What
follows is a statement from Archbishop Fred Hiltz, responding to the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action # 48 on behalf to the
Anglican Church of Canada. The response was presented at Her
Majesty’s Royal Chapel of the Mohawks, Six Nations of the Grand
River on Saturday, March 19, 2016.
Let our “yes” be yes
(Based on James 5:12)
In response to Call to Action #48 from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I speak today on behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada.
My
heart is heavy with the burden of our many sins against the Indigenous
Peoples throughout Turtle Island. For every way in which we insulted
their dignity and took their lands, silenced their languages and
suppressed their culture, tore apart their families and assaulted their
children, I must never weary of saying on behalf of our church, “I am
sorry”.
My heart is humbled by the call to honour – in word and action – the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
With
many others, my heart yearns for that future in which – in the sight of
the Creator – we are walking together in ways that are good and holy,
right and just for all.
Contemplating what I would say today and how I might say it, I found myself drawn to the Letter of James and
his word of counsel, encouraging the church of his day to be steadfast
in its witness to the Gospel. This strikes me as good counsel for the
church of our day, as it seeks to act on decisions made at General Synod 2010 repudiating
the Doctrine of Discovery and endorsing the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Here we have a call to let our “yes” in
that historic moment be a resounding and continuing “yes”.
In renouncing the Doctrine of Discovery that drove colonial expansion – regarding “discovered lands”
as empty lands; and treating the First Peoples of the land as savages
to be conquered, civilized, and Christianized, our church described that
doctrine “as fundamentally opposed to the gospel of Christ and our
understanding of the inherent rights that individuals and peoples have
received from God”[1].
I
remain deeply committed to enabling our church to let its “yes” in
repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery be a resounding and continuing
“yes”.
While
much has been written about this doctrine, it is clear there is much
more education required if we are to understand the political and
spiritual arrogance inherent in it, and the force with which it was
upheld through strategies aimed at systemic cultural genocide. In
Canada, the so-called “Indian problem” was addressed through federal
policies of assimilation, forced confinement in Residential Schools
established by the Government and run by the churches. History has
revealed how flawed this policy was, how horrific the experience of some
150,000 aboriginal children and how lasting the impact of so much loss
in their lives – loss of identity, language, and culture; loss of
community and learning the ways of their ancestors, loss of “their own
spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies”; loss of
their dignity through assault of every kind – emotional, physical, and
sexual; and perhaps most profoundly of all the many years of lost love
“for the child taken and for the parent left behind”.
I
call on every diocese and territory of our church to ensure opportunity
for learning about the history and lingering legacy of this
doctrine. I commend the growing practise of beginning meetings
synods and assemblies with an acknowledgement of the traditional
territories and lands on which we gather and an expression of thanks. I
commend resources produced by the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples
and the Primate’s Commission on Discovery, Reconciliation and
Justice. I also commend the highly participatory Blanket Exercise
designed by KAIROS, and the Mapping Exercise designed by the Primate’s
World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) and the Anglican Fund for
Healing and Reconciliation.
It would be an oversight not to remember also that in the General Synod Resolution of 2010,
there was a clause requesting her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II “to
disavow and repudiate publicly, the claimed validity of the Christian
Doctrine of Discovery”. That request was formally acknowledged and the
matter referred for consideration by the Secretary of State for Foreign
and Commonwealth Affairs. My hope is that there be a response in time
for the commemorations marking the 150th Anniversary of
Confederation next year. I am therefore requesting the General Secretary
to write a letter of encouragement to that effect.
In
the same session of General Synod that our church repudiated the
Doctrine of Discovery, we also endorsed the UN Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples. Six years later, we are challenged by Call to
Action #48 to declare a plan for how we will implement that Declaration.
By
way of introduction, I reference the counsel given me by the Primate’s
Commission on Discovery, Reconciliation and Justice. It reads as
follows:
UNDRIP
must be approached and applied with a set of expectations that will
inform strategy, process, and practice…There must be time for teaching
and reflection that demonstrates those connections – guided by direct
input from Indigenous People. …We will need to have a gradual acceptance
and acknowledgement that Church institutions and members were involved
in serious violations of UNDRIP and core Christian teaching over a
number of centuries. The process of compliance to Call to Action #48
should be strategically planned to be progressive, on-going and
reflective.
