Since Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the term Reconciliation is a fairly common term used in government, faith communities, as well as businesses. Personally, I have observed how this Reconciliation is defined or actioned can be as varied as the spaces one finds oneself in.
For Indigenous peoples, many would view Reconciliation as a process of healing which is achieved through acknowledgement of past harms that detrimentally impacted Indigenous peoples’ education, cultures, languages, family & kinship structures, health, social capital, and economic prosperity. Reconciliation also includes apologies and redress for such harms in order to create a more equitable and inclusive society. Indigenous people also view this as something we are all responsible for and must practice – within ourselves, and in our communities, governments, education systems, places of worship and workplaces.
When I’ve entered faith-based spaces, I’ve observed Christians grapple with the idea of reconciliation as ministry and what that ought to look like according to 2 Corinthians 5: 17 - 20: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people’s sins against them [but canceling them]. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [that is, restoration to favor with God]. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us.”
So where might we stumble in this ministry? Rev. Benjamin Cremer wrote: "Jesus laying down his life out of love for the world rather than using all cosmic and political power to force the world to obey him is the eternal critique of any kind of Christianity that seeks to secure power in order to force others to conform to its will." I’ve seen much effort by some churches to replicate its own image in ministry than doing consistent self-check-ins on whether our actions, message, ministries truly reflect those of Christ.
Some years back I was listening to a podcast where Christian pastor, Mike Signorelli, spoke about identity and how exhausting it becomes to live outside of the identity Christ has given to us. While the focus of the discussion was on other identities we try to live into and how it impacts us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, I was reminded of the reconciliation fatigue that permeates various faith-based circles with questions of ‘when will we move on from this discussion of reconciliation?’
Let’s consider our answer in this context - that before God laid the foundations of the earth, he was already reconciling the world to himself through the cross. If we are his ambassadors and to mirror Him, it is the only conversation because it is what God is doing - always. It is not a storyline we opt out of. It existed before us. To answer when we might switch topics is to respond that it is the only topic (if you want to bring the Apostle Paul into it). Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is a reminder that reconciliation is as much our core identity as Christians and it is a lifestyle. When we focus on living into our identity of being true ambassadors for Christ, then we are closer to transforming this term into Reconcili-Action.
Knowing that we are moving towards reconciliation might bring encouragement. A report was published in 2022 by the Canadian Reconciliation Barometer focused on thirteen indicators of Reconciliation. These measure where we are in the shared journey of reconciliation and how deep of an impact each impact may have on furthering reconciliation efforts. As I scanned the report I became curious with the weight that was placed on each indicator. While I understand many individuals were interviewed and several documents examined to determine this weight, I found that I would allocate the weight of each factor very differently. This is by no means a criticism of the report as I am not implying my view is superior - it may be that the influence of each variable on the reconciliation barometer may shift - personally and collectively - depending on where we are in the reconciliation journey. This led me to consider how my personal values as Indigenous and Christian frame what I considered more influential. For me, this is very much shaped through story.
Within the Anishinaabe worldview, creation stories address fundamental questions of our existence and ultimately lead to a better understanding of who our Creator is. According to the Anishinaabe Knowledge Keepers I have sat with, Creation is a living library which allows humanity to observe natural law. In doing so, we also come to understand spiritual laws set out by the Creator. These observances not only give us more insight into our Creator's character and nature, but they set out principles by which we should live and guide how we should organize and govern ourselves (i.e. human law). Some have referred to this as animism or incorrectly assumed that Indigenous people are worshipping Creation. However, the idea that God's character is written into the Natural World is supported in the Bible, where the Apostle Paul writes: “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature.” ( Romans 1:20NLT)
One of the stories of how the world came to be can be outlined in what is known to the Anishinaabe as The Seven Fires. Through the telling of the Seven Fires, our story-tellers lay the foundation for the transmission of our values, and learning about our relationships, roles, and responsibilities. In what the Elders and Knowledge Keepers call our "foremost stories", we learn about "the beginning before the beginning" wherein we derive the principles and laws that guide how we are to live on Earth.
