In this video, Dr. Danny Zacharias, academic dean of Acadia Divinity College, encourages ongoing learning for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and invites engagement with the EFC’s resources.
Remembering as truth-telling
By Shari Russell of the EFC’s Seven Commitments Working Group
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, invites us to learn the truth about Indian Residential Schools. It is a day anchored in remembering.
At its heart, remembering is about returning to the truth – to the truths of our histories, experiences, and the stories that have carried us through the generations.
Or, to use another phrase, it is about creating common memory. One of our Indigenous leaders, Georges Erasmus, the co-chair of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, used the quote by Richard Niebuhr that said, “Where common memory is lacking, where men or people do not share in the same past, there can be no real community. And where community is to be formed, common memory must be created.”
For First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, that common memory must include the truth of Indian Residential Schools and the profound harm they caused to individuals, families, communities, cultures, languages, and spiritual identities. Children were separated from their families and communities, and Indigenous languages, cultures, traditions, and ceremonies were suppressed.
Remembering is an act of truth-telling and caring. We remember the children who never returned home. We remember the survivors and the generations of families who continue to carry the effects of what happened. We remember the strength and resilience of Indigenous peoples who have continued to protect and reclaim their languages, cultures, ceremonies, communities, and identities.
For us, remembering is also about our spiritual identity.
The impact of spiritual violence on our people, experienced through Indian Residential Schools and through the Church, has to be addressed so that we can heal and be confident in that spiritual identity.
Remembering is also about personal transformation, not only individually, but also as communities. Healing from the traumas we've experienced is part of that transformation.
Throughout history, we have not been recognized as people. We were called savages, and our languages, cultures, ceremonies, and ways of life were denigrated.
The attempt to eradicate us as people, or to erase our very identity, can only be addressed by acknowledging and reclaiming the T’selem Elohim, or the image of God. This means recognizing and honouring our Belovedness. That is foundational ~ to remember that when Creator created Indigenous peoples, it was in the image of God; when Creator created us, God created us very good.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation calls us to remember that truth, to listen with humility, to honour those whose lives have been affected by Indian Residential Schools, and to allow that truth to transform how we live together. Reconciliation is not accomplished by remembering for one day. It is a commitment to continue to learn, listen, and build right relations for generations to come.
New resource, invite to prayer for peace and reconciliation
As followers of Jesus, how do we follow our Prince of Peace and pursue reconciliation in a fractured and unjust world?
Earlier this month, 24-7 Prayer Canada and the Peace and Reconciliation Network Canada launched a new Lectio-style resource exploring biblical stories of God‘s reconciling love. You can download this new resource and use it on your own or in your church, group, or community. Having just celebrated the UN International Day of Peace and looking ahead to Truth and Reconciliation Day tomorrow, let us continue pursuing reconciliation and justice for all in the name of Jesus.