Deepening Our Commitment to
Truth and Reconciliation

We are all called and responsible for becoming more informed and active Allies and Treaty Partners with the Indigenous Community as we strive to live more deeply our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.

Becoming Treaty Partners  Here you'll find suggested books, links, television (APTN and GEM CBC ) and other means that can assist your learning and deepening awareness as an individual as well as suggestions for initiating and engaging in activities in the parish or with other groups. WOLIWON - THANK YOU..

Other Links:  Indigenous Relations (@ Diocese of St. John)                                           Praying about Residential Schools - A Way of the Cross

June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada

During the month of June, you are encouraged to take opportunities to learn more about First Nations history and culture. There are many wonderful and enriching occasions to help support your journey of becoming better allies. Over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting information on upcoming Pow Wows and events in our region. Pow Wows are cultural celebrations of pride and gratitude and an opportunity to discover the rich traditions and cultural heritage of Indigenous Peoples. A reminder that June 21st is designated as National Indigenous Peoples Day, a day for all to come together and reflect on the contributions of Indigenous Peoples. Watch for upcoming information for this special day.

Sitansisk 25th Anniversary Pow Wow  June 13-15

Come and listen to the voices of the ancestors of the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) people as they share their culture through music, dance and traditional ceremonies. Enjoy drumming from the Northern Cree Singers and Show Time Singers along with other fantastic drumming groups, traditional Indigenous dancing, local cuisine, and Indigenous crafting from over 30 vendors! Everyone is welcome to attend.

The Pow Wow will be held at St. Mary’s Old Reserve, 534 Union Street.

National Peoples Indigenous Peoples Day

The Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI), Wolastoqey Tribal Council Inc. (WTCI), and Under One Sky will be hosting the annual Indigenous Peoples Day event at Officers’ Square on Saturday, June 21st from 11am to 3pm.
Festivities for the day include activities for kids, making it a perfect family day out. There will also be a number of vendors. Mark your calendars and take this opportunity to celebrate and learn more about Indigenous Culture! 

Oinpegitjoig L’Noeigati Pow Wow
July 5-6

Pabineau First Nation invites you to join them for their vibrant and heartwarming Pow Wow celebration to honor their heritage with traditional Indigenous dancing, singing, arts, crafts, foods, and contemporary entertainment. The venue will be held on the Flying Eagle Memorial Pow Wow Grounds at 1290 Pabineau Falls Road, Pabineau.

Welamukotuk Powwow
July 12-13

Traditional Pow Wow will be held at the Sir Douglas Hazen Park, 15 Wharf Road, Oromocto. More info to come.

We will continue to highlight upcoming Pow Wows in future Bulletins. For a full schedule of Pow Wows visit our Parish Website at stkateri.ca or click on the following link: 2025 Pow Wow Schedule

Report from the Diocesan Indigenous Reconciliation Fund Committee

- Letter from Bishop Riesbeck (pdf, 118kB)
- The Report (pdf, 1,018 kB)

This weekend of January 25 & 26, the Diocese will be taking up a special collection for the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund. The fund was established to accept donations from 73 Catholic Dioceses across Canada, fulfilling the $30 million financial commitment made by Canada’s Bishops in September 2021. As of January 1, 2025, the Board has approved 216 projects from across Canada, including nine from our Diocese.
Special Collection envelopes are included in your parish boxed sets and at the church entrances. You may also contribute on the Diocesan website (https://dioceseofsaintjohn.org/donations). Please consult the diocesan website for additional resources https://dioceseofsaintjohn.org/indigenous-relations

Open Space, Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice

The Jesuit Forum brings small groups together to reflect, share, and speak openly to help discern pathways to a more socially just and spiritually fulfilling world. The April 2024 issue, entitled “Discerning…The Confession of Genocide for Truth and Reconciliation”, is being provided as another opportunity to learn and educate us on our journey to becoming better allies.

Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick (WNNB) Ally Toolkit

As noted on the Truth and Reconciliation website: “for Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples to coexist peacefully, a relationship must be built on understanding and respect. That understanding can be a first step to better relations on a range of issues including environmental, spiritual, societal, and justice matters.”

