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This paper will be published in Journal of NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community. Please do not duplicate or distribute without permission from the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies (NAIITS).

StewardingSacredSeeds Mr. Speaker, last week thousands of Canadians from all walks of life gathered in Hull for a sacred assembly. We brought together spiritual leaders of many faiths, aboriginal leaders from coast to coast, youth, elders, political leaders, as well as guests and visitors from South Africa, Brazil, the United States and Central America. I am happy to tell the House that the assembly was a success. We came together in the spirit of faith and reconciliation and agreed on a new vision for Canada as a whole [the Reconciliation Proclamation]. We have laid the groundwork for… healing in this land.

— Elijah Harper, Cree Member of Parliament, House of Commons, December 11, 1995

Introduction

Groundwork. Good groundwork.

Ground prepared to serve as a foundation, a starting point.

Ground that is ready to receive the sacred seed of healing and of right relationship.

This was the gift of the Sacred Assembly. That good ground was established twenty-five years

ago, when Elijah Harper called for a gathering of Indigenous leaders and Elders with an array of

faith leaders and representatives from all over the world to commit themselves to the work of

Indigenous justice. Good seed was captured in the Reconciliation Proclamation, a short but

powerful document that outlines, as Elijah Harper put it, “a new vision for Canada.”1

At the Sacred Assembly, Canadian evangelicals, including those from The Evangelical

Fellowship of Canada (EFC), were present as leaders, helping with organizing and resourcing.

1 Copies of the Reconciliation Proclamation and Principles and Priorities for a New Relationship, a related document, can be found at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/110iQy-lacxkjMguFD9icQzMjtGxzGeLr.

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The Indigenous-Settler Relations Working Group, convened by the EFC in 2019,

recognizes in the Reconciliation Proclamation seeds of catalyzing and life changing relationship

infused by the Holy Spirit and sown in the fertile soil of commitment and trust.2 Sadly, we also

recognize that those seeds have not been nurtured or attended to with sufficient care. As

representatives of the evangelical community in Canada, we commit to picking up the tools

needed to humbly do the work required to serve the fertile ground that they may bear good fruit.

PreparingtheGround

In 1994, more than 30 First Nations and Métis Christians came together with leaders from World

Vision and the EFC in Treaty 1 Territory, West Saint Paul, Manitoba. This diverse circle,

representing men and women from many denominational backgrounds, listened intently to

Indigenous experiences of life in colonial Canada and in the church. Terry LeBlanc (Mi’kmaq-

Acadian), Adrian Jacobs (Cayuga-Six Nations), Brian Stiller (EFC) and Bruce Clemenger (EFC)

were all present at that ’94 gathering and generously shared their present-day reflections on what

took place.

Working then as a consultant for World Vision, Terry LeBlanc was the main mobilizer

behind the ‘94 gathering with the goal of building relationships among Indigenous Christian

leaders, while at the same time addressing the lack of understanding of Indigenous realities

among non-Indigenous Christian leaders. Adrian Jacobs points to the important grassroots

2 “We” refers to the Indigenous-Settler Relations Working Group, leaders and influencers from a broad spectrum of evangelical communities and inter-church contexts. The use of we also serves to address fellow leaders in the evangelical community in Canada. As a national association, the EFC gathers evangelical denominations and organizations around common mission and identity. It represents the evangelical community before Parliament and in the courts. It is often called upon to lead, but seldom to direct its affiliates. As a national association, the EFC seeks to listen to and learn from its affiliates, which include 45 evangelical denominations, and to share that learning with the broader evangelical community.

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Indigenous movements that lay the groundwork for this gathering. “Since the 80s, Indigenous

leaders were trying to gather globally and in their various national contexts,” says Adrian. “Terry

was part of this movement, doing in Canada what others were doing elsewhere.” But Adrian also

recalls political conflicts that had caught the attention of many Canadians – particularly the

siege of Kanesatake/Oka in the summer of 1990. It was Oka – a conflict over land and

jurisdiction – that sparked the launch of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, which

held hearings across Canada between 1992 and 94. “Churches,” says Adrian, “we’re trying to

discern in this time how to respond.” While acknowledging the significant impact of Indigenous

leadership connecting with EFC structures (persons such as Joe Jolly and Wendy Peterson),

Brian Stiller, then President of the EFC, also cites political and Indigenous-led resistance as a

catalyst for interest in the ‘94 gathering.

