I had some really neat experiences, because I attended both days with different Residential School survivors. Some walked down to the Statement Gathering location and made statements. I was blown away by the sensitivity and priority that was shown to the survivors throughout the whole event. As the emotional support staff were leading one of my friends to the room with the audio recording equipment, he pointed to me and said 'Her - she can come. She knows me better.' What an honor! Over the course of time, my friend and I have had many conversations about his experiences in residential school, and then experiences at all the other institutions that followed....
Sharing truths and reconciliation from one participant's experience at Winnipeg gathering
June 28, 2010 - 6:59am | by brianbeaton
June 26, 2010
the sacred fire still burns
I've known for a couple of days that my next post would be about spending a couple of days at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's first event last week. But I haven't known exactly how to put words to what I was feeling, or what I learned. (warning - long post ahead! I hope you'll do more than skim ...)
A certain residential school story about two siblings (a boy and a girl) who came to his school is so revealing. The pair knew that they were not allowed to speak or interact, but they were seen whispering on the play ground. They were strapped and then not seen for days. After a while, they were found in the woods, dead from wounds received at the hands of overzealous disciplinarians.Stories like this are horrible enough when they are removed and impersonal - somehow its different when your friend is telling you about his experience of it. Yes, this all really happened in Canada. This particular story was right in Manitoba. And it happened sometime in the early 1970's. For real.
I was shocked to learn during the event that the mortality rate at residential schools was 24% overall. One BC school I read about had a 50% mortality rate. Half the kids who attended that school died. Brings new meaning to the term 'survivor', doesn't it? We are accustomed to those kind of third world stats, but these things happened right in our homeland .. you know, the True North - Strong and Free.
I have always been angry about the apathy and complacency of many in the Canadian church about our history. Now, I feel ready to be more ACTIVE. Of course, I want to remember that most of all, I am a worshipper and follower of Jesus - not an activist. Somewhere, I saw these piercing words - 'there is no one so blind as the one who REFUSES to see.' Sounds like something Jesus would say - it was certainly revealed through stories about his life.
During the TRC event, I was part of another event with some leaders from a Vineyard church in South Africa .. in Soweto, to be exact. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission originated in South Africa - Canada is following in their footsteps in this pursuit of genuine restoration. It was interesting to hear our South African guests talk about the unbelieving and indignant responses of Canadian visitors when confronted with past and present Apartheid realities, while not paying any attention to the First Nations situation 'back home'. They revealed that they had no qualms about pointing out the inconsistency, fairly begging Canadians to open their eyes.
We went to a rainy early morning ceremony one day. I was moved by the drummers from the four corners of the earth standing together - Red, Yellow, Black, and White - playing first in turn and then in unison.
I see the legacy of Canada's Residential School policy outside my door each and every day.
Today, I walked down Main St. and saw one of our friends standing in the middle of the busy street, with traffic passing by and honking on each side of him. Drivers were yelling, swearing. He just refused to move. He just stubbornly stood there, solvent rag in hand. In light of my reflections on the TRC, I read his posture and expression to be saying.. 'Notice me. See me. STOP. THINK. Pay attention, I'm angry, hurting, and not going away.'
I wished I wasn't the only person on the curb shouting above the traffic for him to get off the road and care about himself. Later that day, he stopped by and gave me a funny little gift. I hung it on my wall to help me remember to pray for him.
Last night, our doorbell rang. A young street worker was there, I hadn't met her before. She had heard that we have beds here, and wondered if she could stay the night. When we asked how long she wanted to stay, she drunkenly said .. 'forever'. Instead, we took her down to a shelter, but invited her to get to know us and come by for visits and coffee. I got to hear some of her story - starting to use crack at age 11, being in care all her life, not knowing how to stop using and start facing.... two days, two tragic stories. There are resilience stories too - I pray for more and more of those.
Genuine reconciliation requires that we face our denial, and that we do away with the blame game. It requires participation from those who have been offended and those who have offended. It requires eyes that see.
That fire pictured at the top of this post burned day and night throughout the entire Winnipeg TRC event. My prayer is that a sacred flame will stay lit as Canadians and Jesus followers recognize their role in genuine reconciliation. My prayer is that it will burn strong and bright as we all realize its not too late. May we realize that Aboriginal leaders are our nations most important 'natural resource'.
* my lovely friend Jess, whose sensitivity I have experienced first-hand, reflects with great insight here
* I introduced myself to Dora Dueck at the event. She did quite a lot of reflecting on her experience there, too. Read one of her posts here.