Winnipeg, 30 July 2019 — The 18th annual Bridgefolk Conference took place July 25-28, 2019, at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The theme was “Toward a Just Peace: Indigenous-Settler Reconciliation through Friendship.”
The co-chairs of Bridgefolk, Marilyn Stahl, a member of the Seattle Mennonite Church, and John Klassen, abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Saint John’s in Collegeville, Minnesota, welcomed the participants by acknowledging that this year’s conference was being held in Treaty 1 territory on land that is the traditional terrain of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, as well as the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Discovery: A Comic Lament
The conference opened with the play “Discovery: A Comic Lament” performed by Ted and Company, a Virginia-based, faith-rooted theatre troupe. The play provided a starting point for conversation about the meaning of owning something, the connection between owning and taking, and the relationship between ownership and taking responsibility. The conference also included a viewing of “Reserve 107,” a documentary about Mennonites and Lutherans in the town of Laird, Saskatchewan, who decided to respond with a determined effort to right the wrongs of the past when they learned that the land they lived on was in fact a former aboriginal reserve and that the Canadian government had broken its treaty with the Young Chippewayan First Nation when it sold the land to settlers.
Keynote Presentations
The two keynote presentations at this year’s conference were given by Sister Eva Solomon, an Ojibwe elder who is a member the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie, and by Steve Heinrichs, Director of Indigenous-Settler Relations for Mennonite Church Canada. Sister Eva, who has devoted her ministry to developing ways of incorporating aboriginal rites and customs in Catholic worship, led the participants in several inculturated ceremonies during the course of the conference.
Featured Speakers
Presentations were also made by Lisa Raven, Executive Director, Returning to Spirit: Residential School Reconciliation; Will Braun, senior writer for Canadian Mennonite magazine; Mary Le Maître, professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literature, University of Winnipeg, who focuses her research on residential schools, the treaties, the Indian Act, and colonial discourse; and Stan Fontaine of the Sagkeeng First Nation, a board member with Returning to the Spirit, a non-profit charitable organization that addresses the divisive legacy of Indian Residential Schools by offering workshops to promote reconciliation and to foster transformation and mindfulness in all relationships. Participants also heard the personal testimonies of several First Nation women and men who described their painful experiences of trying to survive in a society that was intent on obliterating their cultural identity. They also expressed their hope for a better future thanks to efforts now being made to undo the wrongs done to indigenous peoples and to promote respect and friendship between indigenous peoples and settlers.
Local Planning
The local planning committee for this year’s gathering was co-chaired by Gilbert Detillieux and Laura Funk. Laura is a spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and chaplain at a personal care home in Winnipeg. She is a member of Hope Mennonite Church. Gilbert, Laura’s husband, is an information technologist at the University of Manitoba, serves on the Bridgefolk board of directors, and is a member of St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Parish.
Just Peace
This year’s conference was the second in a three-year series of Bridgefolk conferences exploring the call to Just Peace, a new framework to encourage all Christians to embrace active non-violence and justice. Last year’s conference was centered on racism and explored ways the spiritual resources of these two traditions could be drawn on to combat this structural evil. This year the focus was on the meaning of Just Peace in the context of Indigenous-Settler relations.
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