Listening to Indigenous Voices - Facilitators and Organizers Gathering

On November 26, the Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice held an online exchange for Listening to Indigenous Voices (LTIV) organizers & facilitators. 

The online forum gave the participants an opportunity to share their LTIV experiences, best practices and post-LTIV activities they have initiated in their groups and communities. The hope is that the discussion will inspire all participants to engage their communities and organizations and help answer the question: "What next?”

Trevor Scott, SJ, opened the event with a land acknowledgement and briefly introduced the speakers: Joan Melanson, Truth and Reconciliation group leader at Holy Name Parish in Toronto and Monica Lambton, a LTIV facilitator based in British Columbia.

Trevor also introduced Angela Boyer from the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre and an Ojibway from Mississauga First Nation, who accompanied the group for that evening and was the group’s knowledge carrier. 

Joan started the sharing by speaking of her own LTIV experience and ideas they have explored in their parish as part of taking next steps. 

Best Practice: Go at your own pace

Joan spoke of the frequency of meetings and the level of engagement in their parish. At their parish, they met once a month and explored the entire guidebook over a year. She mentioned that there were 10-12 people who were always at the sessions. Participants from their parish came with various levels of knowledge which enabled them to learn from one another. She mentioned that monthly meetings worked best for them.

Other participants during the Facilitator and Organizer’s Training echoed Joan’s sentiments about finding a schedule that works best for their group. Sisters Karen and Maura from the Congrégation de Notre Dame (CND) said that they also met once a month, and that 60 sisters from their congregation committed to doing all the sessions of LTIV. 

Maureen from Ottawa shared that for them, meeting every 2 weeks was what worked best. She mentioned that they made sure each session was stand alone. In the event that someone misses one, it was not a problem for them to join again at the next session. She also mentioned that their group has gone through three full LTIV cycles, so those that missed a session in a previous cycle made sure to attend the one they missed in the next one.

 

Best Practice: Learning about History and Its Ongoing Impact

Joan talked about how those who participated in their listening circles came out with more thoughtful awareness of Indigenous and colonial history. She also mentioned that people realized that systemic discrimination against Indigenous People prevails to this day.

She pointed out that some Indigenous people are not comfortable being inside Catholic churches due to the residential schools. She shared a story of a church fair they had with some Indigenous artists in attendance who politely declined an invitation to join the parishioners for Mass. However, when Joan mentioned that there would be a smudging ceremony integrated within the Mass, the Indigenous artists felt welcomed and joined in the celebration.

 

Best Practice: Authentic Engagement

Joan spoke of the need for more authentic engagement with Indigenous people as an expressed desire in their parish. They have held LTIV sessions with Indigenous speakers, but later on decided to separate speaking engagements with Indigenous guests and the LTIV circles.

This desire to engage more was mentioned by several other attendees of the training session. Greg from Mississauga mentioned that their group went from ‘LTIV listening circles to concrete actions. He talked about the work their group, ‘Movement for Active Indigenous Allyship’ (MAIA), has done with Indigenous groups in Northwestern Ontario (Treaty Three Police) on sports and wellness and in Iqaluit on food security.

Sylvia from Whitby talked about walking the land with Indigenous people and how their group visited the Six Nations and enjoyed some kayaking and canoeing activities with them.

 

Best Practice: Debriefing, Sharing and Giving

Teresa from Lethbridge mentioned that it was important for them to debrief and to tell others about their listening circles. Sisters Karen and Maura explained that to spread the word about LTIV, they have been giving the guidebook as gifts, including to some Bishops. Sister Maura mentioned that one of the Sisters in their congregation realized they had been given a wonderful gift through LTIV and that they were being converted.

 

Best Practice: Make It Your Own

Anne from British Columbia mentioned their group developed their own supplemental materials, including PowerPoint presentations, to reflect local issues and the culture and history of Indigenous People in their region. 

 

A Challenge: Losing Momentum

Joan talked about a few challenges and opportunities their parish has encountered. She mentioned that they have been doing it for two years now, and they seem to be losing momentum. The level of engagement within the parish is just not the same.

This was echoed by Anne who said numbers have been declining over the years. Murray from Barrie talked about hearing lots of hope, curiosity and interest, but that there was inconsistency across the board. He mentioned that there are people who just want to move on and feel like they have already done their part by getting involved in LTIV circles. 

