Self-government for Indigenous church: Glorious moment for Indigenous Anglicans
By Sue Careless
THE MORNING of Friday July 12th, 2019 marked a glorious and historic moment: a self-determining Indigenous church was established within – not apart from — the Anglican Church of Canada. The two bodies would walk together.
The motion passed almost unanimously at the ACC’s governing body, General Synod.
How this more autonomous Indigenous church will take shape is not yet clear. Some have described it as a “fifth province.” Certainly its leader, Archbishop Mark MacDonald, now ranks with the four provincial Metropolitans. But Archbishop MacDonald told a press conference that “the borders between dioceses will be fluid for a while.” In some ways it will be the equivalent of a fifth province but if the new body simply adopted a “suburban model” he said a “bottleneck” would occur.
He suggested that there might eventually be three or four stable Indigenous dioceses like The Indigenous Spiritual Ministry of Mishamikoweesh, which formed in 2014 (see below). Elsewhere a shared ministry with local dioceses would 2be a better fit.
Whatever the structure, the Indigenous church would seek to serve both rural and urban congregations, on- and off-reserve Anglicans.
The Archbishop said there would also need to be more paid clergy who would oversee deacons, catechists and lay leaders, many of whom would be volunteers.
While the Indigenous church may not have a large financial base, Abp MacDonald noted that considering its “robust birth rate” it does have a huge resource in its people, especially its youth.
He was encouraged by the Maori bishop, the Right Rev. Kito Pikaahu from the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, who told the Canadian synod that before 1990 his Indigenous church only received $150,000 annually but it now receives five million dollars yearly. There was a recognition that these funds belonged to the whole church and should be shared fairly.
The Rev. Canon Virginia “Ginny” Doctor, a Mohawk from Six Nations and Indigenous Ministries Coordinator for the Anglican Church of Canada, said that her ancestors have been Anglicans since the 1700s. “I’m still proud to be an Indigenous Anglican. But I am Indigenous first, then Anglican.”
“We are standing on that mountain of joy but now the real work begins,” said Rev. Canon Dr. Norman Wesley of Moose Cree First Nation in Moosonee. “We didn’t get this far on our own,” he said, and added, “We will continue to move ahead hand in hand” with other Anglican leaders.
There has always been a large Indigenous presence in the pews and ministry of the Anglican Church of Canada. Sadly, however, most of the Indigenous clergy have been and still are non-stipendary, that is they do not receive any significant income for their ministry.
It is only in recent decades that the Indigenous presence has been felt in the church’s governing bodies such as General Synod and the House of Bishops. Currently one-quarter of the episcopal leadership of the Anglican Church of Canada is Indigenous.
A Partial Timeline*
* For more details see anglican.ca/im/ahistory.
In 1969, the Anglican Church ended a century of running residential schools. It also committed to a new relationship with Indigenous peoples, heeding Charles Hendry’s call “Beyond Traplines,” for a partnership based on solidarity, equality and mutual respect.
Since 1972, there has been an Indigenous staff at the national office. Today it is known as the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP).
In 1988 The first Sacred Circle met, and has continued to do so approximately every three years. The ninth Sacred Circle was held in Prince Rupert, B.C. this August.
Since 1989, eighteen Indigenous bishops have been elected: 10 First Nations, 5 Inuk and 3 Métis. (Six are now retired.) At first most of these Indigenous bishops were suffragans or assistant bishops.
Then in 2002 Andrew Atagotaaluk (Inuk) was elected diocesan bishop of the Arctic and in 2009 Barbara Andrews (Enoch Cree) was elected Bishop of what is now known as the Territory of the People. In 2018 Chris Harper (Cree) was elected diocesan bishop of Saskatoon.
In 1993 then-Primate Michael Peers delivered the Anglican Church of Canada’s apology for its part in the Residential schools to the National Native Convocation in Minaki, Ontario. This was the first of several apologies offered by the ACC to the Indigenous peoples of Canada.
In 2003, the Anglican Church of Canada and federal officials ratified an agreement that detailed the payment of compensation to victims with valid claims of sexual and physical abuse at Anglican-run residential schools.
In 2007 the Most Rev. Mark MacDonald became the Anglican Church of Canada’s first National Indigenous Anglican Bishop. In this office his role was “to speak for Indigenous Anglican People in the Councils of the Church” and “to act as a midwife for a self-determining Indigenous Church.”
General Synod 2010 in Halifax passed Canon XXII that firmly established a self-determining national Indigenous ministry within the denomination.
Then in 2014 the Indigenous Spiritual Ministry of Mishamikoweesh was founded and Lydia Mamakwa was elected as its first bishop. This is the first Indigenous diocese in the ACC and encompasses over 25 First Nations communities in Northwestern Ontario and Northern Manitoba. According to its website, the diocese’s “structures and programs are uniquely aboriginal in that it is an expression of Indigenous self-determination within the Anglican Church, committed to upholding the tradition, order, and discipline of the Church, expressing that commitment in a manner that is consistent with the cultural and spiritual heritage of the Indigenous people of the region.”