We all remember the shock of Elijah Harper holding a feather in the Manitoba legislature, stopping the Meech Lake Accord in 1990. He put a wrench into the gears of the Constitution’s development, and it startled us all. And by his doing that, he created this national consciousness of the Aboriginal reality.

Such political events that centered Indigenous actors and concerns startled Brian and others

within the EFC’s circles. “There was a growing sense in the EFC that … we needed to do

something,” says Stiller.

All four of our interviewees named three themes as key components of what took place at

the gathering in Treaty 1: vulnerable sharing of Indigenous experience, the dismantling of

suspicion and ignorance, and the building of genuine friendships.

VulnerableSharing. Terry LeBlanc recalls that the gathering started off “somewhat

cool.” There was a lack of trust, as historic suspicions between denominations were present and

seemingly hard to overcome. At the encouragement of Wendy Peterson (Métis) and others,

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Wally McKay and Tom Francis decided to share their stories, “just sharing from their hearts what

their experience with the church and with the majority Canadian population had been over their

lifetimes.” This, say our interviewees, changed everything. Brian Stiller affirms,

I heard stories that broke my heart. I heard stories that infuriated my sense of justice. And what it did was open my eyes to their reality … We listened and cried and interacted … and our lives were changed by it!

Brian goes on to say:

That gathering forever altered my understanding of the nature of people whose essence had been torn apart by an unthinking, and I suspect, an uncaring white world that didn't understand the essence or the ethos of this community and the bonding of its family.

For Adrian Jacobs, the depth of genuine sharing was evidence that God’s Spirit was at work in a

powerful way:

People [naturally] close their hearts to protect themselves, but I believe that Creator was at work in that place, where instead of that normal response of holding back there was an opening of people's hearts. And while the sharing was going on there was a spontaneous reconciliation spirit, so you know, the harsh experiences of Indigenous people with the church in general, and with denominations and specific situations, came to the fore. And there was a recognition by leadership that these things were detrimental and harmful, and so apologies were made and responses happened … which opened up a floodgate of emotion and feeling.

Overcoming a Lack of Understanding & Dismantling of Suspicion. All four interviewees

spoke of a lack of understanding and awareness of Indigenous realities in these lands amongst

non-Indigenous. Tackling what Adrian coins “the parliament of ignorance” was vital, an essential

step toward any genuine friendship, dismantling non-Indigenous ignorance (and perhaps

indifference). Terry and Adrian both mention that the gathering was also key for dismantling

suspicion between Indigenous peoples coming from various Christian backgrounds. “As the

sharing went on,” says Adrian, “there were personal struggles that were confessed, and apologies

between Indigenous peoples, responding to one another … with tears.”

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New friendships. For Bruce Clemenger, it was the friendships formed in ‘94 that had the

most profound impact and opened up an alternative way of seeing.

Through the stories, through shared meals, you’re getting to know these Indigenous leaders. All of a sudden, they decide to play games part way through the gathering, having fun, and you catch on to the humour … all of a sudden, you’re not just working through agenda. You’re in a circle of friends.

This, says Adrian, is what it’s all about. “It was making friendships, and that’s at the heart of

reconciliation.” For Terry, the ’94 gathering facilitated “a lot of new relationships that would

never have been birthed otherwise, or at least not in the same way.”

TheSacredAssembly,1995

According to Terry, those in the circle from the ’94 gathering in Treaty 1 “… went away from

that particular event with a commitment to doing further work together, and it was really that,

that led into the ability to call the EFC and World Vision to participate in the Sacred Assembly

of 1995.” When Elijah Harper asked about the participation of both World Vision and the EFC in

the Sacred Assembly, “It was fairly straightforward to say ‘Yes, ’we’d be involved … though I’m

not sure any of us knew exactly what that meant.” Bruce Clemenger confirms — “The ’94

gathering created the space for the EFC to say ‘yes.’”

SacredSeeds

[Elijah Harper] was deeply concerned about Canada as a whole … I think Elijah recognized that if Canada was not healthy, Indigenous people could never be healthy. That was the vision given to Elijah during his time of sickness and subsequent healing … and he almost died physically because of his consternation over this situation … [the broken relationship] of the collected peoples in Canada.

