APRIL 2019 3

“BURY THE HATCHET”

The practice of buryinghatchets by First Nations(i.e. Indigenous) chiefs to

seal a peace agreement was notedby settlers in the 17th century. InThwaite’s Jesuit Relations (1644)we read of chiefs who “Proclaimthat they wish to unite all thenations of the earth and to hurlthe hatchet so far into the depthsof the earth that it shall neveragain be seen in the future.” Theexact phrase, bury the hatchet,occurs for the first time in TheHistory of the Five Indian Nationsof Canada (1747). Burying the hatchetmakes for

an excellent working definitionof reconciliation (makingpeace) and forgiveness (buryingthe weapons of violence andvengeance) and echoes the words of Christ, who said,Blessed are the meek; they shall

inherit the land. Blessed are themercy; they shall receive mercy.Blessed are those who hunger andthirst for justice; they shall besatisfied. Blessed are the peace-makers; they shall be calledchildren of God.—Matthew 5:6,9my translation.

“BRIGHT NEW DAY”I met Chief Robert Joseph on thevolatile grounds of St. George’sResidential School, one of manynotorious religious boardingschools where countlessCanadian Indigenous childrenhad been taken (from theirfamilies), stripped of their cultureand language, malnourished,

beaten and molested as part ofmy country’s greatest humanrights crime.

Now, the Lytton First Nationwas hosting 60 representativesfor a “Bright New Day” workshopon the traditional territories ofthe N’Laka’Pamux Peoples. Halfthe group were from Aboriginalcommunities. The rest of usrepresented governments andbusinesses with a stake inbuilding relationships with FirstNations communities. I wasthere with my friend, CharlesLittledale, a Hydro consultant.

Our major task was to discusswhat “reconciliation” means inthe aftermath of that cruel andtoo-recent past. Although I am a

trained theologian, I had no ideahow intensely I was about to be“schooled.” I hope that sharingmy “Bright New Day” experience(with Chief Joseph’s blessing) willhighlight implications of theCross for reconciliation and thetrue nature of forgiveness.

“RECONCILIATION” DEFINED“Reconciliation comes fromaddressing a point of pain or silence or frustration betweencommunities, and addressing ittogether. Bringing people face-to-face to work through these issues isthe best way to create lastingchange and a future that will bebetter for all.” —Chief Robert Joseph

“Bury the Hatchet” Brad Jersak

"Blessed are the peacemakers.They will be called Children of God.” —Jesus of Nazareth

During our “Bright New Day” workshop, manynon-Indigenous reps typically proposed definitionsof reconciliation but the First Nations membersstarted with personal stories of heartache. To them,reconciliation involves real-life struggles, dealingwith a host of painful personal and public issuesthat take great courage to recount. Many had beenresidents of St. George’s, where they enduredisolation from family and culture, all manner ofdiscrimination and abuse, hunger and illness.

Others spoke of tragedies involving domesticviolence, substance abuse and broken families.On the public level, they reminisced about thedays of roadblocks, tensions around forestry andfishing, and the unresolved matter of rights andland titles.

When emotions showed and tears flowed,these were always acknowledged and honoredwith a hug from one of the elders.

Personalizing our understanding of andcommitment to reconciliation was instructive,

cathartic and yes, included “cringe-moments.”Facilitators created a healthy place for authenticvulnerability. People expressed their hurts andanger without being shut down or tuned out.Some, unable to say the words “reconciliation” or“forgiveness” at first, were finally able to voicetheir story.

We weren’t merely rehashing old wounds—genuine healing was happening. Nevertheless, Iconfess to some despair (was it theirs or my own?)when I realized how deep and old and raw thegrievances were.

On one hand, several First Nations peopledescribed how they were only able to findhealing and reconciliation after choosing toforgive and “leave that old sh*t behind.” But oneprecious elderly woman, whose entire life hadbeen reduced to ruins from a young age, definedreconciliation as litigation, the vow never toforgive and a wish that her offender be“mangled.” For her, it was offensive and ludicrousfor someone to say, “Just forgive and move on.”

An iconic Canadian politician, IonaCampagnola, responded by validating her pain:“Some things are unforgivable.”

I wondered to myself, Can reconciliation reallyspan the polarities of vengeance and forgiveness, orretribution and restoration? Can there bereconciliation without forgiveness? Or does the wordreconciliation become so broad as to be meaningless?

Then Chief Ruby Dunstan challenged medirectly. For her, the pressing question was,"Reconciliation to what?"

RECONCILIATION THROUGH INDIGENOUS EYESI would summarize our shared vision ofreconciliation after two days as follows. In FirstNations context, reconciliation includes:

• Making peace with the Creator: It startswith God. Every meeting was blessed in prayer byone of the elders and prayerful songs were offeredat the beginning and end of the conference.