THE FIRST FIRE
In telling of the First Fire, our imaginations are taken to the spiritual existence where the physical universe does not yet exist. God, our Creator, desired to create a family. This is where the idea of humanity came into existence - to be created in His image and given a Free Will, or choice, to love Him as He already loved them.
The First Fire is described as Creator’s thought in the spiritual, which combined with the love in His Heart, caused the emergence of what we know as the physical world. We are told by the Anishinaabe story-tellers that this thought brought about certain sounds in what we know as the cosmos. Creator's initial thought never ceased to exist - it continues to expand into the present causing stars to collapse and new ones to form. The expansion of His original thought of family and relationship continues to cause the changes we see within the natural world and the universe itself.
For listeners, the description of the First Fire highlights the thin veil between the spiritual and physical worlds. Just as Creator's thoughts as Spirit could impact the physical world, the beginning of this Anishinaabe creation story underscores how our actions in the natural world have spiritual implications – good and bad.
What, then, can the First Fire tell us about Reconciliation?
We can measure reconciliation by INTENTION. In other words, are we being deliberate in the steps we are taking to see reconciliation in many the spaces we inhabit? More importantly, are they guided by love? Just as God’s intention in creating the physical world was guided by a desire to build relationships, are we also motivated to begin our journey of reconciliation with relationship in mind?
As believers, our actions must do more than checking off the ‘good neighbour’ box - we should not pursue reconciliation because it is trendy, or might make our image look good - or, even yet, to feel better about ourselves or to distance ourselves from the history we are standing on. If we look at Reconciliation as a tool to measure recompense, or as a justification of the types of evangelism that attempts to create mirror images of the Church’s relationship with God, and if we don’t view it through the lens of building relationships, then we need re-examine what brought us to the reconciliation path in the first place and whether those intentions will be enough to sustain its long, arduous journey.
THE SECOND FIRE
The listener of this creation story is left imagining Creator's thought about us as expanding outward forever into the darkness. We then arrive at the Second Fire where Creator determines there would need to be a means for things to return to us. He creates LIGHT (represented as a SACRED FIRE), and traces around it a Circle for WHOLENESS (representing the SACRED CIRCLE). The Circle, which some know as "The Medicine Wheel", teaches us about cycles and progression (how we grow), as well as cyclical patterns (seasonal changes). This separates Indigenous thinking from linear thought in that Indigenous frameworks are circular, interwoven, and interdependent.
The layout of the Sacred Circle shows how Creator caused a link between mind, body, spirit and emotion. We see this echoed in Psalm 139: 13: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb." (NIV). The Circle shows us how we are seen in the eyes of the Creator, with each part of us - mind, body, spirit, and heart - understood and recognizable when viewed in relation to the whole. Each part of our being is not considered separate, and many Knowledge Keepers have shared their belief that much of the adversity and illness we see in the world today is caused and perpetuated by the fracturing of these four parts from one another.
It is in the stories about the Second Fire that teaches us Onjinaywin (the Law of the Circle). This is a spiritual principle where whatever we put into the circle - good or bad, in generosity or in selfishness - returns to us in the same way multiplied. This applies to what we put in the environment, into relationships, our pursuits, and even ourselves. Onjinaywin goes beyond action, but is also embedded in our words. We are taught that prayer is not simply going to God to petition for things, but prayer is medicine - it is as necessary for a long life and our physical, emotional and mental well-being as is exercise, rest, air, water, and the food we eat. Prayer is also how we build and sustain our relationship with our Creator.
Onjinaywin has much to teach us on reciprocity and relationships. According to www.masterclass.com, there are three different types of reciprocity:
generalized reciprocity, which like altruism, is giving without expecting a specific outcome;
balanced reciprocity is an equal give-and-take; and,
negative reciprocity is unequal and (for obvious reasons) the least healthy of all three forms.
