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Re-Creation:

Understanding the Anishinaabe Creation Story as a Blueprint for Reconciliation

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Written by: Christine Vanagas

Preamble

In this current era of Reconciliation, how this term is defined and achieved can be as varied as the spaces in which you find yourself in. For Indigenous people, most would contend that Reconciliation is a process of healing which is achieved through acknowledgement of past harms that detrimentally impacted Indigenous peoples’ education, cultures, languages, family and kinship structures, health, social capital, and economic prosperity. Reconciliation also includes apologies and redress for such harms in order to create a more equitable and inclusive society. Indigenous people also view this as something we are all responsible for and must practice – within ourselves, and in our communities, governments, education systems, places of worship and workplaces.

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Some, if not many, Christians frame their understanding of Reconciliation within 2 Corinthians 5:8 which discusses the Ministry of Reconciliation whereby humanity's relationship is restored to God through Christ’s death and resurrection, and subsequent forgiveness of sins. Having been raised an Evangelical Christian, I am very familiar with how discussions around Reconciliation are becoming linked to how Christians understand The Great Commission and sharing the Good News. Reconciliation, therefore, becomes a means to show Indigenous nations Christ's love primarily through evangelism.

 

What remains a frustration for me as an Indigenous Believer is that building relationships with Indigenous people is often sidelined or given little consideration in this discussion. While I am not opposed to sharing the gospel, my concern comes from historical (and contemporary) methods of evangelism whereby creating mirrors of our own Christian walk in others takes a damaging precedent over building relationships that would heal wounds the Church had a hand in inflicting. I am reminded of the words of  Rev. Benjamin Cremer who wrote: "Jesus laying down his life out of love for the world rather than using all cosmic and political power to force the world to obey him is the eternal critique of any kind of Christianity that seeks to secure power in order to force others to conform to its will." As Reconciliation is viewed as a shared journey for all, I also wonder how we will fare on this journey when some view it as a healing process while others as a means for Ministry, and others see it as something altogether different.

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Thankfully, I am not the only one who is interested in understanding and tracking where we are on this shared journey. A research group from the University of Manitoba, the Canadian Reconciliation Barometer, released a report in 2022 which outlined 13 indicators of Reconciliation, as well as how deep of an impact each indicator may have on furthering Reconciliation efforts.

 

Reviewing the 2022 Report, I became keenly interested in how respondents in the study viewed the impact of each variable, which I believe is more indicative of where we are in the present in terms of discussing the idea of Reconciliation and what it is. Perhaps this is because where I would place higher value for certain indicators were given less weight by those who were included in the study. I am by no means being critical of the study as I found it informative, but I believe good research will lead one to ask more questions and, hopefully, lead one to seek those answers.

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Often considerations for spiritual wellness are left out of Western paradigms and research. As such, I feel it is worth comparing the indicators of Reconciliation to where they would align within Indigenous frameworks, more specifically, in how one might understand spiritual values or principles that are depicted through Indigenous story-telling.

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Within the Anishinaabe worldview, creation stories address fundamental questions of our existence and ultimately lead to a better understanding of who our Creator is. According to Anishinaabe Knowledge Keepers, Creation is a living library which allows humanity to observe natural law. In doing so, we also come understand spiritual laws set out by the Creator. These observances not only give us more insight into our Creator's character and nature, but they set out principles by which we should live and guide how we should organize and govern ourselves (i.e. human law). The idea of God's character written into the Natural World is supported by Romans 1:20, which states: “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature.” (NLT)

 

By this reasoning, Reconciliation - as another gift from the Creator - would then follow His principles, which give us another tool to measure where we are at and how to navigate this journey together.

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THE FIRST FIRE:
Creator's Thought

One of the stories of how the world came to be can be outlined in what is known to the Anishinaabe as the Seven Fires. Through the telling of the Seven Fires, our story-tellers lay the foundation for the transmission of our values, and learning about our relationships, roles, and responsibilities. In what the Elders and Knowledge Keepers call our "Foremost stories", we learn about "the beginning before the beginning" wherein we derive the principles and laws that guide how we are to live on Earth.

 

In telling of the the First Fire, our imaginations are taken to a spiritual existence where the physical universe does not yet exist. The Creator desired to create a family that was created in His image and given a Free Will, or choice, to love Him as He already loved them.

