Indigenous Relations Working Group

The Apostle Paul left us with the mission of reconciliation!

What is God calling us to do as individuals, as localized church communities and collectively when it comes to nurturing conciliatory relationships with Indigenous neighbours?

How are we being called to contribute to the repair of harm done through our collective history of settler-colonialism?

The Mennonite Church Alberta Indigenous Relations Working Group was born October 5, 2024 and we are ready to support our MCA congregations as they journey in this through the myriad ways we all learn and grow!

Mennonite Church Canada called together Climate Action/Creation Care and Indigenous Relations Working Groups from across the country to meet in Pinawa, Manitoba, October 4-6, 2024. Twenty five people, including 7 from Alberta, answered the call. One of the first assignments, Saturday morning, was to answer the questions "How did your group start? How long has it been around? Who initiated it?" Mennonite Church Alberta can thank Bill Christieson for answering the "how long" question by writing down October 5, 2024 as the MCA IR Working Group start date.

Get to know us

Bill Christieson: I grew up in Vernon, BC. Vernon is located on the tradition unceded territory of the Syilx First Nations, and adjacent to reserve lands designated to the Okanagan Indian Band. No treaties were ever negotiated with the Syilx and they maintain that the land is theirs. Though we were in proximity, we had almost no engagement with members of the First Nations community. I now live in Calgary, and work as pastor at Foothills Mennonite, which is in traditional territories of the peoples of the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta. I want to honour the Indigenous peoples of this area and participate in practices of reconciliation.

My doctoral work was in Christian Community Development, which focuses on the equipping churches to address poverty and justice in marginalized communities. The purpose of my thesis project was to lead a cohort within a non-Indigenous congregation through a process of confronting Indigenous history in Canada and the church’s relationship to that history for the purpose of responding, in a good way, to the Indigenous call to reconciliation. In the process my knowledge and understanding of Indigenous history in Canada was transformed, and my responsibility for participating in reconciliation was ignited. I hope that my participation in this Indigenous Relations Working Group will help catalyze and equip the engagement within our Mennonite Church congregations.

Coreen Froese: I was born on Treaty 1 land (Winnipeg, MB) and spent some of my childhood on Treaty 6 land (Langham, SK). I now live on Treaty 7 land (Calgary). My connection to Indigenous relations started at a very young age as my sisters are Cree (from Treaty 6). My understanding and awareness of the discrimination and injustices Indigenous people face has been over my life, learning through my parents’ involvement in various committees, books, Indigenous educators and elders. In my work with the Calgary John Howard Society I am confronted with the over representation of Indigenous people in the Canadian prison system. I have also learned of the strengths within Indigenous communities through visual art, pow wows, music and stage productions.

I do my best learning alongside other people. My hope, being part of the Indigenous Relations Working Group, is that it provides an opportunity for discussion, listening and learning as we grow to understand the role we, as members of MCA, play in reconciliation.

Ruth Bergen Braun: I grew up in a community that was half Mennonite, half Mormon, on land formerly inhabited by Blackfoot (Siksika) people. I currently live in Calgary, Mokinsis, on Treaty 7 land. My passion for Indigenous relations began before we were even using that phrase. I spent my first summer as an adult doing Native Ministries for the Conference of Mennonites in Canada (what is now Mennonite Church Canada) and saw first-hand the inequalities in our country. That summer changed me and since then, when opportunities arose for me to develop reparative relationships with Indigenous people, I have committed to being a good friend. Over my life I have attempted to educate myself, to learn about Indigenous culture particularly that of the Blackfoot people on whose land I have primarily lived, residential schools and genocide, and about the injustices still inherent in our Canadian systems.

Suzanne Gross: I grew up in a Swiss Mennonite community in Goshen, Indiana, on land formerly inhabited by the Potawatome Indigenous tribe. I currently live on Treaty 6 land, in what is colonially called Edmonton, alongside Cree, Anishinaabe, Lakota Sioux, and Blackfoot tribes. My people are Mennonites from both First and Holyrood congregations. My passion for and connection with Indigenous relations came into focus in the context of the Truth and Reconciliation 94 Calls to Action and our Canada 150 anniversary year in 2015. In that year, I was blessed to have Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society as my teacher as we developed together activities under the name of Miyo-wîcihtowin, (Cree for “Good Relations”), to bridge Indigenous culture and sacred ceremony, and the newcomer settlement experience. I use these experiences to guide my Bridge Building work in the context of Indigenous Relations in local and broader Mennonite contexts.

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As a Working Group, we see ourselves not as event planners -- although we may be involved in events -- but as a resource for our MCA congregations as each congregation works out how it will answer the call to reconciliation.

Therefore...

The mandate of the Indigenous Relations Working Group is to connect, equip and resource MCA congregations to engage in reconciliation with Indigenous people and communities. This engagement will look different for each congregation. Participation with the working group will help congregations discern their particular engagement.

Connect – Connect MCA congregations with each other. Connect congregations with the national network through MC Canada Indigenous Relations.

Equip – Learn from one another. Host equipping events.

Resource – Curate valuable resources

Visit and bookmark our Resource page

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We are not alone!

We have friends and resources from across Mennonite Church Canada.

We have made connections with other Working Groups in Mennonite Church Canada and can and will draw on their experience and expertise. Our MC Canada Indigenous Relations Coordinator, Jonathan Neufeld, is a valuable resource for us and others in our nationwide church.

From the MC Canada website: Mennonite Church Canada's Indigenous Relations program works to support interested congregations and regional working groups through prayerful dialogue, sharing of educational and financial resources, and collective action. We help connect constituent communities to Indigenous and settler persons, teachers, theological and social justice organizations that can be of help, and who are interested in pursuing peace and justice together.

Watch for our graphic in the MCA Communiqué

This graphic was inspired by the ribbons on the talking stick used during the Climate Action & Indigenous Relations Collaboration Weekend. The blue represents the wide open sky of Alberta. The black/red/yellow/and white echo the colours of the Indigenous Medicine Wheel.

Take some time to learn more about the Indigenous Medicine Wheel.