By this understanding, we would apply generalized reciprocity in those relationships that mean the most to us as it harbors a sense of mutual respect and connectedness. Here we are reminded that with the measure you use, so will it be measured back to you (Matthew 7:2, NKJV).
A Christian equivalent to Onjinaywin, according to my understanding, is in the concept of seedtime and harvest - or, sowing and reaping. It is a principle we see in Genesis 8:22 and its principle is applied in numerous other instances in the Bible. As with Anishinaabe teachings, seedtime and harvest not only applies to our actions, but also the words we speak. An example is in the story of Job, where having been afflicted by painful boils throughout his body, Job does not curse God but "Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job spoke, and said: 'May the day perish on which I was born, and the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’ May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it.'" (Job 3: 1-4, NKJV). What I find interesting is that current biblical scholars debate as to whether Job was a real person or a fictional character. Although it is generally believed that the Book of Job was written before Moses penned the first five books of the Bible, there is no indication of how old Job was despite his apparent stature as a prosperous man in the land of Uz. There is, therefore, no light that shines on the day of Job's birth, just as he spoke it.
How then do we apply the teachings of the Second Fire to Reconciliation?
Borrowing from the concept of seedtime and harvest, reconciliation can be measured by INVESTMENT, or what we sow. If reconciliation is merely a land acknowledgement that we cut and paste into an email signature, then what we measure out in terms of Reconciliation will be minimal at best. Words are important, but they ought not to be hollow, or worse, an exercise in moral exhibitionism.
In looking at investment through the lens of the types of reciprocity, I suspect some would view reconciliation as "balanced reciprocity" due to its emphasis on equality. While this is where we want to be in time, I would challenge this idea given the present and very real disparity in health, social and economic outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. How can Indigenous people be expected to give equally as those who benefit from intergenerational wealth and the unequal distribution of privilege? I am not saying it is wrong to have these things, but if as Christians we are not looking at Reconciliation in terms of generalized reciprocity, we are not pursuing Christ's own example of love and altruism.
Are we as Christians aiding Indigenous peoples to recover what was lost? Are we helping Indigenous people reclaim their languages (and not necessarily by buying it back from universities)? Are we supporting efforts that foster family reunification and Indigenous people returning to their kinship models? Do we support Indigenous people in their efforts to pursue self-determination and self-government? Are we committed in our ministries and in our work to close the gaps in social, health and economic outcomes faced by Indigenous peoples?
What we invest - as measured by effort, time and resources - ought to match our intention. It will determine what gets multiplied back for future generations.
THE THIRD FIRE
After creating Light, listeners to this creation story are told that the Creator saw that it (i.e. light) was good and determined that it should have a twin. Here, in the telling of the Third Fire, we learn about duality and "twin-ness", or maaminosewin (balance). This concept of twin-ness is not understood as something that is identical, nor is it merely an opposite, but rather speaks to the close tie or connection between the two. Anishinaabe Knowledge Keepers share that everything in Creation has a pair - day and night, sun and moon, sunrise and sunset, left and right, good and bad, masculine and feminine, etc.
This concept of "twin-ness" teaches us about relationships, and more specifically, guiding principles for harmony and balance. When explaining the connection that Creator set out through maaminosewin, story-tellers draw out the relationship between the Sun (giizis) and the Moon (dibikigiizis). They describe how each have their own "original instructions" to support and sustain life. They are distinct, but both move in the same direction as evidence of being in relationship. They have different responsibilities, for example, the Moon effects the movement of water and growth, and tells us when to plant, harvest, pick medicines, hold events, etc. Together, they oversee the Sky (giizhig) which influences the weather, seasons, climate, ozone, the rainbow, the Northern Lights, and so on.
