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Back in 2004, Facebook started as a social media platform. People were making more friends than they could ever have imagined. I was getting into the swing of connecting with people. My self-esteem seemed to go up a notch when I reached 450 friends. Then, as time went on it felt exhausting trying to read other people's timelines and faithfully read the posts that came scrolling in. Since then many other social media platforms have arisen that people use to connect with...
The worldview of an Indigenous people comes from all aspects of life being connected physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally. Today, I want to look at the title of this column through spiritual eyes. How can we realize that a certain amount of healing is possible on this side of the grave? Even when harsh and unimaginable things happen to us? Even when we feel like our hearts have been broken? As someone who has lived for 57 years, I can testify to the fact that...
When I think of everything that I've been through in my 57 years on this earth, it sometimes overwhelms me. At other times, I feel like a warrior for surviving all these years. Through the ups and downs and all of the hairpin turns. There were seasons when I felt that I was in complete rebellion with our Creator. There were seasons when, just like the gospel song, "Trust and Obey," says, "When we walk with Lord in the light of his words, what a glory he sheds on our way." As...
I've just finished going through an eight-year journey with my daughter, who recently passed away at the age of 22. She was diagnosed with cancer when she was 15, but after chemotherapy, that cancer went away and never came back. Then at the age of 19, she was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer, which over the course of three years ravished her body until she left this world to be with Jesus. It was a very rough journey that I just came through. There were many sacrific...
When I reflect on my life, as I'm about to turn 55 on July 01, 2023, my heart and my mind keep going to the topic of wisdom. As an Indigenous man who's also from the Sixties Scoop generation, and whose mother and uncles and aunts went to residential school, I realize we were all left with what is called intergenerational trauma. As a follower of the Jesus Way who's born again and set free from sin, I'm also told in the holy scriptures from the apostle Paul that our struggle wi...
Many times, when the world, non-believers in Jesus, talk about the issue of power, they refer to using your inner power to obtain success. The world says you just need to focus on the positive and tap into your inner child and focus on yourself. They say spoil yourself, look after yourself, and treat yourself. These are common catch phrases associated with personal accomplishment and reaching your dreams. In North America we saw the abuse of power with the way some early settl...
When you read Beyond the Sixties Scoop by Deborah Ironstand you'll be taken on a journey of brokenness, healing, and resiliency. Deborah writes about childhood memories of living off the land with her mother, grandma, and grandpa in a traditional Anishinaabe and Ojibway household. Then came the foster care system. With her mother experiencing the Residential School System and Deborah being from what has been called the Sixties Scoop generation, life was hard. Although she had...
I once heard a man wiser than me say that looking at someone's worldview is like looking at an iceberg. There is what you initially see on the surface of the water and then most of the iceberg is under water. The same is true with an Indigenous person's worldview. You see the behaviors on the surface of someone's life, but there are the reasons for these behaviors that the average person does not know about unless they understand that person's worldview, such as the unseen...
When you go to West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, there are many attractions. When I was a teenager, I went on the roller coaster that goes upside down and twists, while rushing forward at high speeds. When I reflect on this teenage experience, I remember it as fun but a little tense. Then about six years ago I went on the roller coaster again because my daughters, who were teenagers at the time, went on some rides and somehow, I went on the roller coaster with my wife. When I...
As a child and as a teenager and even as an adult, several times I would act in a certain way that wasn't helpful in my moving forward in maturity. I would make mistakes and endure their consequences. Many times, I would not change my behaviour, which meant changing my mind, until I got caught doing something inappropriate, or unacceptable to my own welfare or the welfare of the community. One evening I listened to a preacher online who explained that the word "repentance"...
Many times I have heard non-Indigenous people say that they wish Indigenous people would "just get over it." Just get over all this talk about residential schools and financial payments from the government, and just move on with life. Most of the people who say this already have an established career, or sense of stability in their lives. These aren't people who are necessarily well off financially, but they have managed to make strides with their homes and their jobs and...
I was part of the Sixties Scoop generation and so although I am Indigenous, I grew up in a different world, compared to my relatives on the reserve. Growing up in the city, we used to have company over to our house on a regular basis-especially on Saturday night. My parents were also part of a church bowling league and so on Saturday night my brother and sister would babysit me and have authority over me for that night. As I got older, I would go to youth night, where we would...
In the holy and sacred book that was passed down from our spiritual ancestors, we read the story of a leader, Paul, who shared wisdom and advice about weaknesses. In 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 we read his story: "I was given a thorn in my flesh. . . . Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that C...
As I take a look at what our spiritual ancestor Paul said in his written letter to the local church community, I see some wisdom that can help us heal our broken hearts. So many things happen throughout our lives that cause us grief, loss and trauma, at so many various levels, that if we don't find ways to heal our broken hearts, we will find ourselves going down a path that we will regret. We can all tell stories of heartache in our own lives and the lives of our family...
As I start this column I am on day number 12 of 16 of a mission trip to Fort Simpson and Hay River and Fort Resolution in the North West Territories. I came with a contact from Gideons International and my wife, Angeline. We didn't have enough resources to bring our kids, so we are missing them. Our children are dwelling at home with their big sister, and we are dwelling with the Indigenous people in what ever way we can. We have put on services with singing and teaching from...
Whenever we experience some sort of grief, loss or trauma our body, soul and spirit want to run and hide and try to cover the pain-or try to numb or forget the pain. Yet, when we look at our holy book called the Scriptures, we see men and women expressing their pain and hurt. Throughout the Holy Scriptures, that God gave to our spiritual ancestors and told us to pass along to our children, we hear stories of people like Job who lost everything within a short period of time eve...
Second Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV) in God’s holy book tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Being challenged to change our behavior is difficult for all of us; especially for those of us who have a problem with any sort of authority. Whether it’s someone telling us how we can improve at work, or whether it is a f...