— Terry LeBlanc

Brian Stiller was a key evangelical voice at the Sacred Assembly, publicly honouring Indigenous

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peoples ’spirituality, acknowledging the racism of non-Indigenous communities and committing

to justice and righting of relationship. Moreover, the EFC helped edit the Reconciliation

Proclamation, which articulated a vision of what that right relationship looked like. A wide and

diverse circle informed the content of these visionary texts3, including Treaty Elders,

representatives from the Aboriginal Rights Coalition (ARC), 100 Huntley Street, and Indian and

Northern Affairs, along with Elijah Harper. Terry LeBlanc and Bruce Clemenger, together with

Lorraine Land and Murray Angus of the ARC, worked at the final wording of the documents

while the Sacred Assembly proceedings took place. “I was recruited into the back rooms,” says

Bruce, “and the key job there was looking at the Reconciliation Proclamation. My task was to

help find the language that would reflect what was being discussed in the Sacred Assembly and

that would speak to the Christian community, particularly the evangelical community.”

TheEFCcreatestheAboriginalTaskForce

According to Wendy Peterson, it was during the Sacred Assembly that Brian Stiller invited

Christian Indigenous leaders to form an EFC Aboriginal Task Force (ATF), to work towards

reconciliation between evangelical churches and Indigenous peoples.4 The Task Force (later

named the Aboriginal Ministries Council (AMC)) operated between 1995 and 2012, working to

strengthen relationships among Indigenous leaders and producing educational material for

churches, specifically helping churches understand and respond to the Royal Commission on

Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP). The ATF/AMC also prepared an excellent resource for churches on

suicide prevention.

3 Includes Principles and Priorities for a New Relationship, also a product of the Sacred Assembly. 4 https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/Communications/Articles/October-2017/Evangelicals-still-reaching-for-reconciliation-wit, accessed May 22, 2020.

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The EFC invited ATF/AMC members to participate in significant ways in Presidents

Day, its annual gathering of affiliate leaders, providing education and awareness-raising around

current issues, such as the RCAP report (in Ottawa, 2000) and the Truth and Reconciliation

Commission (in Winnipeg, 2015). Through the EFC’s political connections and presence in

Ottawa, it was able to set up meetings between members of the ATF/AMC/Council with

parliamentary leaders. There were other events, including a lunch with parliamentarians that

coincided with Terry LeBlanc presenting at the National Prayer Breakfast in Ottawa.

Noting the importance of relationship building, Terry believes the creation of other

influential Indigenous evangelical organizations, like My People and NAIITS: An Indigenous

Learning Community, would not have happened were it not for the friendships that grew in the

circles the EFC helped to create and sustain.

TheReconciliationProclamationisforgotten

According to Terry:

I honestly never heard about [the Reconciliation Proclamation] after it was done. I don't think I heard anybody in the EFC reference it other than the times that we [Indigenous peoples] might have done it at the Task Force meeting … I don’t think I heard it ever at World Vision.

The EFC and its broader constituency has been enriched significantly by the gracious and patient

relationships and work of the ATF/AMC. However, we recognize that the EFC relied too much

on these leaders to carry forward the work of reconciliation within the evangelical community.

Bruce Clemenger notes that the primary response of the EFC to the Sacred Assembly and

the Reconciliation Proclamation was “to establish the Aboriginal Task Force, and so have a kind

of structure, within the EFC, where we can care for the conversation.”

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Although well-represented in front-line zones of service that engage many vulnerable

Indigenous populations – be it at soup kitchens, youth drop-ins, homeless shelters or through

prison visitation – Evangelicals as a perceived whole do not have a reputation for relational

solidarity and advocacy in response to Indigenous calls to action, particularly around Indigenous

rights and lands. This picture hits hard. The seeds of relationship sown by the Sacred Assembly

and its Reconciliation Proclamation have sat dormant: we have not done our part to nurture

these seeds.5 For Adrian Jacobs, this is not surprising:

Beginning in a good way, a profound move of the spirit, but a failure of follow through … is quite common. Following up with action has always been the huge weakness of [these reconciliation events/movements].

We lament this, especially given the ongoing presence and courageous testimony of residential

school survivors, the families and communities touched by the ongoing horror of missing and

murdered Indigenous women and girls – the land defenders facing ongoing land dispossession

and the many examples of Indigenous resilience throughout Turtle Island.