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The First Fire is Creator’s thought in the spiritual, which combined with the love in His Heart, caused the emergence of what we know as the physical world. We are told by the Anishinaabe story-tellers that this thought brought about certain sounds. And, Creator's thought never ceased to exist - it continues to expand into the present causing stars to collapse and new ones to form. The expansion of this thought continues to cause changes within the natural world and the universe itself.

 

The description of the First Fire highlights the thin veil between the spiritual and physical worlds. Just as Creator’s thoughts as Spirit could impact the physical world, the beginning of the Anishinaabe creation story underscores how our actions in the natural world have spiritual implications – good and bad.

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What, then, does this tell us about Reconciliation?

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We can measure Reconciliation by INTENTION. In other words, are we being deliberate in the steps we are taking to see Reconciliation in the spaces we inhabit? More importantly, are they guided by love? Just as God’s intention in creating the physical world was guided by a desire to build relationship, are we also motivated to begin our journey of Reconciliation with relationship in mind?

 

As the Christian Church, leaders or business owners, our actions must do more than checking off the 'good neighbour' box, or pursuing reconciliation in order to make our image look good or to feel better about ourselves and the history we are standing on. If we look at Reconciliation as a tool for recompense, or as a means to evangelize and create mirror images of our relationship with God, and if we don’t view it through the lens of building relationships, then we need to re-examine what brought us to the Reconciliation path in the first place and whether our intentions will be enough to sustain its long, arduous journey.

THE SECOND FIRE:
Light

As Creator's thought is expanding outward forever into the darkness, we arrive at the Second Fire where Creator brings into existence a means for things to return. He creates LIGHT (represented as a SACRED FIRE), and traces around it a Circle for WHOLENESS (represented through the SACRED CIRCLE). The Circle, which some know as "The Medicine Wheel", teaches us about cycles and progression (how we grow), as well as cyclical patterns (seasonal changes). This separates Indigenous thinking from linear thought in that Indigenous frameworks are circular, interwoven, and interdependent.

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The layout of the Sacred Circle shows how Creator caused a link between mind, body, spirit and emotion. We see this echoed in Psalm 139: 13: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb." (NIV). The Circle shows us how we are seen in the eyes of the Creator, with each part of us - mind, body, spirit, and heart - understood and recognizable when viewed in relationship to the whole. Each part of our being is not considered separate, and many Knowledge Keepers have shared their belief that much of the adversity and illness we see in the world today is caused and perpetuated by fracturing of these four parts from one another.

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It is in the stories about the Second Fire that teaches us Onjinaywin (the Law of the Circle). This is a spiritual principle where whatever we put into the circle - good or bad, in generosity or in selfishness - returns to us in the same way multiplied. This applies to the environment, relationships, our pursuits, and even ourselves. Onjinaywin goes beyond action, but is also embedded in our words. We are taught that prayer is not simply going to God to petition for things, but prayer is medicine - it is as necessary for a long life and our physical, emotional and mental well-being as exercise, rest, air, water, and the food we eat. Prayer is also how we build and sustain our relationship with our Creator.

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Onjinaywin has much to teach us on reciprocity and relationships.  According to www.masterclass.com, there are three different types of reciprocity: generalized reciprocity, which like altruism, is giving without expecting a specific outcome; balanced reciprocity is an equal give-and-take; and negative reciprocity is unequal and the least healthy of all three forms. By this measurement, we would all aim for generalized reciprocity in those relationships that mean the most to us as it harbors a sense of mutual respect and connectedness. Here we are reminded that with the measure you use, so will it be measured back to you (Matthew 7:2, NKJV).

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A Christian equivalent to Onjinaywin, according to my understanding, is in the concept of seedtime and harvest - or, sowing and reaping. It is a principle we see in the Fall of Humankind and in numerous other instances in the Bible. As with Anishinaabe teachings, seedtime and harvest not only applies to our actions, but also the words we speak. An example is in the story of Job, where having been afflicted by painful boils throughout his body, Job does not curse God but "Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job spoke, and said: 'May the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’ May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it.'" (Job 3: 1-4, NKJV). What I find interesting is that biblical scholars debate as to whether Job was a real person or a fictional character. Although it is generally believed that the Book of Job was written before Moses penned the first five books of the Bible, there is no indication of how old Job was despite his apparent stature as a prosperous man in the land of Uz. There is, therefore, no light that shines on the day of Job's birth, just as he spoke it.