The link below provided by the WNNB is a great resource on what it means to become an ally and how we can best accomplish this as individuals and within our Parish. Woliwon- Thank you.

https://wnnb.wolastoqey.ca/resources/

Wabanaki Healing Garden

The entrance is situated in the Fredericton Botanic Garden (Prospect Street entrance). The Healing Garden is the brainchild of Cecelia Brooks, a Knowledge Keeper from St. Mary’s First Nation, and her son, Anthony Brooks. "One of the things that Anthony and I talked about was the reconciliation process here in Canada, and that we truly believe that it's the grassroots people that will initiate that and carry that," said Cecelia Brooks. “Since time immemorial the Wabanaki People have lived in gratitude and nurtured reciprocity with plants and all other beings on this earth we know to be our mother. Sharing this harmonious approach to life and living beings is reflected in the Wabanaki worldview through our ancient languages, culture, dance, and song. The garden is an expression of our love and hope for the healing and nurturing of the earth and all her people.” For more information on the Healing Garden and guided tours click on the following link: https://www.wabanakitreespirit.ca


Solar Eclipse: Indigenous Knowledge

In this section, learn about Indigenous Knowledge on solar eclipses!
Content from https://www.discovertheuniverse.ca/eclipse.

Narratives of the YouTube Video:

   Total Eclipse Story, by Samantha Doxtator
      Mohawk, English, French

   The Hiawatha Wampum and a Solar Eclipse, by Melanie Demers
      Mohawk, English, French

   Tshakapesh Traps the Sun, by Laurie Rousseau-Nepton
      Mikmaq, English, French
  

Indigenous Authors

Glory Happening: Finding the Divine in Everyday Places

by Kaitlin B. Curtice (Potawatomi Citizen Band)

Glory Happening is a book of stories and prayers that remind you to take a closer look at your everyday circumstances. It is an invitation to live deeply into every moment with the expectation that something good will find you at the end of the day.

We Were Not the Savages

by Daniel, Paul, CM and ONS

A Mi’kmaq elder, author, columnist and human rights activist wrote the history of Indigenous people of Atlantic Canada from a factual, historical, Indigenous perspective. Since the first edition was published in 1993, Daniel Paul’s ongoing research confronts the mainstream record of Canadian settler colonialism and reveals that the mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples is not confined to the past.

I Lost My Talk

by Rita Joe, CM

Rita Joe was a famous Mi’kmaq poet who celebrated her language, culture, and way of life. Born in Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia and orphaned at the age of ten. The poem tells her childhood story of losing her language while in the Shubenacadie Residential School. Her powerful words explore and celebrate the survival of Mi’kmaq culture and language despite the attempts to eradicate it. Upon her death in 2007, the Globe and Mail named her the Poet Laureate of the Mi’kmaq people. “I was only a housewife with a dream to bring laughter to the sad eyes of my people.”

Braiding Sweetgrass

by Robin Wall Kimmerer. PhD

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants is a 2013 nonfiction book by Potawatomi professor Robin Wall Kimmerer, about the role of Indigenous knowledge as an alternative or complementary approach to Western mainstream scientific methodologies.

Braiding Sweetgrass explores reciprocal relationships between humans and the land, with a focus on the role of plants and botany in both Native American and Western traditions. The book received largely positive reviews, appearing on several bestseller lists. Kimmerer is known for her scholarship on traditional ecological knowledge, ethnobotany, and moss ecology. 

Out of the Depths

by Isabelle Knockwood

Isabelle Knockwood is an elder of the Mi’Kmaq Nation, author, and survivor of the Shubenacadie Residential School. She attended St. Mary’s University and in 2013, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law by Saint Mary’s University. Her booked is dedicated to all former students of the Indian Residential School in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia.

21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act

by Bob Joseph

In addition to being an author, Bob Joseph is founder of Indigenous Corporate Training Inc., a Master Trainer on Indigenous relations, manages a blog called Working Effectively with Indigenous Peoples, is a member of the Gwawaenuk Nation and is the son of a hereditary chief.