One of my responsibilities is to help our Jesuit Provincial Superior as his Assistant for the Native Apostolate. I've carried out that responsibility for over a year. I was stunned when Fr. Bisson asked me to do this, because I've shamefully had so little experience of Aboriginal People or their culture. Within a month or so, I found myself being consoled that I said yes. The role means that I'm supposed to be a support for our Jesuit ministries with indigenous peoples.
I also try to keep Aboriginal concerns in the consciousness of English Canadian Jesuits and our partners in ministry. The responsibility has opened up for me a path into many of the significant issues of our time. I try to send a report to people once every month or so, offering thoughts and reflections on things that are going on or items that I have come across in my reading or participation in events. It struck me recently that there may be an advantage to sharing this with igNation's readership.
If you pay attention to social or traditional media, you know that not a day goes by without something being out there about indigenous Canadians and the issues they face. I suspect that has been helped by the heightened awareness after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) wrapped up in the summer and the fact that we are in election season.
I recently read a good book on the Idle No More movement. Ken Coates’s book, #IdleNoMore and the Remaking of Canada, looks at the Idle No More movement and its impact on Aboriginal youth. He says that the movement is anything but a spent force. It "has sparked an empowered and confident generation of youth who will shape the country for decades to come." It has helped shift the national conversation.
Idle No More arose at a time of rapidly growing confidence among Aboriginal peoples in Canada. It was the largest and most sustained public demonstration of Aboriginal confidence, determination, pride, and cultural survival in Canadian history. Coates sums up the power of the movement: "Canada is changed, Aboriginal Canada is changed, and the country is not going back."
That, followed by the wrap-up of the TRC, has pushed aboriginal issues closer to the front of the Canadian agenda. The TRC report continues to have reverberations throughout the country. A big focus for the Jesuits is education. As a matter of fact, education is emerging as the number one priority for many other bodies in the country.
Our Jesuit leadership in English Canada is looking at initiating an Aboriginal Immersion experience for young Jesuits in formation. Similar programs in the past have helped people to have a direct experience of life in the Global South. An immersion program on Aboriginal matters would give our young Jesuits a direct experience for urban and rural Aboriginal Peoples in Canada.
A key feature of what we want is to have the formation be offered by Aboriginal People. We are fortunate in this country to have strong Aboriginal educational opportunities at the University of Sudbury and First Nations University of Canada, on the campus of the University of Regina. Both locations are close to Jesuit presence, on Manitoulin Island in Ontario and at Campion College in Regina.
As I said, this role has opened a path to many issues that affect Aboriginal People in Canada: Aboriginal education, education for reconciliation, missing and/or murdered Aboriginal women, human trafficking, residential schools, and do on. I'm learning more about the creative work the Jesuits and our partners are doing across the country. I'll say more about our ministries in future posts.