Indigenous / Settler Relations
Order of Worship
In October Hannah and Adrian attended a seminar held at Five Oaks Education and Retreat Centre in Paris Ontario. Today’s service is intended to share the very difficult and sometimes horrifying topic introduced to us that weekend.
Meditation Audio: Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace)
Opening Prayer
VT#401 Open The Eyes of My Heart Lord
Prayer
Welcome & Introduction to the service:
A Land Acknowledgement: Reconciliation Style Written by Stephanie Hill (Mohawk Elder)
Leader: I acknowledge the existence of Turtle Island.
People: I acknowledge that land ownership is a colonizer concept.
Leader: I acknowledge that many nations pre-dating colonizer contact lived on these lands.
People: I acknowledge that these nations lived in relationship with the land.
Leader: I acknowledge that the nations traditionally living on these lands had complex and effective political structures.
People: I acknowledge that they were smart and possessed scientific knowledge based on thousands of years of observational research.
Leader: I acknowledge that at no point prior to contact did the nations of Turtle Island need to be saved or "civilized".
People: I acknowledge that the british, french, spanish , american and canadian governments destroyed the families and nations of Turtle Island in ways that should sicken any human with a soul.
Leader: I acknowledge that every canadian has been brainwashed by the education system. The education system has been spouting half-truths and outright lies for generations now.
All: I commit to learning and listening. (Pause)
All: I commit to hearing truths that are ugly. (Pause)
All: I commit to exploring and assessing my own defensiveness.
People: I commit to a better world.
Leader: I commit to being part of a society that will create a roadmap to reconciliation.
(Projected) Song: “The Earth Does Not Belong to Us”
Scripture Verse Exploration
Mat 28:18-20, 1Tim 2:1-6, Acts 17:26, 2Tim 3:16, Acts 2:38
VT#682 Lord Listen to your Children
The Doctrine of Discovery
VT#682 Lord Listen to your Children
Discussion Questions:
The Bible and Christianity have been used as a tool for colonization for as long as they have existed. How do we justify our faith and its role in colonization?
What is our role in the story of colonization? How are we seen by those that have been oppressed in the name of Christ?
How do we begin to decolonize Christianity? What are some ways we can practice ‘Decolonization’? What would be your first step?
VT#163 Amazing Grace
Closing Prayer
VT#412 My Soul Cries Out
Go in peace
Colonialism:
is defined as “control by one power over a dependent area or people.” It occurs when one nation subjugates another, conquering its population and exploiting it, often while forcing its own language and cultural values upon its people. By 1914, a large majority of the world’s nations had been colonized by Europeans at some point.
Decolonization:
-restore the Indigenous world view
-restores culture and traditional ways
-replaces Western interpretations of history with Indigenous perspectives of history
Decolonization is about shifting the way Indigenous Peoples view themselves and the way non-Indigenous people view Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Peoples are reclaiming the family, community, culture, language, history and traditions that were taken from them under the federal government policies designed for assimilation.
Indigenization:
-recognizes the validity of Indigenous worldviews, knowledge and perspectives
-identifies opportunities for indigeneity to be expressed
-incorporates Indigenous ways of knowing and doing
-requires non-Indigenous people to be aware of Indigenous worldviews and to respect that those worldviews are equal to other views.
Indigenization is about incorporating Indigenous worldviews, knowledge and perspectives into the education system, right from primary grades to universities.