National Indigenous History Month: An Apprentice's Reflection

June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, a time to recognize and honour the stories, heritage, culture and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Learning about the past and acknowledging its ongoing impacts is essential to move towards healing and reconciliation. For Christians and Christian leaders, this month is an invitation to reflect upon reconciliation as part of the ongoing story of the church in Canada.

We recently caught up with Santiago Benavides, a New Venture Apprentice in the Central Canadian District. Santiago had just spent a week with the Ebametoong First Nation, an Indigenous community in Northern Ontario. While in Fort Hope, he was able to minister to young people, in part through art and music. He supported them in writing, recording and filming a song about their life experiences. Santiago explains that the final outcome of this creative project both surprised and deeply moved him. He shares:

“[In this photo], I am with some kids from Fort Hope, an isolated First Nations community in Northern Ontario, whom I recently had the privilege of serving. The only way to get there at this time of year is by plane. During the winter, there are those who venture the 17-hour journey over frozen lakes to Thunder Bay! The small plane that would take us there was, to put it mildly, an incentive to faith: just the sight of it made us want to pray! 

The trip’s theme was "You Are Talented and Gifted." We wanted to focus on a creative project that would allow the kids to discover their gifts and put them in practice. The idea was simple but ambitious: starting from the question "What makes you feel happy or grateful?", we hoped to collect some keywords to create a composition, and then proceed to record it and make a video.  

The question, conceived to make them think happy things, had an unexpected outcome. . .Some kids frankly said they had nothing that made them feel happy. It was a shock. That reaction allowed us to see how complex the reality they live in is, and how much they need love and mentoring. We finally came up with a sufficient inventory of words and feelings, which ended up being the raw material for the song. We intentionally wanted to let their words speak as naturally as possible.  

You can listen to the song by clicking HERE (or see below).  When you hear it, please pray for them and all the young people in indigenous communities. Thank you!”

This month, we are invited to honour and celebrate Indigenous people and communities, like the Eabametoong First Nation, for their distinct cultures, achievements and resilience. May we as Canadian Christians remember the importance of learning, listening and pursuing reconciliation in the name of Jesus today, and all days. We’re grateful for leaders like Santiago who are doing just that.

Credit: This song was created by the youth of Fort Hope Eabametoong First Nation. Video from TheGospelChanges Canada.