In terms of human relationships, maaminosewin is a critical concept that can be applied through Anishinaabe teachings around marriage. In marriage, both individuals have distinct responsibilities for the maintaining their home fire (i.e. household). In preparation for the marriage ceremony, the 'Fire-Keeper' must light a fire unassisted to demonstrate that they are capable of sustaining their family at all times. Likewise, the 'Water Carrier' must bring water they sourced on their own to share with their partner. Although, these actions are more or less symbolic in a present-day Anishinaabe marriage ceremony, each are layered with teachings about the distinct roles and responsibilities within a relationship and highlights the importance of learning to live in balance with one another.
We are taught through these teachings that both fire and water are necessary and live-sustaining, but they can also be destructive when one or the other exists in excess. If the fire is too strong, then the water evaporates. If the water is too much, then the flame will diminish. It is, therefore, important in the couple's marriage to learn to live in balance, relying on one another's strengths, reciprocated kindness, equality and sharing.
Borrowing from the definitions of reciprocity, relationships are not always going to look like balanced reciprocity (or equality). I recall listening to a similar description by Brené Brown which illustrates how balance is intended for relationships. There are times when one party will show up and can give 30% and balance looks like the other giving 70%. On days, when life is brutal to both - maybe both parties only have enough to bring a spark or a drop - then a conversation is needed to find out how they support one another to get back to 100. So balance is not necessarily an equal split down the middle, but supporting one another at times to arrive at the whole. We can apply this to Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships, where allies may need to bring more (for a time), but determining what this looks like needs to occur respectfully and through much dialogue.
We learn in the telling of the Third Fire that not being mindful of relationship imbalances, or unwillingness to maintain balance, can destroy rather than build; alienate rather than include; consume rather than share; waste rather than conserve, and harm rather than heal.
How does this apply the teachings of the Third Fire to Reconciliation?
It is evident in Canada's history as a nation that there was, and continues to be, a stark imbalance in the Nation-to-Nation relationship between Canada and Indigenous Nations. This imbalance has proven to be more harmful than beneficial for one of these parties. In reality, to diminish or harm one party in the relationship ultimately has a detrimental impact on the other. Reconciliation, as measured through BALANCE, is not merely swinging the pendulum in the opposite direction whenever there is imbalance. This, we understand, would only cause more harm. Rather, what is required is a course-correction to strengthen and build up to the other so we learn to walk in balance with one another.
If we examine natural laws, or original instructions, Creator does not create twin-ness to merely have one duplicate the others' actions. Despite being distinct entities, their actions move in the same direction and not in opposition. The attributes of one serve to complement the other, and together they sustain and support life. Achieving maaminosewin will require re-learning the spiritual intent behind relationships - to compliment, support, sustain, etc. - and acting in accordance to these principles.
THE FOURTH FIRE
Although Creator is not limited by time and space, it was his intention to create us to live in this physical world for a time. This required a space to physically receive and hold Creator's thoughts for His Creation. The Fourth Fire tells of the creation of dimensions like time and physical space. As our Creator’s thought grew, more objects began to form and occupy physical space, therefore, maintaining balance in relation to other objects required movement. This caused the universe to begin to move, which is necessary for time to occur, with everything working together to maintain harmony.
Here in the lodges, Anishinaabe also learn about the Seven Sacred Directions (above, below, north, east, south, west, and centre) with each representing gifts from the Creator which is intended to bring to remembrance our Constitution as Anishinaabe peoples and framework for self-governance.
Some Knowledge Keepers teach of 32 directions, each representing a gift from the Creator; however, the underlying premise is that the seven components of our Constitution (land, people, language, history, governance structure, values and a belief system); the seven sacred teachings; the seven clans; etc. work together and move in harmony, and not in opposition.
Here we see that the world which humans were placed in is already governed by natural laws. Thus, we see that the blueprint for our world is not happenstance, but built upon agreements. These natural laws are what is known as the "First Treaties" that predate humanity - they represent covenants with the Creator that work together in harmony to sustain life.