 

How then do we apply the teachings of the Second Fire to Reconciliation?

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Reconciliation can be measured by INVESTMENT, or what we sow. If reconciliation is merely a land acknowledgement that we cut and paste into an email signature, then what we measure out in terms of  Reconciliation will be minimal at best. Words are important, but they ought not to be hollow, or worse, an exercise in moral exhibitionism.

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In looking at investment through the lens of reciprocity, I suspect some would view Reconciliation as "balanced reciprocity" due to its emphasis on equality. While this is where we want to be in time, I would challenge this idea given the present and very real disparity in health, social and economic outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. How can Indigenous people be expected to give equally as those who benefit from intergenerational wealth and the unequal distribution of privilege? I am not saying it is wrong to have these things, but if as Christians we are not looking at Reconciliation in terms of generalized reciprocity, we are not pursuing Christ's own example of love and altruism.

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Are we as Christians aiding Indigenous peoples to recover what was lost? Are we helping Indigenous people reclaim their languages (and not necessarily by buying it back from universities)? Are we supporting efforts that foster family reunification and Indigenous people returning to their kinship models? Do we support Indigenous people in their efforts to pursue self-determination and self-government? Are we committed in our ministries and in our work to close the gaps in social, health and economic outcomes faced by Indigenous peoples?

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What we invest - as measured by effort, time and resources - ought to match our intention. It will determine what gets multiplied back for future generations.

THE THIRD FIRE: Twin-ness
 

After creating Light, the Creator saw that it was good and determined that it should have a twin. Here, in the telling of the Third Fire, we learn about duality and "twin-ness", or maaminosewin (balance). This is not understood as something that is identical, nor is it opposite, but rather speaks to the close tie between the two. Anishinaabe Knowledge Keepers share that everything in Creation has a pair - day and night, sun and moon, sunrise and sunset, left and right, masculine and feminine, etc.

 

This concept of "twin-ness" teaches us about relationships, and more specifically, guiding principles for harmony and of balance. When explaining the connection that Creator set out through maaminosewin, story-tellers draw out the relationship between the Sun (giizis) and the Moon (dibikigiizis). They describe how each have their own "original instructions" to support and sustain life. They are distinct, but both move in the same direction as evidence of being in relationship. They have different responsibilities, for example, the Moon effects the movement of water and growth, and tells us when to plant, harvest, pick medicines, hold events, etc. Together, they oversee the Sky (giizhig) which influences the weather, seasons, climate, ozone, the rainbow, the Northern Lights, and so on.

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In terms of human relationships, maaminosewin is a critical concept in Anishinaabe teachings around marriage. In marriage, both individuals have distinct responsibilities for the maintaining their home fire (i.e. household). In preparation for the marriage, the 'Fire-Keeper' must light a fire unassisted to demonstrate that they will be able to sustain their family at all times. Likewise, the 'Water Carrier' must bring water they sourced on their own to share with their partner. Although, these actions are more or less symbolic in a present-day Anishinaabe marriage ceremony, each are layered with teachings about the distinct roles and responsibilities one carries in their relationship and highlights the importance of learning to live in balance with one another.

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Both fire and water are necessary and live-sustaining, but they can also be destructive when one or the other exists in excess. If the fire is too strong, then the water evaporates. If the water is too much, then the flame will diminish. It is, therefore, important in the couple's marriage to learn to live in balance, relying on one another's strengths, reciprocated kindness, equality and sharing. Not being mindful of relationship imbalances could destroy rather than build; alienate rather than include; consume rather than share; waste rather than conserve, and harm rather than heal.

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How does this apply to Reconciliation?

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It is evident in Canada's history as a nation that there was, and continues to be, a stark imbalance in the Nation-to-Nation relationship between Canada and Indigenous Nations. This imbalance has proven to be more harmful than beneficial for one of these parties. In reality, to diminish or harm one has a detrimental impact on the other. Reconciliation, as measured through BALANCE, is not merely swinging the pendulum in the opposite direction whenever there is imbalance. This, we understand, would only cause more harm. Rather, what is required is a course-correction to strengthen and build up to the other so we learn to walk in balance with one another.

 

If we examine natural laws, or original instructions, Creator does not create twin-ness to merely have one duplicate the others' actions. Despite being distinct, their actions move in the same direction and not in opposition. The attributes of one serve to compliment the other, and together they sustain and support life. Achieving maaminosewin will require re-learning the spiritual intent behind relationships - to compliment, support, sustain, etc.-  and acting in accordance to these principles.

