the group is discussing the “Doctrine of Discovery:” a series of doctrines, policies and practices used to legitimize the colonization of Indigenous Peoples.
This year’s book, Yours, Mine, Ours: Unravelling the Doctrine of Discovery, was written by over 40 contributors from Indigenous, Christian and other backgrounds. The book analyzes the damage caused by the Doctrine and other colonial practices, with contributors seeking solutions to undo the colonial patterns and practices keeping Indigenous and Settler people separate.
While the meetings are centred on the book, they take on the form of an open discussion where participants share their knowledge and frustration.
Elder, Pipe Carrier and Spiritualist Frank Supernault says he finds it difficult to take pride in calling himself Canadian.
“Thousands of my people have died being Canadian people,” he tells the group.
Orginally of the Cree First Nation in Northwestern Alberta, Supernault has called B.C. home for many years. As a survivor of the residential school system and the ongoing mistreatment of Indigenous peoples, he says acknowledgment of the past is important and suggests a change to the Canadian national anthem.
“I just changed one word in there: ‘Oh Canada, our home ON Native Land. For me it has an impact, and [for] my family.”
Gatherings take place from 1-3 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of every month for the next 11 weeks at the All Saints Anglican Church located at 6904 Lougheed Highway. Each meeting is free and open to all, with no prior participation necessary.
The next meeting is Oct.4 and will focus on Missing and Murdered Aborginal Women. The Agassiz United Church will host a Sisters in Spirit Vigil in honour of the national day of recognition.
With files from Ashley Wadhwani