 

A Challenge: Commitment

One major challenge that a lot of people shared is commitment to the listening circles. People have busy lives and some people who want to keep going just don’t have time. 

Joan also shared her experience where some people left their Parish after the unmarked graves in Kamloops were put into Canada’s collective consciousness by mainstream media. She, however,  mentioned that some of those who left the parish continued to participate in their LTIV circles. 

A Challenge: Institutionalizing Truth and Reconciliation

Some participants shared the challenges they experienced in having a high turnover of parish priests which affected the continuity of programs in parishes, including LTIV. On the other hand, Maria from Kitchener talked about how supportive their parish has been which precipitated their diocese donating land to the Indigenous Centre in Kitchener. 

Support of parishes can be mixed so the idea that parishes be connected through its LTIV groups was suggested. There was also a question on how to integrate support for Truth and Reconciliation through the formation of religious men and women.

 

An Opportunity: Further Engagement

Joan sees opportunities in continuing decolonization and reconciliation through LTIV and activities inspired by it. At the very beginning, they had put together resources of reading materials and videos which are available on their parish’s website. They have invited a number of Indigenous speakers at their parish, including Karen Hill, Director of Ogwadeni:deo, a child welfare protection agency of the Six Nations Territory. In turn, Karen has invited members of their parish to come visit their land.

The idea of LTIV listening circles facilitated by Indigenous People was also brought up.

 

An Opportunity: Engaging Children and Youth

Holy Name parish also started a LTIV Children’s Group. Whenever their group would do an LTIV session, the children would come together to do an activity that was connected to the adults’ session. A lot of people were in agreement that children were key, including Anne who said that children are change makers. 

 

An Opportunity: Using Listening Circles for Other Social Justice Issues 

A number of attendees to the gathering mentioned using the listening circle process to delve into other social justice issues. Teresa mentioned that they have used listening circles to talk about immigration. 

 

Angela Boyer: Listening to Our Knowledge Carrier

In response to all that was shared that evening, Angela responded and provided feedback and ideas, based on her own unique lived experience. She talked about how the participants that evening and their communities can and should continue to be allies of Indigenous Peoples.

She began by saying that it is all about the unity of all brothers and sisters with Mother Earth. She underscored the need to create action and connection, and share our gifts with one another. 

She also talked about how through residential schools, Indigenous Peoples lost their culture, language and identity. She affirmed the importance of giving back to Indigenous youth, so that they can regain their identity. She spoke of how young Indigenous People easily lose their identity, especially those who live iIn the city.  

She also shared that people need to reflect deeply on how we can be allies. Since political and government leaders are not acting, she said that the involvement of each and every one of us is of paramount importance.

She challenged the group to be comfortable in this space that we share. She spoke for the need to brainstorm together and create a vision on how to connect with the Creator who gives us peace, with the world and within ourselves.

 

Next Steps: A National LTIV Network

Monica Lambton, a facilitator based in British Columbia, presented and shared ideas on the possibility of creating a National LTIV network as a means of remaining connected and to share ideas with one another. She talked about an initial meeting she had with other facilitators from Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia in February 2024. In this online meeting, the participants brainstormed about how the network could look like and what they hoped to accomplish: to talk about challenges they have encountered; to determine solutions to common issues; to explore next steps; and to offer mutual support.

They envisioned that a National Network could meet 2-4 times per year on Zoom, and also involve in-person regional meetings. They discussed that a resource section would be key, and that this could possibly be housed on the Jesuit Forum website. They also talked about other ways to stay connected and share resources online through platforms and apps like Facebook, Slack or Whatsapp. 

Some of the next steps and ideas they generated included coming up with a Western edition of LTIV, when to ask Indigenous partners to speak at sessions, quality control of facilitators, and looking at LTIV as a stepping stone for something more.

 

Concluding the Evening

The evening with LTIV Facilitators and Organizers was energizing for those who participated as it filled everyone with hope over the possibilities of further LTIV-related engagement within their communities. It was also comforting for everyone to know that a national LTIV Network is possible so that people can learn from each other and support one another.

As Angela said in her closing statement, she does not do this for herself but for her community. It is a message that the facilitators and organizers have listened and heard, and that they will take with them as they move forward.