Indigenous

The Creator's Abundant Gifts

Rev. John Snow offers an Indigenous perspective on Epiphany season and the sharing of God's sacred gifts.

Fear Not

John R. Thompson of the National Indigenous Council asks us to hear what the Creator may be saying to us this Advent season.

Indigenous Circle Stirs Emotion and Action

St. Paul’s Indigenous Circle is an active group in a United Church congregation in Bowmanville, Ontario encouraging all to travel the rocky and difficult road to healing and reconciliation.

On Facing a Federal Election as Followers of Jesus

Mitchell Anderson reflects on how, as people of faith, we can cast a ballot for a better world where Indigenous people can flourish.

Our Voices Hold Power

Krista Forsberg, a 16-year-old Indigenous youth in The United Church of Canada, encourages people across the church to exercise their right to vote on election day.

Learning from the Land

Lori Ransom writes about here experience with Banff Teaching House, where Indigenous Elders and others are renewing and expanding perspectives through land-based learning.

Learning to Dance Together toward Reconciliation

Matthew Stevens writes that Acknowledgement of Territory Statements are just a beginning in the work toward Right Relations.

Rebuilding Our Whole Community

According to the Indigenous Calls to the Church, our Two Spirit relatives are welcome and a valued part of our circle. This act of acknowledgment fills me with pride because it is a step towards rebuilding our whole community from the generations of ignorance and mistreatment of Two Spirit… Read more

Note from Nora: Together on a Pathway of Healing and Respect

Occasionally in a dream I find myself in my childhood home. My family moved there before I was born, and my parents lived in that same house until well after I had moved out and bought my first house. My memories there are good ones, and in the dreams that take me back, my parents are still living… Read more

On Being Two-Spirit

The Rev. Evan Noodin Smith writes that, "Within the church there have been very few attempts to start acknowledging Two-Spirit people."

MMIWG: Bringing Safety for Women and Children

Quebec City, traditional territory of the Wendat people, hosted one of the last hearings of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). This particular hearing focused on the Justice System and Indigenous women. On arrival at the National Inquiry, I was… Read more

Poverty Is Made

As a child living in my First Nation community, I used to walk to the freshwater stream with my great grandmother to bring water home because we did not have running water. In the wintertime, it was harder to get water because the stream and the community water pipe were frozen. Instead, we… Read more

On “White Jesus” and Being an Ally

Author Aimee Gavin writes about teaching her son to understand colonization and its impacts.

September 30 is Orange Shirt Day

Orange Shirt Day is an invitation to everyone to wear an orange shirt to show their compassion for the survivors of the Indian Residential Schools and to say that all children matter. Orange Shirt Day began with Phyllis (Jack) Webstad’… Read more

Encountering the Indigenous Church

The GC43 Pilgrims learn from Creation and community, during their visit with the All Native Circle Conference.

Running for the Future

The wooden prayer cross has been on my desk since a trip to Bethlehem some years ago. The grain of the olive wood is beautiful to the eye, and the cross is shaped to fit perfectly in a hand for a time of prayer or contemplation.

When a team of colleagues from our office signed up… Read more

A Residential School National Monument in Every Capital City

Have you ever heard of the Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) Call to Action #82? Call to Action #82 challenges every province and territory to commission and install a “publicly accessible, highly visible, Residential School National Monument” in every capital city. The monuments are “to honour… Read more

Keeping Memories, Dreaming of the Future

In February, members of Keewatin Presbytery — the first Indigenous Presbytery in The United Church of Canada — gathered to say good-bye (see photos). They made the… Read more

Solstice Baby

Indigenous Day of Prayer reminds us that if we are to heal broken relationships, we must talk with one another. Let us begin today and never stop.

Why an Indigenous Day of Prayer?

In 1971, the observance of June 21 as a National Indian Day of Prayer was formally recognized by The United Church of Canada, at the 24th General Council. In 1982 the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations) called for the creation of a National Aboriginal Solidary Day.… Read more

Awakening Indigenous Offers Healing for Body, Mind and Spirit

The Healing Fund directs funding to innovative projects to address the ongoing impacts of the Indian Residential School System for survivors and their descendants. Awakening… Read more

Lessons from the Dark

Last fall, Aboriginal Ministries Circle and Indigenous Justice staff dined together in the dark at a Toronto restaurant called O Noir. O Noir draws its inspiration from Blindekuh, a restaurant opened in Zurich by a blind pastor named Jorge Spielmann. The idea is to give sighted diners an… Read more

At the Intersection of Gospel and Culture

Kenji Marui travelled to Australia as part of the Moderator’s Dialogue on Reconciliation to consult and build relationship with the Uniting Church in Australia, the Uniting Aboriginal Islander Christian… Read more