Anishinaabe Knowledge Holder, Jason Bone, contends that we see this through the formation of this world, which consisted of AGREEMENTS among elements: ice held on to salt and interacted with fire to form an atmosphere, that lightning and the waters worked with the algae to become ferns, and later, the plants we see today. It is with this appreciation of how the original instructions were established and the relationships in the natural world that forms the Anishinaabe understanding for all subsequent treaties and agreements made in the human world.
In the numbered Treaties, the phrase “As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the river flows” is written into the agreement not because it was a cute phrase, but to underscore that Creation (the sky world, the earthly world and the water world) is written into this agreement as is the Creator. While the Western World may have not considered the natural world as additional parties to the Treaties, the wholistic approach to include Creation is not uniquely Indigenous. When the Israelite people are given a Covenant in Deuteronomy 30, God says: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!“ (Deuteronomy 30:19, NLT). Creation, which has chosen life, is witness to and impacted by the choices and actions we make.
We are reminded in Romans that He ”causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose for them“ (Romans 8: 28, NLT). We might look at this verse in a narrow human (or self) context, but understanding that the world around us operates according to a blueprint with purpose for all things brings into perspective His wondrousness and love for all that is created. Is it not, then, a call to love one another as His creation as well as all that He created?
How might we apply concepts in The Fourth Fire to Reconciliation?
While the Fourth Fire is more abstract, it can be understood in terms of measuring Reconciliation by how much TIME & SPACE we are giving to our original intentions for Reconciliation. This would be evidenced through movement forward and having all "Reconcili-Actions" working together, in alignment with Spiritual principles, and not conflicting with one another.
While I have not expanded in great detail on the components of how Anishinaabek understand our Constitution as a people, it is my belief that meaningful actions towards reconciliation will ultimately work to support restoration of these elements (land, people, language, history, governance structure, values and a belief system) back to Indigenous peoples: land back, families back, language back, history back, governance structures back, values back, and belief system back.
THE FIFTH FIRE
In the telling of the Fifth Fire, Creator develops a blueprint, or set of instructions, for the continuance of life - a seed - which contained within it the “potential to be.” Anishinaabe Knowledge Keepers explain how Creator took his seed-thoughts and shaped them into kernels containing the essence of life, so that when planted in fertile ground, they would reflect back to him every possibility of His creation. Earth, which is also seed-like, became the space to where He sent His thoughts with seeds being a vessel that produces the physical expression of such thoughts.
This understanding of creation holding instructions is also mirrored in the Genesis Creation Story. Genesis 1: 11 - 12 states: “Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good“ (NIV). He also places the Sun and Moon in the sky and instructs them to govern over different part of the day and says “let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years“ (Genesis 1: 14, NIV). Subsequently, when God makes all living things, His instructions are to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1: 22 - 24).
So how does this apply to Reconciliation?
To measure Reconciliation in this context is to carry the seed analogy further as the Bible tells us that we are known by our fruit (Matthew 7: 15 - 20). Our actions around Reconciliation are revealed in their EXPRESSION, in that the outcomes ought to carry out their intended purpose and have a beneficial impact for healing and right-relationship.
Additionally, seeds are engineered by the Creator to replicate their purpose. By this standard, Reconcili-Actions ought not be transactional or so-called "one-and-done". Their impact should have lasting benefits for ourselves, to the world around us, and subsequent generations.
THE SIXTH FIRE
The arrival of LIFE on earth is beautifully described by Anishinaabe Knowledge Keepers as "mother dressed" and tells of the Sixth Fire. Out of the Creator's original intentions, He created a beautiful place and made His thoughts have physical expression. The Creator's signature is in everything. The creation of Earth and life upon it is the ultimate act of His love and kindness.
