Right Relations
Quick links to sections on this page:
Videos | LIRR Circle | Resources | Calls to the Church | UNDRIP | Truth and Reconciliation | Staff
Moose Hide Campaign
Moose Hide Campaign
Raven Lacerte, co-founder and ambassador for the Moose Hide Campaign, and David Stevenson, CEO, spoke to the Shining Waters Regional Council Living into Right Relations Circle about the nationwide campaign movement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians from local communities, First Nations, governments, schools, colleges/universities, police forces and many other organizations – all committed to raising awareness and taking action to end violence towards Indigenous women and children.
Video Duration: 57 Minutes
Relationships Take Time
Relationships Take Time
Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo, Emmanuel College and Victoria University professor and Special Advisor on Indigenous Issues, spoke to the Living into Right Relations Circle of Shining Waters Regional Council on January 26, 2022. “Even when you think you’ve learned a lot, there is always learning to do. Truth and reconciliation is not a finish line, it’s a journey, a process.” Quoting Esther Wesley, “your role is to listen, listen, and listen some more.”
Video Duration: 1 Hour 25 minutes
A Different Future
A Different Future
A reflection on the church’s history of residential schools. Produced by The United Church of Canada.
Viewer discretion is advised. This video deals with topics that may cause trauma invoked by memories of past abuse.
Video Duration: 12 minutes
Living into Right Relations Circle
The Living into Right Relations Circle of Shining Waters Regional Council seeks to bring good minds and good hearts to the church’s commitment to truth and reconciliation.
Meeting monthly on Zoom, the circle has widened over the past few years and now connects 20+ communities of faith and interested individuals in the regional council. A time for sharing is regularly part of the circle time when circle participants pray together, share what they are doing in their right relations work, share resources they have found helpful, hear about upcoming events, and learn from occasional speakers. Most importantly, the circle, being mostly non-Indigenous, takes the time to engage in deeper, respectful listening. When possible, an Indigenous United Church community welcomes the circle to its territory.
Education is also an important step in right relations. Some resource suggestions to deepen understanding and learning:
https://shiningwatersregionalcouncil.ca/right-relations/reading-viewing-lists/
The questions by former Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chair, Hon. Justice Murray Sinclair, guide the spiritual roadmap to reconciliation, “Where do I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? Who am I?”
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation-is-1-step-on-a-long-journey-says-murray-sinclair-1.6184561
If you and/or your community of faith would like to connect to this expanding circle of right relations, please contact regional council right relations staff support, Kim Uyede-Kai, contact info below.
Resources
Principles in the Search for Right Relations (PDF | 2 pages) – Six principles for building right relationships. These principles were identified by the United Church’s Steering Committee on Residential Schools in its report to General Council 38 (Wolfville, NS) in 2003. They were adopted by the General Council Executive in October 2003.
The Calls to the Church
Following the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, a group of Indigenous leaders (“caretakers”) in the United Church discerned a way forward for the Indigenous United Church. In July 2017 the National Aboriginal Spiritual Gathering in Pinawa, Manitoba affirmed the document, Calls to the Church, and it was approved by the 43rd General Council in 2018 and implemented.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
- Summary Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- Statement from Former TRC Commissioners 5 Years After the Release of the TRC Report
- They Came For the Children. A brief educational history on residential schools for the Canadian public, produced by Truth and Reconciliation Commissioners.
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 94 Calls to Action
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP)
Often cited as foundational to reconciliation UNDRIP is primarily about survival, dignity, and well-being. Although Canada did not initially sign on, we have since done so. Read more at CBC News, “What Does Implementing UNDRIP Actually Mean?”, November 2019.
Staff Support
KIM UYEDE-KAI
COMMUNITIES OF FAITH AND PASTORAL RELATIONS MINISTER; Intercultural Diversity, Anti-Racism and Right Relations Minister
Phone: 416-231-7680 | 1-800-268-3781
Extension: 6173
Email: KUyedeKai@united-church.ca
CURRENTLY ON SABBATICAL UNTIL NOVEMBER 1, 2024
Serves in: Shining Waters Regional Council
Location: Teleworks from her home in Toronto
Role: Kim encourages and connects communities of faith in their work and supports Indigenous ministries in their relationship with the region and promotes and supports racial justice.
Contact Kim about: Anti-Racism; Conflict Resolution; Covenants; Governance; Intercultural Ministry; Right Relations; Vision and Mission