There have been a few signs of growth. Some evangelical communities have developed

an understanding of treaty and land rights.6 Reserve 107– a story of the Young Chippewayan

Band, Lutheran and Mennonite friendship – is an example of the challenging and beautiful

relational journey of settlers honouring Indigenous hosts and recognizing that they are guests on

the land. Some evangelical communities have supported Indigenous rights to self-government in

public support for the TRC’s Call to Action #48 to uphold the UN Declaration on the Rights of

5 We acknowledge that the metaphor of the sacred seed of relationship and land-based connection between Indigenous Peoples and the Church – like actual seeds – can and do have different conditions and seasons of growth. These footnotes are included to provide additional context for the traumatic conditions of life Indigenous People continue to endure in comparison to the majority of mainstream Canadians. 6 We recognize the history of settler colonialism has historically displaced Indigenous peoples from their traditional lands in order to exert dominion over them and continues to do so. The destruction of Indigenous ways of land-based life include the parallel process of removing children from families in order to destroy Indigenous land-based languages, cultures and spiritual practices.

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Indigenous Peoples as a framework for reconciliation. The reality is, however, that broadly

speaking, evangelicals are similar to the general population of Canada in their ignorance of and

indifference to solemn their treaty responsibilities.

The commitments made at the Sacred Assembly, guided by the Spirit, contributed to a

greater receptivity among evangelicals to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The

work of healing and reconciliation leading up to the TRC had prominence in mainline churches

connected to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement process. In evangelical circles there are

examples of front-line Indigenous ministries (such as Edmonton Native Healing Centre) that

engage in reconciliatory support of urban Indigenous communities – including residential school

survivors and intergenerational survivors.

Mainline churches, especially through the work of Kairos, have been at the forefront of

public affairs advocacy and citizen education for Indigenous rights. We celebrate the heart

learning in thousands of Canadians (including many evangelicals) brought about by the Kairos

Blanket Exercise. We also celebrate popular theological dialogue and education efforts like

Intotemak (Mennonite Church Canada) that encourage cross-cultural encounter, learning and

solidarity action for justice.

We acknowledge that these education and action initiatives are not broadly engaged

across the evangelical church. It must also be said that respect for difference in spiritual

journeys and the spiritual reconciliation envisioned at the Sacred Assembly remain a challenge.

The practice of contextualization of Indigenous ceremonies in Christian worship remains a

matter of controversy in some evangelical circles. We celebrate the beautiful work of

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contextualization that is happening in evangelical communities such as The Salvation Army Pow

Wows and the scholarly excellence and reconciliation community building of NAIITS.7

WeedsofResistance

To my mind, Canadians are still on a misguided, obsessive, and mythical quest to assuage colonizer guilt by solving the Indian problem. In this way, we avoid looking too closely at ourselves and the collective responsibility we bear for the colonial status quo. — Paulette Regan

The transformative vision sown in the Reconciliation Proclamation has been consistently

impeded by weeds of resistance bearing considerable weight and power, which create barriers to

tangible change and embodied engagement. An honest examination of colonial systems and

attitudes exposes the contradictions that underlie the “favoured picture we have of ourselves” as

settlers, and particularly, as evangelicals. As we come to terms with our “identity crisis,” the

processes of colonialism continue on.8 In her work, Unsettling the Settler Within, Paulette Regan

calls on us to “unravel the myth of the benevolent peacemaker – the bedrock of settler identity –

to understand how colonial forms of denial, guilt, and empathy act as barriers to transformative

socio-political change.”9 Settler Colonialism refers not to an event but to a process of displacing

Indigenous peoples and accessing territories. It is the “policy or practice of acquiring full or

partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it

economically.”10 The negative impacts of colonialism stand in stark contrast to images of “brave

7 Committing to relationships requires respect for the knowledge of different cultural traditions as well as religious denominations. How can we as Christians take actions in our own lives that contribute to building relationships with Indigenous communities that nurture and sustain the conditions needed for our sacred seeds to thrive? 8 Regan, Paulette. Unsettling the Settler Within: Indian Residential Schools, Truth Telling, and Reconciliation in Canada (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2010), 35. 9 Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 11. 10 Webster’s Dictionary of English; See also: Patrick Wolfe, “Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native,” Journal of Genocide Research 8, no. 4 (2006): 387–409.

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frontiersmen” and “resourceful settlers” exploring the New World in the face of harsh conditions

and “savage” landscapes. Such romantic and ahistorical imagery were central to the nation-

building project of Canada and erased the lived realities of Indigenous peoples who “continue to

be disadvantage[d] … [by] the legacies of colonial institutions and practices.”11

Identity is shaped at the point where we make “assumptions and pre-cognitive

decisions.”12 It reveals what lies in our subconscious. As settler colonists, our identity continues

to be shaped by processes connected to lands that have a “pre-existing and indisputable claim

upon them.” We cannot claim to be pursuing reconciliation even as we continue to support the

systems of colonialism intended to establish permanence and dominance over the land and its

people.

