The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples Report
To the members of General Synod:
We respectfully submit this report to the 35th Session of the General Synod of the
Anglican Church of Canada and provide you with a review of our history and ministry, the
work of the past triennium and what our priorities are for the next triennium. Included
here is the Council’s philosophy and the theology in which the work is grounded. The
Council continues in its commitment to assist the church in understanding the vision of
the ‘Covenant’ and ‘Our Journey of Spiritual Renewal’. Underlying this
is the commitment to healing and reconciliation as we move forward, in control of our
destiny and redefining our roles. This means education and awareness is a priority for the
church at the grassroots
Indigenous people represent four per
cent of the Canadian Anglican population worshiping in 225 Anglican congregations whose
membership are all or have a significant number of Indigenous people.
The diversity of indigenous peoples in
our church is representative in the Council’s membership of 20 lay and ordained
people who come from sixteen dioceses having at least one Native Anglican congregation.
We now have three indigenous bishops and
of the 130 aboriginal Anglican priests approximately ninety percent work on a
non-stipendiary or volunteer basis.
For over two-and-a-half decades it has
been the philosophy and spirituality of indigenous ministry with the Anglican Church of
Canada “to strengthen and support the indigenous peoples of Canada, (Aboriginal,
Inuit and Metis) spiritually, socially, economically and politically in line with our
needs and aspirations by recognizing that the purity of the land base provides for all our
needs; and that as active participants in the life of the Church, the indigenous peoples
will strive for reconciliation with the Anglican Communion towards the common objective
that indigenous people have the right to self-determination.”
In 1969, the church ended a century of
running Indian Residential Schools. It also committed to a new relationship with
Indigenous peoples, heeding Charles Hendry’s call in his 1969 Report to General Synod
Beyond Traplines, for a partnership based on solidarity, equality and mutual respect.
In 1993 we accepted from the Primate,
Archbishop Michael Peers, an apology from the church for the Indian residential school
system that the church administered for over a centrury and ended in 1969. An excerpt from
the full apology states: I am sorry, more than I can say, that we were part of a system
which took you and your children from home and family I am sorry, more than I can say,
that we tried to remake you in our image, taking from you your language and the signs of
your identity I am sorry, more than I can say, that in our schools so many were abused
physically, sexually, culturally and emotionally. On behalf of the Anglican Church of
Canada, I offer our apology. During the century following Confederation, the Anglican
Church ran 26 of the 80 church-run, government-funded “Indian Residential
Schools.” Between 50 and 100 thousand Aboriginal children attended those Anglican
schools.
In Ottawa, November 1993, the Anglican
Church of Canada submitted a brief to the Royal Commission On Aboriginal Peoples at a
special consultation between the members of the commission and representatives of the
historic mission churches. This 105 page brief recounted the church’s historical
relationship, the change in direction set out since the ‘69 Hendry Report, the
ecumenical residential schools healing and reconciliation work begun in the early
‘90s, and our recommendations.
This past triennium the Council’s
sub-committee, the Residential Schools Advisory Group, has continued the support for
healing and reconciliation that was begun in 1993. We have responded to Aboriginal
community healing initiatives by providing approximately $150,000 in grants (1996-1998).
The previous Working Group with Anglican Video produced two videos: Search For Healing and
The Healing Circle with workshop booklets.
It has been the mission of indigenous
ministries to ensure that indigenous people have a place within the life of the Church; to
explore and pursue a meaningful way of sharing our cultural diversity in the Church; and
to reflect recognition and support of the development and advancement of indigenous
government. Our task through our various ministries is to share the vision of a journey of
spiritual renewal through prayerful dialogue in the good news of Jesus Christ.
Through three national convocations now
called the Anglican Indigenous Circle (1988, 1993 and 1997) we have reclaimed our identity
as Indigenous Anglicans, and begun to share and heal our pain from the residential
schools. These gatherings have been documented with the audio-visual medium of Anglican
Video (many thanks): Sharing The Dream, Dancing The Dream, and A journey begins...with a
dream. The book commissioned by the Council, Dancing The Dream, The First Nations and the
Church in Partnership was published by ABC in 1995.
In 1994, at a Partners In Mission
Consultation, Preparing The Way, we responded joyfully to God’s sacred call and
covenanted together to work for self-determination within the church. The 1995 General
Synod of The Anglican Church of Canada accepted and affirmed the Native Covenant adopted
by the Council pledging, “Under the guidance of God’s spirit we agree to do all
we can to call our people into unity in a new self-determining community within the
Anglican Church of Canada. To this end, we extend the hand of partnership to all those who
will help us build a truly Anglican Indigenous Church in Canada. May God bless this new
vision and give us grace to accomplish it.” The Council and Anglican Video have also
documented this historical journey in The Seventh Fire video and workshop booklet.