Currently there are a dozen Indigenous bishops among the 43-member House of Bishops: Annie Ittoshat, Lucy Netser and Joey Royal (Arctic), Larry Beardy (Brandon), Lydia Mamakwa (Mishamikoweesh), Tom Corston (Moosonee) Geoff Woodcroft (Rupert’s Land), Adam Halkett (area bishop of Missinipi in northern Saskatchewan), Chris Harper (Saskatoon), Riscylla Walsh Shaw (Toronto) and Mark MacDonald (National Indigenous Archbishop). Six are First Nation, two are Inuk and four are Métis.
This Summer
At General Synod 2019 held in Vancouver, Primate Fred Hiltz offered An Apology for Spiritual Harm done to Indigenous Peoples citing “cultural and spiritual arrogance” on the part of his denomination. He described a number of “sins” of the church including smothering smudges, forbidding pipes, destroying totem poles and banning potlatches.
The Indigenous Elders of General Synod 2019 received the Apology for Spiritual Harm, which contained the Church’s commitments for spiritual healing, describing it as “eloquent” and saying that they would covey it to the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) and share it with their communities. The Elders wrote in part:
“Let us say first of all, that we know the Church understands that healing and forgiveness is so deeply personal, and is usually a journey, a process, not a single act. We cannot speak for those who were spiritually harmed by the Church’s approach to colonization. Each individual and each community across this vast land has had different experiences and is at different stages in the healing process. But we the Elders of General Synod 2019 believe that your words of apology will support this healing process.”
An amendment to Canon XXII, which passed at General Synod 2019 in Vancouver, makes the denomination’s National Indigenous Ministry entirely self-governing:
• Now the National Indigenous Ministry can make changes to matters specified within its own Canon XXII without requiring General Synod to amend the canon.
• A selection requirement for the office of the national Indigenous Anglican bishop now explicitly states that the candidate be Indigenous.
• The national Indigenous Anglican bishop (NIAB) now has the title archbishop, and ranks with the four provincial Metropolitans.
• The NIAB is now a voting member of the Council of General Synod. In the past the NIAB only had a voice.
• Canon III has been changed to include the specification, already within Canon XXII, that “the Primate is always an invited guest at the Sacred Circle, and has voice but no vote.”
The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) is now able to determine the criteria for the composition of ACIP and Sacred Circle, and has gained the ability to adopt and afterward amend a constitution to regulate the affairs of the National Indigenous Ministry.
A second motion passed at General Synod, now entitles ACIP to appoint or elect two licenced members of the clergy, two communicant lay persons and one youth (16-26 years of age) to become members of General Synod.
“For many years, we have had ACIP partners at General Synod. They’re given the right of voice but not vote,” said Chancellor David Jones. “So that’s the point of the amendment, to give ACIP representation in its own right at General Synod.”
The amendment went into effect the moment it was passed on July 12th so that the five new members of General Synod could immediately participate in all the subsequent proceedings.
These five ACIP members are in addition to the various Indigenous members of General Synod in all three orders (lay, clergy and bishops) who were elected by their individual dioceses.
On their website ACIP states: “We have had the residential schools, which tore us from home and suppressed our traditions, our languages, our relationship with the land and the Creator – our very identities.
“Yet there have been times, too, when the churches have been our best support in the Canadian society – against those who coveted our land, who would see the death of our language and culture.
“We are in this together, and we will continue to journey together … guided by the Holy Spirit … seeking the healing of our relationships and ways of being who we are … both fully Christian and fully Aboriginal.”
As of the 2016 census, Indigenous peoples in Canada totalled 1,673,785 people, or 4.9% of the national population, with 977,230 First Nations people, 587,545 Métis and 65,025 Inuit. 7.7% of the Canadian population under the age of 14 are of Indigenous descent. TAP
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1 The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) consists of representatives from dioceses where significant Indigenous ministry is taking place, the National Indigenous Anglican Bishop (who is the ACIP liaison with the Council of the North and the House of Bishops), and additional members as determined by ACIP.
2 The Sacred Circle is organized by ACIP and consists of the following voting members: (a) Ten Indigenous members from each of those dioceses identified by ACIP as having significant Indigenous ministries (More persons from these dioceses may attend the Sacred Circle, and may be granted voice but shall not vote); (b) Up to ten Indigenous members identified by ACIP to represent urban Indigenous ministries; (c) Up to three Indigenous members from the Anglican Military Ordinariate; (d) The Indigenous bishops of The Anglican Church of Canada, as identified by ACIP; (e) The NIAB, who is the presiding elder at its meetings.
