Sheila Cameron, Arnprior, ON

My first visit to Chief Theresa Spences’s encampment on Victoria Island was on New Year’s Day. I was struck not only by the beauty of the setting on a winter’s day, as the island looks across to Ottawa and the Parliament Buildings, but also by the pervading sense of peace and sacredness in the camp. I felt welcomed there. Those feelings of peace, sacredness and welcome persisted through numerous subsequent visits.
   Chief Spence’s teepee and other temporary structures were on a site that is used during the summer by First Nation people as a tourist attraction to demonstrate aspects of traditional aboriginal life. During the fast, as you entered the encampment, there was often a smouldering smudge pot sitting there for you to smudge yourself.  In front of her large teepee there were always one or two men as doorkeepers, making sure the people inside were safe.

My first visit to Chief Theresa Spences’s encampment on Victoria Island was on New Year’s Day. I was struck not only by the beauty of the setting on a winter’s day, as the island looks across to Ottawa and the Parliament Buildings, but also by the pervading sense of peace and sacredness in the camp. I felt welcomed there. Those feelings of peace, sacredness and welcome persisted through numerous subsequent visits.
   Chief Spence’s teepee and other temporary structures were on a site that is used during the summer by First Nation people as a tourist attraction to demonstrate aspects of traditional aboriginal life. During the fast, as you entered the encampment, there was often a smouldering smudge pot sitting there for you to smudge yourself.  In front of her large teepee there were always one or two men as doorkeepers, making sure the people inside were safe.
   In front of them, standing proudly in the ground was the community staff from Attawapiskat, with its eagle feathers fluttering in the wind. Beside the teepee was another tent structure where Elder Raymond Robinson lived while he was also fasting. In front of this structure was a sacred fire.
   Because it was sacred, I couldn’t take a picture of it. Fire Keepers kept that sacred fire going twenty-four hours a day for the entire forty-four days of the fast. This fire was a place where people came to pray and offer medicines to the fire and with that their prayers to the creator. It was a place where ceremony happened, drumming, singing or pipe ceremony.
   People sometimes sat around it and talked but it was always with a quiet reverence. It was not a place to stand and warm yourself or stick your cold feet close for warmth. There was another fire for that, a community fire that was just off a ways.
   There were other temporary tent structures around for the many support staff. A shed had become a kitchen. Food, pots and pans and cook stoves had all been donated. Very capable kitchen workers prepared amazing food and provided a welcoming place for visitors to warm up, have coffee or tea, and learn more about what was happening.
   When someone ate, they were asked to save a little on their plate and offer it to the sacred fire so that it would feed the spirit of the fasters.
   I was impressed by the number and variety of people who came to visit the encampment, to offer support or to gain inspiration and hope. On one of my visits,  there was a delegation from the Muslim community, a young family and their Imam.  The Imam and his aide both made speeches offering their support, “As long as you suffer, we suffer”, said the Imam. He then presented a gift that looked like a prayer mat.
   I met people from Christian churches, some who were fasting for various periods of time in solidarity with Chief Spence. I met people from one end of the country to the other and from the far North. People brought their children to meet Theresa Spence and to be inspired. They brought their prayers, their good wishes, their support, their love and often other physical gifts. 
   I was struck by how meaningful it was for individuals. A busload of people had come up from the Maritimes. I spoke with one lady from Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick. She told me, “I’ve been looking for something, I didn’t even know what it was, but I found it here.  I found my soul. I have been idle myself. Now, I know that it’s important for everyone, not just native but for everyone to speak up. To be here has given me strength and determination. It has given more meaning to my life.”
   Chief Theresa Spence of Attawapiskat First Nation fasted for 44 days. Her spiritual fast began with a Sunrise Ceremony on December 11, 2012 and ended with another ceremony on January 24, 2013. After the first day, Chief Spence was joined in the fast by Elder Raymond Robinson of Cree Lake First Nation, Manitoba. 
   Mr. Robinson has said that for him it was a spiritual awakening because all barriers were knocked down with people coming to support each other and taking care of each other's needs.  It was a moving experience as he saw different races, colours and creeds uniting without barriers of any kind and he is convinced by this that all can coexist in society. 
   Both Chief Spence and Elder Robinson spoke of needing to love, honour and respect others.  They said they have nothing against anyone, but that some people's actions are disappointing and disheartening.  Of particular concern was the Harper government and their Omnibus Bills.  Spence worries that the Prime Minister is selling off our resources to other countries.  These bills remove protection from numerous lakes, waterways and land.
   She wants to protect the rights of First Nation people to be consulted when legislation affects them.  Actually, she said we will all be affected by destruction of our land and water.  We are all treaty people.  Her ancestors made treaties with our ancestors, as one nation to another nation. She felt that she was speaking up for justice for her people and she wants to see a new relationship with the government, to restart fresh as nation to nation. 
   There was never any anger towards Stephen Harper. In fact people expressed gratitude that the Prime Minister was bringing them together.  People that didn't normally cross paths were connecting and getting to know one another.
   Chief Spence had asked for a meeting together of the Prime Minister, the Governor General and First Nation Chiefs. Cold winter winds continued to swirl around the teepee in which she sat praying to the Creator and waiting for a response from the Prime Minister and the Governor General. 
   The chill from these highest echelons of the Canadian Government was colder than the January freeze. It took a concerted effort and numerous visits from members of Parliament in opposition Parties to finally convince Chief Spence and Elder Robinson to end their fasts. The politicians made a promise to continue to raise issues in the House of Commons.
   Part of a First Nation Spiritual Fast is that afterwards, the area where it took place is restored to what it was like before, that nothing is left to indicate that anything happened there. Ceremony was done to cleanse the teepee and the site. The teepee and all the temporary structures were dug out of the frozen snow.
   The kitchen was dismantled and left over food and supplies were donated to shelters. Besides food, people had donated clothing. A huge amount of clothing was sorted and sent to shelters. Anything that could be recycled was, anything that was garbage was hauled off to landfill. It took days, almost a week, and the work of many volunteers before the encampment was restored to its pre-fast state.
   First Nation people have always considered Victoria Island to be a special place. It was a gathering place. It was a traditional resting place before dealing with the turbulence of the upstream rapids. Gerry, from the North West Territories explained to me that the physical resting in the face of the rapids was symbolic of what we need to do in life before facing turbulence, change or any shift in our lives. The island was dear to the late Chief William Commanda from Maniwaki. 
   He envisioned it as a place for a healing centre for people of all nations. That vision is still carried by many people. Victoria Island will now remain a special place for me too. For me, the encampment was a welcoming, peaceful, richly spiritual place. It affected many people, those who donated food, clothing, time, who fasted in solidarity, who came as representatives of various religions, who took part in drumming, singing and ceremonies, who delivered and cut firewood, who kept the fires going, who kept the fasters safe and protected, who prepared food and welcomed people, who brought their families, or themselves. It was a meaningful experience for many people.
Sheila Cameron, an ICN subscriber, is a nurse with a special interest in First Nations’ spirituality.