Reflections by Rev. Joanne Anquist
This year we will be reviewing the book 52 Ways to Reconcile by David A. Robertson. According to his bio,
DAVID A. ROBERTSON is a two-time winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award, and has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the Writers’ Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award. He has received several other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, including being named Globe and Mail Children’s Storyteller of the Year in 2021, and for his work as a podcaster, public speaker, and social advocate. In 2023, he was honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba for outstanding contributions in the arts and distinguished achievements. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg.
The Epigraph to the book uses this quote by Edward Everett Hale: “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
So many of us wonder what we can do to support reconciliation with our Indigenous siblings. Robertson argues whether that is the right word, as reconciliation presupposes a working relationship has been lost, and he wonders whether that has ever been the case. Good point! But that is the word we use in common parlance so we continue to frame our living into right relations as an act of reconciliation.
Over the next year, we will highlight one of the ways we can begin to build bridges according to Robertson. They will be only short reviews of more intensive chapters. If you would like to read more thoroughly, I encourage you to buy the book – it is also available digitally.
This week, we have two, as there was no newsletter last week.
Week 1: Host a Movie Night. Indigenous folks are underrepresented in our media. Robertson argues that if we were to achieve parity of representation, then books by Indigenous authors should make up roughly the percentage of Canda’s Indigenous population, or 12%. The same could be said for television and movies. The reality is that there are works produced by Indigenous folks, but they are under marketed and not well known. In order to promote Indigenous work, and by the power of the market increase Indigenous offerings, we need to consume Indigenous media. Robertson suggests having a movie night where you watch a film which is created by Indigenous folk. Here is a list of films he suggests:
Smoke Signals – a comedy which takes place on the Coeur d’Alene reserve in Idaho. It was the first feature-length film written by, directed by, produced by, and starring Indigenous people to reach a wide audience.
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. It is the retelling of an inuit legend, and was the first feature film to be written, directed, produced, and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language. In 1998 it won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes. It also won 6 Genies and in 2015 was named the greatest Canadian film of all time by filmmakers and critics.
Blood Quantum is a Canadian horror film by Jeff Barnaby, from the Mi’dmaq people. In this film, white refugees seek safety on a reserve.
These are the 3 movies Robertson highlights. He also mentions the series Reservation Dogs, which I have enjoyed.
There are many other Indigenous films. Why not find one to enjoy this week?
Week 2: Start an Indigenous Book Club
Robertson argues that the foundation of reconciliation is stories, and our reconciliation actions must involve storytelling. In starting a book club, choose books by Indigenous people, about Indigenous people. Thankfully, there are many Indigenous authors publishing works in Canada. The genres and authors are many in this area, so it’s really a question of asking what kind of book you would like to read. Robertson writes [at pg 14, Kindle]:
I’ve written a lot already about how reconciliation is a movement that has countless moving parts; it is not only about the Indian Residential School System, although that will always, and should always, be the centrepiece. It’s about community building, which stories do. It’s about representation, which stories are also especially good at. It’s about addressing the historical and contemporary trauma of Indigenous people in colonial Canada, beyond the Indian Residential School System. There are stories that offer those teachings, but there is also learning about Indigenous people, families, experiences, and communities without looking through the lens of trauma. It might be there, of course, but it’s not what drives the story forward. It’s not the reason why the story is being told. It’s equally important to learn about all the beautiful things that Indigenous people are and what we can offer.
Robertson highlights Richard Wagamese’s book Starlight which was his last novel (and remains unfinished). He notes the book has trauma, but is not anchored in trauma.
Rather, it’s anchored by characters with agency or who develop agency, and the relationships that build between humans who happen to be Indigenous and non-Indigenous. Finally, it’s a story that displays all the characteristics of a strong, stereotype-breaking Indigenous character, in such a way that articulates, better than any novel I’ve ever read, the concept of Blood Memory. Blood Memory is when the lives and experiences of your ancestors live within you, woven into the fabric of your DNA.
There are lots of other Indigenous books – choose one that you’ll enjoy and that will bring insight into the lives of Indigenous folks and ways to build bridges.