{"id":732,"date":"2019-04-08T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T18:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cjscf.org\/?p=732"},"modified":"2020-09-27T15:48:39","modified_gmt":"2020-09-27T21:48:39","slug":"editorial-2018-a-new-way-forward","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cjscf.org\/editorials\/editorial-2018-a-new-way-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Way Forward 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Canadian Centre for Scholarship and the Christian Faith represents a wide range of theological perspectives. This guest editorial only represents the personal\/academic views of the author.<\/span><\/p>\n

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THE CHRISTIAN FAITH:<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

A New Way Forward<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"So I\u2019m a white dude. Ironic, I know, given the title of the article. I really struggled with the appropriateness of me writing this piece. One indigenous friend said it was \u201cokay\u201d to do so but he did chuckle at the irony of it all. So you\u2019re still stuck with the white dude (again!).<\/span><\/span>
\n\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Two of my favorite places in the world are Tofino British Columbia and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in southern Alberta. I have visited them many times. Both sites have been the home to indigenous people for over 10,000 years. That\u2019s almost twice as long as ancient Egypt. I remember a wonderful experience with a young indigenous guy on the wharf of Tofino. He was talking with some tourists who were there and was saying how much joy he had being an indigenous person\u2014relishing the most beautiful creation around him as his home!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Dances with Wolves<\/em> in 1990 also made a huge impact on me. It made me think how beautiful indigenous culture is and how we Europeans messed it up. Later in the 90s, while doing my doctorate at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, I remember a very vivid memory of me standing the cloister looking at a poster for a North American indigenous art exhibit being held there. I remember feeling so guilty, and so a part of the problem, that I thought I should just stay in my ancestral homeland of Scotland. But without sounding like a psychological rationalization, my blond hair and blue eyes betray the fact that I\u2019m really the product of 9th<\/sup> Century Viking raids into Scotland. Genesis 10, the so-called Table of Nations which provides the background for the nation of Israel, also makes the point that none of us are of pure genetic or ethnic uniformity. We are all migrants of mixed genetics and ethnicity\u2014and that\u2019s a good thing! This includes the fact that American (North, Central and South) indigenous people are from other geographical and ethnic backgrounds themselves. However, this in no way mitigates the inherent right of first peoples to this land. I also realized that there\u2019s no \u201cgoing back\u201d and that we are all stuck with a complex situation. This is a point that my indigenous student will make later when I discuss his MA thesis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Colonialism is a complex matrix of inter-related ideas such as philosophy, politics and economics frequently embedded in law eg the Indian Act. At the core of colonialism, in my view, is pride. It is a veritable \u201cTower of Babel\u201d. It\u2019s the arrogance and pretentiousness that one culture is superior to another\u2014and therefore presumptively asserts its dominance over other people groups\u2014while stealing their land and resources. This was often possible based on some form of technological advantage eg gun power. One should note, however, that Charles Mann in his book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus<\/em>, has in recent years challenged this notion of technological superiority eg firearm targeting was not very accurate during this period. Mann further argues that European colonization had more to do with the \u201cperfect storm\u201d of circumstances\u2014including plague and famine\u2014which allowed Europeans to prevail over and against overwhelming population odds. In other words: There was no \u201csuperiority\u201d involved but simply opportunity. Colonialism goes hand-in-hand with imperialism (sometimes these terms are used inter-changeably). My definition of imperialism is both simple yet essential: \u201cImperialism is killing other people and stealing their stuff\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

While I understand that some scholars like the African biblical scholar Musa Dube at Botswana University just view the Bible as colonizing, I view the problem as arising from the hermeneutics (interpretive strategies) applied to biblical texts eg colonial readings of biblical texts. This perspective can only entangle us in the past and provide no real way forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

Postcolonialism is a theoretical perspective which \u201cunmasks\u201d and seeks to dismantle colonial power structures. I was first exposed to postcolonial readings of biblical texts at Glasgow University. Specifically I was exposed to South African biblical scholars who employed postcolonial readings of Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah to overthrow and deal with apartheid. In 1994, I was the secretary for the conference on \u201cThe Bible in Africa\u201d (another irony). One black South African scholar made a presentation on a \u201cPostcolonial Reading of Chronicles\u201d. In that presentation, he demonstrated how a postcolonial reading of Chronicles may facilitate \u201ctruth and reconciliation\u201d in South Africa. Twenty years later, I was able to suggest to my Master of Arts student, Charles Muskego, that he could do a similar thing as by using postcolonial readings in relation to indigenous issues here in Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles is Dene Suline from Cold Lake Alberta. He wrote a brilliant MA thesis with me last year entitled Asserting Postcolonial Identities: Cross-Textual Readings of Ezra-Nehemiah and Indigeneity in Canada<\/em>. There is no way that Charles could have written this thesis without his training as a biblical scholar and<\/em> his three years of experience with Indigenous Relations in the Government of Alberta. The thesis is a masterpiece, in my view, of how biblical studies and theology can have actual, practical effects in the so-called \u201creal world\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles Muskego and Bill Anderson at CUE<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Like Charles in his MA thesis, I am not going to recount all the horrific things that have happened to indigenous people\u2014because all of that has been well-documented\u2014and because we want to move forward. However, moving forward still requires a realistic acknowledgement of the past in order to deal with it and its fallout. Colonialism is what caused the mass suffering of indigenous people here in Canada, the Americas, and around the world eg Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n