THE FOURTH FIRE: Movement
 

Although Creator is not limited by time and space, there needed to be a means to physically receive and hold Creator's thoughts for His Creation. The Fourth Fire tells of the creation of dimensions like time and physical space. As more objects begin to form and occupy physical space, maintaining balance in relation to other objects required movement. This caused the universe to begin to move, with everything working together to maintain harmony.

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Here Anishinaabe also learn about the Seven Sacred Directions (above, below, north, east, south, west, centre) with each representing gifts from the Creator which is intended to bring to remembrance our Constitution as Anishinaabe peoples and framework for self-governance. Some Knowledge Keepers can teach of 32 directions, each representing a gift from the Creator; however, the underlying premise is that the seven components of our Constitution (land, people, language, history, governance structure, values and a belief system); the seven sacred teachings; the seven clans; etc. work together and move in harmony, and not in opposition.

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How do we apply this to Reconciliation?

 

While the Fourth Fire is more abstract, it can be understood in terms of measuring Reconciliation by how much TIME & SPACE we are giving to our original intentions for Reconciliation. This would be evidenced through movement forward and having all "Reconcili-Actions" working together and not conflicting with one another.

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Note: While I have not expanded in great detail on the components of how Anishinaabek understand our Constitution as a people, I would also suggest that meaningful actions will ultimately work to support restoration of these elements (land, people, language, history, governance structure, values and a belief system) back to Indigenous peoples.

THE FIFTH FIRE: Seeds
 

In the telling of the Fifth Fire, Creator develops a blueprint, or set of instructions, for the continuance of life - a seed which contained within it the potential to be. Knowledge Keepers explain how Creator took his seed-thoughts and shaped them into kernels containing the essence of life, so that when planted in fertile ground, they would reflect back to him every possibility of His creation. Earth, which is also seed-like, became the space to where He sent His thoughts with seeds being a vessel that produces the physical expression of such thoughts.

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This understanding of creation holding instructions is also mirrored in the Genesis Creation Story. Genesis 1: 11 - 12 states: "Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good" (NIV). He also places the Sun and Moon in the sky and instructs them to govern over different part of the day and says "let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years" (Genesis 1: 14, NIV). Subsequently, when God makes all living things, His instructions are to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1: 22 - 24).

 

Here we see that the world which humans are placed in is already governed by natural laws. Thus, we see that the blueprint for our world is not happenstance, but built upon agreements. These natural laws are what is known as the "First Treaties" that predate humanity - they represent Covenants with the Creator that work together in harmony to sustain life. It is with this appreciation of how the original instructions were established and the relationships in the natural world that forms the Anishinaabe understanding for all subsequent treaties and agreements made in the human world.

 

In the numbered Treaties, the phrase “As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the river flows” is written into the agreement not because it was a cute phrase, but to underscore that Creation (the sky world, the earthly world and the water world) is written into this agreement as is the Creator. While the Western World may have not considered the natural world as additional parties to the Treaties, the wholistic approach to include Creation is not uniquely Indigenous. When the Israelite people are given a Covenant in Deuteronomy 30, God says: "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!" (Deuteronomy 30:19, NLT). Creation, which has chosen life, is witness to and impacted by the choices and actions we make.

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We are reminded in Romans that He "causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose for them" (Romans 8: 28, NLT). We tend to look at this verse in a narrow human (or self) context, but understanding that the world around us operates according to a blueprint with purpose for all things brings into perspective His wondrousness and love for all that is created. Is it not, then, a call to love one another as His creation as well as all that He created?

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How does this apply to Reconciliation?

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To measure Reconciliation in this context is to carry the seed analogy further as the Bible tells us that we are known by our fruit (Matthew 7: 15 - 20). Our actions around Reconciliation are revealed in their EXPRESSION, in that the outcomes ought to carry out their intended purpose and have a beneficial impact for healing and right-relationship.

 

Additionally, seeds are engineered by the Creator to replicate their purpose. By this standard, Reconcili-Actions ought not be transactional or so-called "one-and-done". Their impact should have lasting benefits for ourselves, to the world around us, and subsequent generations.