Mindful
of this counsel, I believe the full text of the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples should be included in the Handbook of the
General Synod and regarded as a guiding document in our relationship
with Indigenous Peoples.
I
am requesting that on National Aboriginal Day, June 21 or the Sunday
closest there be a public reading of the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples in every parish across Canada. This should be
accompanied by appropriate prayers and ceremonies in keeping with
Indigenous spiritual customs.
I
am calling for reference to this Declaration, among others issued by
the United Nations, to be included in programs of preparation of
candidates for baptism and confirmation in our church, in keeping with
our vows “to strive for justice and peace among all people”. The Rev.
Riscylla Walsh Shaw of Bolton, Ontario is developing such a program and
it promises to be a very good resource. I am recommending that the UN
Declaration be the subject of learning for education days in parish
settings, deanery gatherings, diocesan synods and national councils of
our church.
I also call on our church in every circle of its life and work to an unwavering commitment to anti-racism training, in the spirit of equipping all of us to honour our baptismal vow “to respect the dignity of every human being”.
A
key resource for setting the United Nations Declaration in both an
historic and a present-day context is the timeline entitled “Indigenous Peoples and the Anglican Church in Canada: Timeline of an Evolving Relationship”.
It is the inspired work of Esther Wesley, the Coordinator of the
Anglican Fund for Healing and Reconciliation, in cooperation with the
General Synod Archives, Indigenous Ministries, Public Witness for Social
Ecological Justice, and Communications.
I
intend to hold the United Nations Declaration before the bishops of the
Anglican Church of Canada. By virtue of their office they are a unique
position to help us honour one of the clauses in the General Synod
Resolution to endorse the UN Declaration, that is “to encourage dioceses
and parishes to urge their municipalities, provinces and territories to
endorse the Declaration”. I will be inviting the bishops to share
initiatives in this regard at our meeting this fall.
In the interest of building genuine partnerships, I have issued a call for a special joint meeting of the Council of General Synod and the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples within the next year. We are learning that genuine partnership depends on knowing one another at greater depth.
Our National Indigenous Anglican Bishop has
written, “while each of the articles of the Declaration is important,
the guiding thread is the right to self-determination…The Anglican
Church of Canada has had moments where, coming close to such a
recognition, there have been steps forward towards realizing a new
relationship within this understanding…Fully complying with the UN
Declaration will mean more consistent and genuine progress toward
lasting self-determination for the Indigenous church, in such a way that
can nurture creative relationships of equity and mutuality across the
whole church.” I think Bishop Mark MacDonald is calling our church to
let its “yes” be a resounding and continuing “yes”.
Along
with the General Synod, two other national ministries associated with
the Anglican Church of Canada are also deeply committed to the UN
Declaration. One is the Anglican Foundation of Canada,
which is inviting proposals for funding for community-based projects
aligning with the TRC Calls to Action. The other is the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund and its commitment – enshrined in its 2015-2018 Strategic Plan – to deepen relationships with First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples.
The
Anglican Church of Canada has a long history of association with KAIROS
and its commitment to Indigenous Rights. In 1987, we signed “A New
Covenant”, an ecumenical pastoral statement that was based on the
principles, norms and standards now lifted up in the UN Declaration.
Today, through KAIROS the commitment is shifting to working with Indigenous Peoples to better reflect a nation-to-nation relationship.
I
draw this statement to a close with an announcement. In consultation
with the National Indigenous Bishop and the General Secretary, I will
establish a Council of Elders and Youth to monitor our church’s
honouring in word and action our church’s commitment “to formally adopt
and comply with the principles, norms and standards of the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”. It is my intention to
commission this Council for its work on Sunday, July 10 at General Synod
2016.
The
last word in this statement is appropriately that of our National
Indigenous Anglican Bishop. He writes “may the UN Declaration be our
prayer, dedication and discipline in the coming years. Perhaps, our new
Covenant”. I heartily concur. His word speaks to the patience and
perseverance we will need in making the Anglican Church of Canada’s
“yes” to the UN Declaration a resounding and continuing “yes” for all
time.
The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz
Primate, The Anglican Church of Canada
[1] General Synod, 2010, http://archive.anglican.ca/gs2010/resolutions/a086/
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