Truth and Reconciliation Week 2021

My husband's ancestors were Mennonites from Buck's County Pennsylvania who arrived in Waterloo Region in the early 1800s. The region was inhabited by indigenous people who farmed, fished, and hunted along the Grand River watershed. From a Mennonite historical perspective, the settlers and native people lived harmoniously. The Haldimand Treaty of 1784 granted indigenous rights to all land six miles on either side of the Grand River, from its source to its mouth at Lake Erie. Non-native settlers began living on the Haldimand tract as early as 1798 and our home is presently on this treaty land. Today, only 48,000 acres of the original 950,000 acres of the Haldimand Tract are occupied by Indigenous people, most of it south of Brantford ON at Six Nations of the Grand River. All native settlements in Waterloo Region were gone by the end of the 19th century and I rarely meet an Indigenous person, even casually at work.

The Healing of the Seven Generations centre is a non-profit organization in downtown Kitchener ON that works with individuals and families suffering from intergenerational traumas of the residential school system. At this time, volunteers are tending an everlasting fire that commemorates the children who died or were traumatized in the residential schools. Before he retired, my husband worked for a metal fabricating company owned by a "new order Mennonite family". One of the members of the family, Neil Snyder, used the equipment at the business to make this steel ring for the fire which is engraved with the words "Every Child Matters". I went there last weekend, sat beside the fire, and talked with the young man who was taking his turn tending the flames. I cannot imagine the losses felt by his community during the centuries of settler dominance. 

Conrad Grebel University College was founded by the Mennonite church and is affiliated with the University of Waterloo. Progressive Mennonites in our region have been leaders in peacebuilding, relief, and community justice initiatives. Conrad Grebel College is organizing a conference in 2022 called Indigenous-Mennonite Encounters in Time and Place. The website describes the event as "an academic conference and community education event scheduled for May 13-15, 2022 at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo "will offer stories and analyses of encounters and relationships between Indigenous peoples and Mennonite settlers from point of contact through to the present." 

The organizers have posted a video on YouTube which introduces Indigenous and Mennonite scholars, musicians and community members and they explore the history and current relationships between Mennonite and Indigenous communities. It is a little over an hour in length but is a compilation of several short segments that are very interesting. I didn't know that some Indigenous children from the Sixties Scoop boarded with local Mennonite families. I hope I will be able to participate in this event in May 2022. 

Red River College in Manitoba ON is hosting a number of online events for Truth and Reconciliation Week 2021. This link provides more information.