February 11thLocal Groups Work with MCIS Toward Reconciliation
Ecumenical working groups focused on engaging the call to reconciliation with Indigenous neighbours are active across southern Manitoba—and their work has been intersecting with the work of the Mennonite Coalition for Indigenous Solidarity (MCIS) in important ways.
Steps toward Reconciliation (STEPS) includes members of Altona Mennonite Church. With the support of the town of Altona, STEPS has worked with elders from the Roseau River First Nation to bring Indigenous speakers into the community and to create an Indigenous medicine garden in Altona. This spring they will be hosting an event called Sweetgrass Stage, with Indigenous drummers, dancers, and teachers.
“We continue to look for ways to connect and support the work of reconciliation,” says STEPS member Shaun Friesen.
This is also the orientation of the Truth and Action Working Group (TAWG), which has been operating in the Morden-Winkler area since 2013. Members include people from Morden Mennonite Church, Covenant Mennonite Church, Emmanuel Mennonite Church, and Pembina Mennonite Fellowship. Over the years they have hosted Indigenous speakers, held film screenings, and participated in sharing circles with elders from Roseau River and Swan Lake First Nation. In February they will be setting up an Indigenous exhibit at Morden’s Multicultural Winterfest.
Recently, members of TAWG visited Morris to help support a new group forming in that area, including representatives from the Lowe Farm Bergthaler Mennonite Church. The new group has the support of Morris’s mayor and are able to use space for free. This allowed them, for their opening event, to host speaker Niigaan Sinclair, professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba and author of the recently published book, Wînipêk.
The MCIS, a working group of Mennonite Church Manitoba, has been collaborating with STEPS and TAWG to promote the work of David Scott, elder and knowledge keeper at Swan Lake, in sharing about a “secret treaty” between some Mennonite settlers and Ojibwe people over 150 years ago (see image). A graphic novel was produced about this, created by Jonathan Dyck, and the MCIS has held several events over the past year to bring this past to light.
Let’s pray for the work of these local groups. Consider getting involved in local reconciliation efforts yourself. For more about the work of MCIS, see www.mennochurch.mb.ca/mcis. If you’d like to give to our regional and nationwide church work in Indigenous relations, see www.mennochurch.mb.ca/giving.