Some of the challenges to embodying the Reconciliation Proclamation are embedded in

spiritual and theological systems. There is broad agreement, for example, among evangelicals

that creation is a gift of God. Yet a majority of North Americans – including evangelicals – live

a consumerist lifestyle that has had an undeniable impact on the health of creation. Furthermore,

some expressions of evangelicalism wrestle with notions of spirituality and sacredness attached

to the land. Many evangelicals do not use the language of sacred spaces or consider aspects of

Creation sacred. Moreover, the lack of robust teaching around stewardship of the land and

creation has been a challenge to the EFC’s ability to engage meaningfully on issues of creation

care and justice.

11 Barker, Adam J. and Emma Battell Lowman. Settler Identity and Colonialism in 21st Century Canada (Winnipeg, MB: Fernwood Publishing 2015), 3. 12 Barker and Battell Lowman, Settler Identity, 13.

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Settler colonialism is undergirded by three main pillars, as described by Barker and

Battell Lowman.13 The first pillar is the understanding that invasion isn’t a singular occurrence,

it’s an ongoing process that doesn’t end until the occupying force leaves. In the North American

continent, the invasion continues. The second pillar is settlers come to stay, establishing their

dominance on the land, displacing Indigenous peoples and making way for others more like

themselves. The third pillar is the fact that settler colonialism has the explicit goal of becoming

normalized, naturalized, unquestioned and unchallenged in the new space it inhabits. Evidence

of these pillars are seen in the persistent tensions over land and stewardship of the gift of

creation. These realities of ir-reconciliation prevent sustained inter-cultural collaboration for the

integrity of the land and waters, mutual flourishing and unity.

McCallum and Perry describe how the normalization of colonial practices at large

Canadian institutions, such as hospitals, function as structures of indifference that are neither

able to fully recognize or adequately respond to the chronic and disproportionate levels of

Indigenous suffering and death throughout the country.14 Settler invasion in Canada takes three

structural forms, all of them focused around the land. Invasion of spaces involves social aspects

of life on the land, the geography of everyday life, while ignoring Indigenous relationship to that

same land. Settlers draw boundaries and shape landscapes without consideration of longstanding

Indigenous presence on these lands. The invasion of systems reveals indifference to Indigenous

life within the very systems that make Canada run.15 It reinforces assumptions of continued

13 Barker and Battell Lowman, Settler Identity, 25. 14 McCallum, Mary Jane and Adelle Perry. Structures of Indifference: An Indigenous Life and Death in a Canadian City (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2018). 15 Major reports commissioned by the Canadian government including the Truth and Reconciliation Report (2015), the recent report on MMIWG, and Reclaiming Power and Place (2020) use the word genocide to describe the cumulative impact and outcomes of these processes on the lives of Indigenous peoples.

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colonial dominance in, for example, an education system that holds a bias against non-Western

learning strategies. Lastly, the invasion of stories involves the narratives we adopt as our own,

where colonization was a “heroic struggle and the establishment of an exceptionally successful,

just and distinct society” rather than a violent conquest.16

Settler colonialism makes the way things are feel “normal” and right (or at least not

wrong) to settlers. To challenge the internalized acquiescence required for these systems to

continue involves a personal and spiritual process of deconstruction that can be uncomfortable

and unsettling. To be “unsettled” is to be loosened or moved “from a settled state or condition”

and to be discomforted in the process of confronting how much and how profoundly our lives are

structured by colonialism. Unsettling is uncomfortable and is often characterized by fear.

