First Nations Cultural Learning Week

This post is written about what we did from October 14th - 20th
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This week was our first real plunge into the First Nations culture. Our first day was a huge history lesson about the First Nations people and it was all very interesting. First of all, the class was in a residential school. It was pretty eerie, knowing that we were in a place where such horrible things were done to people. It was actually the last residential school built in Canada and the last to be shut down in ’86.

It was cool learning about the First Nations culture. Not knowing what to expect, I had mixed feelings about it. However, as I heard more about their culture and beliefs I found that I could relate to a lot of what was said; some of it sounded like good morals, very similar to Christian values, while some of it baffled me. That being said, I feel that it is important for us to show respect and listen, whether we agree or not, and accept and appreciate their way of life without conforming to it. I particularly appreciated what Brander Standing Bear McDonald (a speaker of ours) had to say about his own struggle with this. He explained that as a First Nations Christian, he often feels as though one foot is in his Christian faith but the other foot is in his Native culture, and he often finds himself questioning and bouncing feet back and forth.

We found the First Nations’ ideas of communication interesting for many reasons. Whereas our culture thrives on good eye contact, clear speech, firm hand shakes, etc., their culture shows respect by not making eye contact, speaking little and softly, silence is a good thing. They hold much value on the content of a first impression rather than in the presentation of oneself. It’s really cool to learn of their values, and how we could possibly adapt them into our own lives or at least challenge the values we hold.

When it comes to the First Nations land issues, I have only ever known what other people told me. That we’ve stolen their land, and they hate us and just want their land back and are stealing our tax money. But hearing people share their own personal struggle with land issues opened my eyes and reminded me of how naïve I am. It also gave me a stronger level of appreciation and sympathy for the struggles of the First Nations people. I learned that they believe that they belong to the land – not that the land belonged to them – but now because of our force they must adopt this policy. I am beginning to understand this as a vicious cycle that they are caught in

On the second night we joined six First Nations elders for a healing/sharing circle. A healing/sharing circle is a time for people to share what’s on their hearts, what they feel the Creator wishes them to share. It’s almost impossible to find words to explain what went on that night. These elders had some great wisdom that they were happy to share with us. Some of it raised a few eyebrows as it clashed with some of our Christian beliefs, but amidst this we were able to have open hearts, examine their words and almost surprisingly we found that God was able to use them to speak powerful words to each one of us.

Our week continued on as we visited the Charlie Longhouse where a man, Kelsey Charlie, who had just hosted a funeral the day before and wasn’t expecting us at all, welcomed us into his home with open arms. As he started up the fire, hoping to warm his home for his guests, he shared with great excitement of his family’s history, the traditions they had, and the stories that are the foundation of their territory as the Chehalis tribe.

To end the week we had the opportunity to join the Chehalis community in celebrating the Stahlo New Year. It was an incredible time to see all that we had learned about their culture and beliefs in action. The celebration started with lunch where we had the opportunity to taste some salmon, which is one of the most traditional things we could have eaten. After the meal we watched and heard many dances and songs that celebrated a culture that has for so long been oppressed. It was beautiful to see small children of this new generation proudly living the culture that had been robbed from their parents. No textbook can give a student the education that these experiences gave us. Near the end of the celebration the children ran to our group and gave us gifts of fruit, artwork and peach jam that they had prepared for us and I think I can safely say that we all felt such a sense of honour to be shown such love, generosity and hospitality.

Throughout this week, stereotypes were constantly being challenged. It’s really sad to say this and I actually feel quite ashamed of this, but prior to this week when thinking of the First Nations people the pictures that came to mind were pictures of drunks on the street and run down reserves. This week, I was able to get to know people, hear stories of struggle and triumph over addictions, to encounter one of the healthiest communities I’ve seen, to see a beautiful people group display their culture proudly.

Our good friend Tim, who helped co-ordinate this week for us, shared with us that the opportunities that we encountered this week were one of a kind. He told us that we followed through with many missionaries’ broken promises to participate and learn from this culture. It is my hope that our experience helped to bring restoration by paying respect to this beautiful culture that many are quick to reject.

By: Ben Pavey