I find two amazing things about Charles. One, that he isn\u2019t more angry with the past than he is. I think this is because of his Christian faith, realism, and determination to build a better future for his people here in Canada. But one can most certainly detect his annoyance at the Indian Act and Bill C-31 in places of his thesis. Secondly, I find it amazing that Charles did not abandon his Christian faith. Indeed, I\u2019ve had the privilege to marry him and his wife, and baptize their children. Moreover, I find it astonishing, given the abuse that indigenous people have suffered via colonialism (and the wrongly applied version of Christian religion), that 65% of indigenous people in Canada remain Christian. This is almost twice the national average.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are some other surprises in Charles\u2019 thesis. He goes even so far as to be open and fair with the missionary movement\u2014without defending their injustices. He views them as sincere but naively used for colonial purposes and agendas here in Canada by political powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles also gained insight into the complexities of indigenous issues by researching and writing his thesis. There are a plethora of first nations in Canada\u2014and the issues are massively complex\u2014with no \u201cone size fits all\u201d answer. So it takes this kind of research to analyze and sort the issues and problems out in order to come up with working solutions. This will be the focus of Charles\u2019 PhD when he gets around to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The number one purpose of Charles\u2019 MA thesis is to provoke a \u201cnew way of thinking\u201d about the past, problems and issues. The significance of this MA thesis is precisely this: It shifts the focus from a negative past to a neutral present for a positive future<\/em>. I\u2019m sure that that positive future depends on a realistic perspective on the past which will give indigenous people a positive future through government policy guided by indigenous peoples\u2019 asserting their self-identity and self-determinism. Again this is likely to be the focus of Charles\u2019 PhD work.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Canadian Centre for Scholarship and the Christian Faith conference for 2018 is on \u201cIndigenous People and the Christian Faith: A New Way Forward\u201d. I believe that this is a very significant conference for so many different reasons. Like Charles\u2019 thesis, and without denying nor trying to mitigate a horrific past, we are stuck unless we move past the past. This conference acknowledges the real past but focuses on a \u201cnew way forward\u201d<\/em>.<\/span>
\nWe welcome all people groups to come and learn and think about how we can all work towards that goal\u2014with love, forgiveness, truth and reconciliation. The conference is an opportunity to dream big and figure out ways to make it happen!<\/span><\/p>\n

Our keynote speaker is Dr Cheryl Bear from the Nadleh Whut\u2019en First Nation in British Columbia. She is a faculty associate with Regent College in Vancouver. She and her family, in a camper, have visited over 600 indigenous communities in both the USA and Canada. She is an award winning musician too. She will combine her scholarly and musical insight into how indigenous people can heal from the past, act today, and have a bright future with Christian faith. She has a passion to bring the gospel to indigenous people in culturally relevant ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

We will also have an exhibit and presentation by Alexander Angnaluak. Alex is Inuit and the Governor General of Canada\u2019s recipient for the National Aboriginal Role Model award. He has received many other awards for his life and artwork\u2014including the Historica Canada Indigenous Art Award for his impression of \u201cHow the Narwhal Came to Be\u201d. The conference will also feature the artwork of many other indigenous artists. There will be lots of music and the conference will open with indigenous Christian worship.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Please register at https:\/\/goo.gl\/imNeSJ<\/a>. There are a limited number of Clergy Grants to attend free at http:\/\/www.ccscf.org\/conference\/clergy-grants\/<\/a> and Student Grants at http:\/\/www.ccscf.org\/conference\/grant\/<\/a>. See you 4th<\/sup>-5th<\/sup> May 2018 here at Concordia University of Edmonton!<\/span><\/p>\n

Rev. Dr. Bill Anderson<\/strong> is Professor of Religious Studies at Concordia University of Edmonton and the Director of the Canadian Centre for Scholarship and the Christian Faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

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