Internationally, since 1983, we have
been discovering and celebrating our common global spirituality, concerns, gifts and hopes
with the other members of the Anglican Indigenous Network.
With the Native Americans and
Hawai’ians we have begun to explore education resources through the Indigenous
Theological Training Institute initiated by ECUSA’s Indian Ministries.
The Mission Statement of the Anglican Indigenous
Network is:
We are indigenous minority peoples living in our own lands. We are committed
to the Anglican tradition while affirming our own traditional spirituality. We have
discovered that we have many things in common: a common spirituality, common concerns,
common gifts, common hopes. We believe that god is leading the Church to a turning point
in this history and that the full partnership of indigenous peoples is essential.
Therefore we pledge to work together to exercise our leadership in contributing our vision
and gifts to transform the life of the Christion community.
The Council hosted a gathering of this Network in Lethbridge, Alberta following our Circle
gathering in July, 1997 and met with Native Americans, Hawai’ians, Maori and
Aboriginal people of Australia and Torres Strait Islanders. ACIP members in attendance
found it to be very informative and affirming to participate in the discussions on the
issues of mutual concerns: self-determination, liturgy and worship, indigenous ministries
resources, education and training for lay and ordained leadership. We desire to expand the
Network and continue to invite other indigenous Anglicans in Japan and South America.
In Ottawa, November 1996, the Royal
Commission On Aboriginal Peoples released its report (five volumes) with findings from the
many consultations held across our country including recomendations to the Government of
Canada. The RCAP residential schools recommendations under the Public Inquiries Act, call
upon the government of Canada to establish a public inquiry instructed to undertake five
areas: investigation, public hearings, research and analysis, and recommend remedial
action by governments and the responsible churches.
Since early in 1996, we as the
ecumenical staff (task group) and other church leaders have met with the ministers, staff,
and special projects advisors of Indian Affairs, Health Canada and Heritage Canada, as
well as the Assembly of First Nations-Chiefs’ Health Secretariate, sharing with them
the churches’ common goals of healing and reconciliation from the legacy of
residential schools and assimilation efforts.
On January 7, 1998 the Hon. Jane
Stewart, Minister of Indian Affairs made a public response to the RCAP report and
presented ‘Gathering Strength’ Canada’s Aboriginal Action Plan. This plan
agrees that significant changes in the relationship between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal
people are urgently required and are committed to a renewal of government’s
relationship with Aboriginal people based on: recognizing past mistakes and injustices;
commencing reconciliation, healing and renewal; and building a joint plan for the future.
This plan has four objectives:
1) Renewing the Partnerships
2) Strengthening Aboriginal Governance
3) Developing a New Fiscal Relationship
4) Supporting Strong Communities, People and Economies
With this plan was a “Statement of Reconciliation’ Learning from the Past”
in which the Minister for Indian Affairs provided an ‘apology’ and the following
is an excerpt: “The Government of Canada acknowledges the role it played in the
development and administration of these schools....to individuals who experienced the
tragedy of sexual and physical abuse....who have carried this burden....who suffered this
tragedy at residential schools, we are deeply sorry.”
We continue to support the healing and
recovery from the injustice of the last century’s legacy of colonialism and sharing
in the joyful work of renewing our spiritual and cultural traditionsand moving toward
self-determination. The Council together with the Council of the North bishops, are
exploring new ways of working together to make the new Covenant real in the parishes and
congregations by demonstrating the equal partnership that we have claimed for our peoples
within the church.
Together with the bishops, the Council
continues to address the issues of spirituality, education and awareness in a variety of
ways. Our meetings together have been carried out using the Circle which provides a place
to share our experiences, questions and concerns in a safe environment conducive to
openness and honesty. We urge the General Synod to spend a day meeting in the aboriginal
way, not parliamentary way, where the process of consensus can be developed.
The Council encourages the support of,
and the creation of diocesan Native Councils and the development of their guiding
principles to facilitate the sharing and dissemination of information and resources. This
would benefit and encourage further training for lay and ordained as our ministry leaders
will need support in identifying their leadership development needs. We must affirm the
education and training now available and being utilized, and identify new education for a
new ministry.
We support Indigenous political
struggles for self-determination, recognition of land rights, and respect for Mother
Earth.
Our priorities for the next triennium:
- continue moving forward in our self-determination in the church
- promote education and awareness and resources
- continue in the healing and reconciliation
- spirituality of our being Native and Christian
- Anglican Indigenous Circle 2000