What I find amazing about the Genesis story of Creation is that every day in Creation is insight into how we (as humans) are biologically made. Just as in the telling of the Seven Fires, it shows how the Creator worked intentionally and towards His intention. For example, neurons in our body which help form our thoughts look similar to seedlings. So not only did God place us in a garden, but he placed a garden within us. When the Elders speak of the term gidinawendimin (meaning we are all related), it emphasizes interconnection that is already written into ourselves and the world around us.
Anishinaabe gikendaasowin (our original way of knowing) offers insights into complexity and a systemic view of life based in kinship with each other and the natural world. It offers important lessons in respecting all that is around us, and as we are all interconnected for survival, we need to balance our footprint as we move through life together. We do this by observing inaakogigewin, or natural laws, which causes us to live in harmony, to respect each other, and live our lives according to our unique ways of being. To this day, animals respect one another in this harmony, and teaches us this worldview of extended family.
What does The Six Fire reveal about Reconciliation?
Are the steps that we are taking towards Reconciliation taking into consideration INTERCONNECTION? Or, are we only looking at it in terms of our human existence? The Creator did not forget about the rest of His Creation with the arrival of humanity (although we might have kept Him very busy thus far). When Indigenous people emphasize our relationship with the environment or the land, it is not worship, but to act according to, in consideration of, and respect for the interconnectedness of our world is how we can worship the One who created it. We must, therefore, measure our actions by the layers or ripples they have as they are rarely, if at all, linear.
THE SEVENTH FIRE
From Creator's first thoughts about us to the final image of mankind in creation, we finally arrive at the creation of Anishinaabe as the Seventh Fire. Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, David Daniels, explains that the word "Anishinaabe" refers to all human beings as the word to describe us is actually a sentence in Anishinaabemowin which can be loosely translated as "Creator lowered human beings to the earth."
We are told that the Creator took the earth to shape our physical being with humanity dressed in different skin tones as the earth itself. Then, taking His own thoughts, "as many as the stars in the universe," fashioned the first human being with the ability and capacity to think like Him. With his breath, the Creator blew into Anishinaabe life. And so, being made of this earth, a physical vessel vested with mind, heart, and spirit, Anishinaabe, the first human being, was lowered to the earth. The process of forming humankind is also described in the book of Genesis: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7, NKJV).
The significance of humans being made of earth in the telling of the Seventh Fire is arguably lost in translation. The term 'Medicine' in Anishinaabemowin is Mishki'ki, when broken down means Strength (from the root 'Mish') and Earth (from the word 'Aki'). Being of the earth teaches us that we are medicine; Creator in giving us our identity and purpose means that we were each chosen to be placed here at a specific time in history because we are what is needed at this time and for the future. Teachings embedded in the Seventh Fire encourage us to ask ourselves who we are, as well as who we are becoming (i.e. how are we being medicine for a world in need of healing?).
How do we apply teachings of The Seventh Fire to Reconciliation?
Many non-Indigenous people speak of Allyship when looking to embody Reconciliation in the spaces they occupy, but I much prefer measuring Reconciliation by the extent to which we all act as GOOD ANCESTORS. Just as the Creator was forward thinking in carefully preparing a space for humankind, we also have to take on the mind of the Creator in thinking about how our actions impact the 7 generations to come. This means having the same love and intention that He had, but also requires us to put in the labour and effort now so those that come after us will not be burdened with the work we chose to ignore.
The stories of the Seven Fires bring us to the present, or what Anishinaabe story-tellers refer to as the THE EIGHTH FIRE. We are reminded that we are not separate from the past and our arrival at this point in time is no coincidence. It is both a gift and a burden that Reconciliation is happening in this lifetime. Where we are at now is what I believe my Ancestors so earnestly prayed for – we are bearing witness to answered prayers of apologies, acknowledgement of genocide, rejecting racist doctrines of superiority, and the multiplicity of Indigenous voices adding to this Nation’s narrative around reconciliation and social justice. We are sitting in a moment in history where future generations will examine how we all answered the call to change how we learn, live and walk together.
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