THE SIXTH FIRE: Creation
 

The arrival of LIFE on earth is beautifully described by Anishinaabe Knowledge Keepers as "Mother Dressed" and tells of the Sixth Fire. Out of the Creator's original intentions, He created a beautiful place and made His thoughts have physical expression. The Creator's signature is in everything. The creation of Earth and life upon it is the ultimate act of His love and kindness.

 

What I find amazing about the Genesis story of Creation is that every day in Creation is insight into how we are biologically made. Just as in the telling of the Seven Fires, it shows how the Creator worked intentionally and towards His intention. For example, neurons in our body which help form our thoughts look similar to seedlings. So not only did God place us in a garden, but he placed a garden within us. When the Elders speak of the term gidinawendimin (meaning we are all related), it emphasizes interconnection that is already written into ourselves and the world around us.

 

Anishinaabe gikendaasowin (our original way of knowing) offers insights into complexity and a systemic view of life based in kinship with each other and the natural world. It offers important lessons in respecting all that is around us, and as we are all interconnected for survival, we need to balance our footprint as we move through life together. We do this by observing inaakogigewin, or natural laws, which causes us to live in harmony, to respect each other, and live our lives according to our unique ways of being. To this day, animals respect one another in this harmony, and teaches us this worldview of extended family.

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How does this apply to Reconciliation?

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Are the steps that we are taking towards Reconciliation take into consideration INTERCONNECTION? Or, are we only looking at it in terms of our human existence? The Creator did not forget about the rest of His Creation with the arrival of humanity (although we might have kept Him very busy thus far). Emphasizing our relationship with the environment or the land is not worship, but to act according to consideration of and respect for the interconnectedness of our world is how we can worship the One who created it. We must, therefore, measure our actions by the layers or ripples they have as they are rarely, if at all, linear.

THE SEVENTH FIRE: Anishinaabe
 

From Creator's first thoughts about us to the final image of Creation, we finally arrive at the formation of Anishinaabe as the Seventh Fire. I would note that the term "Anishinaabe" here refers to all human beings as the word to describe us is actually a sentence in Anishinaabemowin which can be loosely translated as "Creator lowered human beings to the Earth."

 

We are told that the Creator took the earth to shape our physical being with humanity dressed in different skin tones as the earth itself.  Then, taking His own thoughts, "as many as the stars in the universe," fashioned the first human being with the ability and capacity to think like Him. With his breath, the Creator blew into Anishinaabe life. And so, being made of this earth, a physical vessel vested with mind, heart, and spirit, Anishinabe, the first human being, was lowered to the earth. The process of forming humankind is also described in the book of Genesis: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7, NKJV)

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The significance of humans being made of earth in the telling of the Seventh Fire is arguably lost in translation. The term 'Medicine' in Anishinaabemowin is Mishki'ki, when broken down means Strength (from the root 'Mish') and Earth (from the word 'Aki'). This teaches us that we are medicine; Creator in giving us our identity and purpose means that we were each chosen to be placed here at a specific time in history because we are what is needed at this time and for the future. Teachings embedded in the Seventh Fire encourage us to ask ourselves who we are, as well as who we are becoming (i.e. how are we being medicine for a world in need of healing?).

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How can we apply this to Reconciliation?

 

Many non-Indigenous people speak of Allyship when looking to embody Reconciliation in the spaces they occupy, but I much prefer measuring Reconciliation by the extend to which we all act as GOOD ANCESTORS. Just as the Creator was forward thinking in carefully preparing a space for humankind, we also have to take on the mind of the Creator in thinking about how our actions impact the 7 generations to come. This means having the same love and intention that He had, but also requires us to put in the labour and effort now so those that come after us will not be burdened with the work we chose to ignore.

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How We Can Measure Reconciliation

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Some Final Thoughts

The stories of the Seven Fires, bring us to the present, or what Anishinaabe story-tellers refer to as the EIGHTH FIRE. We are reminded that we are not separate from the past and our arrival at this point in time is no coincidence. It is both a gift and a burden that Reconciliation is happening in this lifetime. Where we are at now is what I believe my Ancestors so earnestly prayed for – we are bearing witness to answered prayers of apologies, acknowledgement of genocide, rejecting racist doctrines of superiority, and the multiplicity of Indigenous voices adding to this Nation’s narrative around reconciliation and social justice. We are sitting in a moment in history where future generations will examine how we all answered the call to change how we learn, live and walk together.

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