Externally, we may fear direct reprisals from colleagues or losing the systemic privileges that

colonialism affords us if we push back against powerful institutions. Internally, we may fear the

uncertainty of being active proponents of social change and the consequent disruption to our own

sense of identity and where we belong.17

Our understanding of where we belong is given weight by the peacemaker myth deeply

embedded in the identity inhabited by Canadian settler colonists. The peacemaker myth portrays

settlers as heroes out to “save Indians” and in doing so, deflects attention from the settler-colonial

causes of underlying systems of injustice. Regan believes Canadians deny that violence lies at

the core of the relationship between Indigenous peoples and settlers,

We do not categorize the residential school system and other assimilationist strategies as acts of violence, yet their caustic effects are evident. In the seismic wake of destruction left by the public policy experiment that was the Indian residential schools, Indigenous communities struggle with poverty,

16 Barker and Battell, Settler Identity, 31. 17 Barker and Battell, Settler Identity, 91.

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poor health and education outcomes, economic disadvantage, domestic violence, abuse, addiction, and high rates of youth suicide.18

To many settlers it still appears that Indigenous communities need our help. Often, such

perceptions are embedded within the assumed “rightness” of settler-colonial world views infused

with a version of the Christian peacemaker myth that has shaped our postures, systems and

attitudes for generations. Regan states that “stereotypes of Indigenous people as noble savages,

violent warriors, victims of progress … are deeply ingrained in the Canadian national psyche,

reinforced by popular culture and the media.”19 The peacemaker myth enables us to justify

ongoing colonialism by positing the Christian benevolence of individual intentions, while

simultaneously remaining willfully blind to the systemic violence, racism and inhumanity that

these systems continue to sustain.

In The Christian Imagination: Theologies and the Origins of Race, theologian Willie

James Jennings describes the power over space exercised by Pope Nicholas V in his bull,

Romanus Pontifex, established January 8, 1455. In it the Pope awards all regions of the known

world to Portugal based on the principle that the church exists for the sake of the world, stating:

The Roman pontiff, successor of the key-bearer of the heavenly kingdom and vicar of Jesus Christ, contemplating with a father’s mind all the several climes of the world and the characteristics of all the nations dwelling in them and seeking and desiring the salvation of all, wholesomely ordains and disposes upon careful deliberation those things which he sees will be agreeable to the Divine Majesty and by which he may bring the sheep entrusted to him by God into the single divine fold …20

18 Regan, Unsettling the Settler, 11. 19 Regan, Unsettling the Settler, 68. 20 Jennings, Willie James. The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Ann Arbor: Yale University, 2010), 26.

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Ultimately, through his papal bulls, “the pope granted Portugese royalty the right to

reshape the discovered landscapes, their peoples and their places, as they wished.”21 It is

important to understand that these deep colonial roots have legitimated the historical

development of western culture in ways that continue to influence Christian faith in Canada.

Some evangelical and mainline churches have begun to wrestle with the “Doctrine of

Discovery,” a corporate sin that lies at the legal and cultural foundation of North America; one

that many evangelicals are unaware of or unwilling to accept as their own. The Doctrine of

Discovery shapes profound structural racism from which flows settler indifference to treaty and

impatience with Indigenous protection of land and waters.

Powerful attachments to the identity of benevolent peacemaker continue to cause many

Canadians to align themselves, and their faith, with narratives of benevolence. Christians seldom

see themselves as perpetuating trauma. Indigenous community perspectives have all too often

been ignored – meaning vital local and cultural context is disregarded to the detriment of

meaningful change.

CaringforRoots

Sometime in the years 2006-7, Terry LeBlanc and Aileen Van Ginkel paid a visit to our national offices to discuss Indigenous justice and reconciliation. This was a first meeting between us, so Terry asked an introductory question: why does your church want to get involved in this? In a response that I thought appropriate at the time, a senior leader in our denomination spoke a common grounding of social justice work: “well, we’d like to be a voice for the voiceless” (Proverbs 31:8-9). Terry responded calmly, respectfully, and bluntly, “Thanks for that sentiment – to be candid, I’m not voiceless, you’re deaf.” In that moment, we were challenged about our paternalism defaults, and have since been on a journey of listening and relationship that has stretched and moved us. And that journey of listening is critical in our ongoing and incomplete commitment to justice and reconciliation. — Mike Hogeterp, Christian Reformed Churches in Canada

21 Jennings, The Christian Imagination, 29.

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As a working group we recognize that we are party to the practice of declaration without

sustained transformative action – evident in the simple fact that in 25 years the Reconciliation

Proclamation has not decisively animated reconciliation activities across Canadian

evangelicalism.

Scripture calls us to the reconciliation of all things (Colossians 1), and the renewal of our

minds (Romans 12). We believe both of these injunctions call the church in Canada to not just

listen, but to hear. This means confronting some pervasive values and colonial attitudes in our

churches and amongst leadership. For example, in response to the TRC it has been common in

evangelical communities to exclaim, our church did not run residential schools so reconciliation

is not our responsibility. Such claims of settler innocence are an evasion of responsibility. The

TRC exposed what it termed a cultural genocide22– an effort over seven generations to remove

children from the influence of their families, cultures and communities.

