About The Author
I am artist with Anishinaabe/Ojibwa (Bear Clan) and Dakota roots. As an Indigenous Believer, I am grateful that God has on countless occasions revealed to me His goodness and faithfulness, pursuing me with His love, grace and mercy.
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This blog was created after years of working in Indigenous communities. In more recent years my work has been closely tied to supporting efforts of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. As a grandchild and child of residential school Survivors, I am blessed to have had opportunities to sit with many Survivors to better understand my own family and what they experienced in the residential school system. I feel privileged to have learned from and take inspiration from so many precious Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers and Matriarchs who sat with me to impart their wisdom and stories.
The more I looked into the impacts of colonialism and the residential school system, the more I felt a strong tension between my spiritual beliefs and Indigenous efforts towards decolonization. The Bible states: "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone" (James 1: 5-6, NLT). This blog walks through my seeking God through prayer, wrestling with the many questions I have asked Him about the Indigenous experience of injustice, and reading His Word.
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The term LAND BACK is contentious to some; however, the land from an Indigenous perspective is part of our ways of knowing, including our spiritual knowing. God, our Creator, established Spiritual Laws, Natural Laws and Human Laws. As we walk in balance with nature/Creation, we gain a greater understanding of these laws, who our Creator is and how we are to walk out our lives. This is evidenced throughout the Bible where Creation itself testifies about its Creator. King David said in the Psalms, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Ps. 19:1). For me, LAND BACK is about restoring our connection to how we understand the Creator of all things, and in doing so, brings us closer to healing from the 500+ years of colonial harm.