• Making peace with oneself and one’s past:One’s history cannot merely be erased frommemory; nor should it be. But can we relate tothe past as the story which brought us to today—or will we continue to be tormented by the pastas if it were today? Ideally, reconciling with the

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past, whatever healing journey that requires, willset us free from being stuck in past pain so wefunction as whole people.

• Making peace with each other: I am mostfamiliar with peacemaking at the individual andfamily level. But how do we make peace orrestore trust with institutions, churches,corporations and governments? This is not agiven. Often, the healthiest route is building firmboundaries (with the help of courts andcommunities) and having sought restitution,agree to part company.

• Making peace with the land: For FirstNations people, reconciliation includes the roleand importance of the land to their history andidentity. Historically, unresolved land claims andmodern infringement cases put First Nationsgroups across the table from government andbusiness as enemies—if parties even agree to meet.

But today, there’s a growing desire to movebeyond adversarial encounters and litigationtowards reconciliation and partnership.

• Making peace with creation: Related to theland is a renewed and unified commitment toecological responsibility. God has called us tosteward creation and its resources, sustainablyand responsibly, rather than exploiting it beyondrepair. This isn’t a political partisan issue—theNative peoples know it is a Genesis 2 creationmandate.

WHAT FORGIVENESS IS NOTHow does forgiveness relate to reconciliation? Irecall what one bright First Nations leader calledher “f-word”—forgiveness. By describing what shecould and could not offer at her stage in thejourney, I saw more clearly what forgiveness IS andwhat it is NOT:

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Chief Robert Joseph

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Forgiveness is NOT saying "It's okay." Whathappened is NOT okay. Abuse and oppression arenever acceptable. Forgiveness must not minimizeinjustice or the damage is does.

Forgiveness is NOT saying "I'm okay." Healingcan take years. Genuine forgiveness does not askanyone to skip any stage of the grieving andhealing process.

Forgiveness is NOT saying "You're okay." Theoffender is not simply off the hook. Repentanceincludes facing consequences, which mayinclude incarceration, rehabilitation, restitutionand restoration.

Forgiveness is NOT saying "We're okay."Forgiveness may include but does not require thevictim of injustice to re-enter a relationship withthe offender. That may not even be safe. One canforgive and be healed without ever beingreconciled.

FORGIVENESS MEANS “LETTING GO”Forgiveness happens when we release ouroffenders to God's judgment, rather than chainingour hearts to them with resentment. We becomelike those we resent but become free from those weforgive. So, we allow the Creator to unbind us fromthem and trust God to heal one and all by his loveand mercy. This doesn’t mean we bypass humanjustice systems when necessary. But it means ourhealing doesn’t depend on courts.

Forgiveness happens when we release ourburdens of hurt, grief, anger, loss and sorrow toGod’s care, rather than stuffing them orfashioning them into weapons. We exchangethem for the Creator's love, joy, peace and healingmercy. We look to God, rather than our ownoutrage and indignation, for strength and

wisdom to fight ongoing battles, lest weperpetuate injustice in our own families andcommunities.Forgiveness happens when we release the

debt of the other’s offense into God's hands.Even if they repent sincerely and makerestitution, our offenders can never cover thedebt of harms done. We must let God bear thatburden—ours and theirs. For Christians, the Cross is our most powerful image of this divine“sin-bearing.”Forgiveness happens when we release our

healing into God’s hands. No one’s punishmentrepentance is sufficient to heal us. Only God cantruly do that. Our healing is NOT in the hands ofthe ones who hurt us. Surrendering to God’s carewithin a community of reconciliation makeshealing possible.Forgiveness happens when we release our

guilt into God's hands. Many former residentsof St. George’s saw how their experience thereshaped them into abusers, addicts and criminals.When they finally owned and gave their ownguilt to God, healing became possible. Forgiveness happens when, having let go,

we surrender our lives to Christ’s love and care.One man shared the story of how his pain hadled him into years of addiction, homelessnessand alienation from family and community. Inhis pain, he had damaged everyone in his life andwas ready to take his own life. But God and hiscommunity walked him beyond shame andhumiliation to receive forgiveness andbelonging. His community became thewelcoming arms of the Creator, agents of God’srestoration and reconciliation.

R R RI am grateful to our Indigenous neighbors forbringing God’s light to reconciliation andforgiveness, so central to the Christian gospel. Myprayer is that we would receive these gifts—reconciliation and forgiveness—from our Creatorand Savior, Jesus Christ, embodied in communitiesof God’s healing love. q

Brad Jersak is editor-in-chief of CWRm and proudfather-in-law of an Indigenous Canadian woman.

"I wouldn’t want to have a reconciliationthat simply balances the ledger and

still has hatred afterwards. that would be same old, same old.”

—Chief Robert Joseph