Settler author Kent Nerburn’s conversation with Elder Dan helps us to understand the

colonial legacy for today:

“Okay, let me try to lay this out straight for you,” Dan said. “I’m not saying any of this is your fault or even that your grandparents did any of it. I’m saying it happened, and it

22 From the Truth and Reconciliation Report on Indian Residential Schools (2015) to the report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), Reclaiming Power and Place (2020) the word genocide has been used. Genocide involves direct acts of violence but in not just mass murder; importantly, these reports also understand genocide to be an outcome of social structures and processes that continue to threaten the lives of Indigenous peoples today. To be precise, the United Nations definition of genocide refers to “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part” (https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide-convention.shtml). Settler colonialism continues to influence the political and economic structures and processes impacting the “conditions of life” for many Indigenous Peoples. Unfortunately genocidal outcomes continue to emerge on our watch. The reality of genocide in Canada can be seen in the rates of death and, poverty, over-incarceration, suicide and addiction, and general health problems among Indigenous adults as well as the ongoing apprehension of Indigenous children at extraordinarily high rates by child and family services (https://www.fncaringsociety.com/it-really-genocide-canada).

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happened on your people’s watch. You’re the one who benefited from it. It doesn’t matter that you’re way downstream from the actual event. You’re still drinking the water. I don't care if you feel guilty. I just care that you take some responsibility. Responsibility’s about what you do now, not about feeling bad about what happened in the past. You can’t erase the footprints that have already been made. What you’ve got to do is take a close look at those footprints and make sure you’re more careful where you walk in the future.23

As a step towards responsibility, we believe that evangelicals need to embrace the

unsettling process. Bruce reiterates this when asked about the commitments that were made in

’94 and ’95:

… reflecting back, we may have been a little too passive. I mean, we were facilitating and funding the Aboriginal Task Force itself, but in hindsight, we were … trying to enable them to bring the voice back to the evangelical community and we would try to amplify that. In hindsight, perhaps we should have been a little more diligent … having them check us on what we're doing, rather than us waiting for them to tell us what to do.

It is most certainly critical for settler-led churches and organizations to hear and honour

Indigenous leadership, but this must not be a substitute for actions that step away from patterns

of indifference and inertia towards sustained relationships of accountability for justice and

reconciliation. We must wrestle with the reality that this numbness to the normalization and

persisting injustices of colonialism is rooted in generations of systemic racism and attitudes of

superiority.

We hear God’s Spirit in the calls to reconciliation at the Sacred Assembly and in ongoing,

key public moments in Canada since then: moments such as the findings of RCAP and the Calls

to Action of the TRC. We also hear God’s Spirit in the prophetic calls of Indigenous peoples in

the church and outside of it: a call to right relationship and unsettling. With these gifts before us,

we lament our failures and commit to new and renewed friendships in the ongoing and embodied

23 Nerburn, Kent. The Wolf at Twilight: An Indian Elder’s Journey Through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows. (Novato, CA: New World Library), 116.

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work of healing, wholeness and reconciliation. Genuine friendships, sharing of stories, food and

hearts were key to the pivotal ’94 gathering. It is friendship that is at the center of reconciliation

and that will spur non-Indigenous peoples toward the “love and good deeds” called for in the

Reconciliation Proclamation. Adrian elaborates:

I would simply say to every single local church, “Where are your Indigenous friends? Who are your Indigenous neighbors? Introduce them to me. Tell me what you know of their story. What is the story of the land that you're living on?” And if churches know that, there would be actual gatherings where people would appreciate each other and show up, respect and stand up and help each other in a good way.

The sharing of stories and vulnerabilities requires a context of trust and safety and leaning into

humility and vulnerability. Adrian notes:

The failure of the institutional church is to have a truly grassroots movement. There is no reconciliation until there are friends made. The Proclamation must be embodied in congregational life, and until it is, we've got a long way to go.

AnInterconnectedVisionofHealing

Adrian Jacobs believes the vision of interconnectedness and interdependence is akin to the

Haudenosaunee understanding of the land as one dish that provides food and hospitality for all

the peoples.

Eating together is a picture in my mind of the Haudenosaunee Great Peace that was promised. It's a picture of the Beloved Community that Martin Luther King talked about. And it's the picture of the city of Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven with the four directions and people coming from the four directions with the glory of their nations and their leadership.

Taking up our commitment to the Reconciliation Proclamation and embracing the above

vision will present some challenges. Terry contends that many of our evangelical churches

struggle to embrace paths of justice, healing and reparation because they “are largely driven by

economics … and by what is convenient. That sort of thing will continue to inhibit the potential

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for reconciliation.” Echoing Adrian’s concerns with complacency, he reminds us that “there’s a

cost involved to doing right.” And yet,

… if what we heard at the Assembly was true; if what we heard compelled us to act; and if these statements in this Reconciliation Proclamation are the actions that were invited and we’d been asked to take and we said yes to them … then we should do it. [As Jesus said], Let your “Yes” be “Yes.”

If the EFC and the broader evangelical community do say “Yes,” we can take hope. The witness

of the history described here – the witness of '94 – gives us confidence that, while vulnerable

risk-taking and courageous sharing of our stories and hearts in genuine friendship is costly, it

continues to be accompanied by an even greater grace.

NurturingGrowth

Bruce Clemenger states the EFC can “put issues on the table. We can highlight and press for

certain conversations and put items before the broader constituency that can help further

discussion and action that down the road … we could advance.”

It is critical that settler evangelical institutions, including the EFC, and their leaders

engage the unsettling process. . This can include: public lament for our repeated patterns of good

words not backed by action; leaders engaged in the unsettling process, humility and inter-cultural

friendship/accountability (and accept the costs and criticisms that come from it); robust support

for grassroots efforts to lean into the work of unsettling and reconciliation; and joint action with

Indigenous communities and organizations for justice, reconciliation and creation care.

Moving forward, the EFC is committed to working in collaboration with the Working

Group to prompt conversation and action among its affiliates in relation to the following:

1. Recommitment to the Reconciliation Proclamation by

a. Circulating the Proclamation to key leaders in EFC circles

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b. Re-introducing (or in many cases, introducing for the first time) the Proclamation

to the EFC affiliates

c. Instituting an annual re-membering ceremony and training (as to what it means)

among EFC leadership and constituency representatives

d. Building awareness around Indigenous and colonial history (cf. TRC Calls to

Action, #59)

e. Initiate an awareness campaign/educational effort to share the good news of this

Proclamation with constituencies. Reconnect with key partners and crafters of the

Proclamation to pray and discern next steps

2. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #49, repudiation of the

Doctrine of Discovery and other legal fictions that claim jurisdiction over Indigenous

lands and peoples

a. Review existing resources developed by church bodies and/or create a short study

resource for EFC affiliates to articulate its significance and implications for

engagement.

3. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #48, the adoption of the

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and its

meaning and implications for evangelical church communities

4. An unsettling of evangelical theology resulting in evangelical thought and practice in

Canada that

a. renounces white supremacy

b. renounces concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands

and peoples

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c. proclaims that justice in human relationships is integral to God’s plan for

restoration and affirms God’s preferential option for the poor and oppressed

d. repudiates the idea of being neutral on issues of Indigenous justice, but commits

to the struggle of being with those who are oppressed and fighting non-violently

against the idols of our day as we pursue collective peace

e. proclaims that Jesus is found amongst the most vulnerable and persecuted

5. Learning from partner ecumenical bodies that are leading the way in Indigenous justice,

such as KAIROS, supporting their advocacy efforts as appropriate

6. Develop a theology of stewardship of land and creation and how that impacts our

relationships to lands and waters and how we might stand with the Indigenous

communities that protect them

7. Establish a review and accountability mechanism to measure and evaluate progress on the

action items listed above. This will include sharing our commitment with the National

Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (Winnipeg, MB), and submitting annual updates

Signed, the members of the EFC Indigenous-Settler Relations Working Group:

• Adrian Jacobs, Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre

• Aileen Van Ginkel, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

• Alison Lefebvre, Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada

• Jobb Arnold, Canadian Mennonite University

• Jodi Spargur, Canadian Baptists of Western Canada

• Joel Gordon, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

• Julia Beazley, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

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• Mike Hogeterp, Christian Reformed Church in North America

• Shari Russell, The Salvation Army of Canada and Bermuda

• Steve Heinrichs, Mennonite Church Canada

With Bruce Clemenger, President, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada