Remi De Roo Excerpts

Indigenous Peoples

Note: The texts quoted below were written at a time when “Native” and “Aboriginal” were the terms used for Indigenous peoples. We have preserved the original terms but recognize that they are no longer the preferred ones.

As I reflect on this Western colonial ideology of domination over native cultures, my Christian faith invites me to look humbly and critically at my own perception of other human beings. Our entire human history must equally be scrutinized in the light of Gospel values and the liberating Christian faith which is based on them. As a participant in the Second Vatican Council, I recall how we Catholic Bishops came to recognize humbly the need for constant reform and renewal in the Church itself.

“Unmasking the Results of Colonialism,” Alaska Native Review Commission, March 13-16, 1985

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A renewed historic movement is unfolding with our Canadian Native Peoples. Unless we Canadian Christians recognize it and speak to it in the context of our biblical tradition, we are going to miss an important current in history. If we miss it, the Church risks again becoming an elite, sitting comfortably, speaking smugly from the perspective of prestige and wealth, and having no real impact on either the present moment or the promise of the future. Openness to diversity and to the marginalized remains a test of authentic Catholicity.

Cries of Victims, Voice of God, p. 81-82

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While doing some research in the diocesan archives, I learned some of the long and fascinating history of Vancouver Island, the land of many First Nations Peoples. One of the most heart-warming encounters I had with them was a special event sponsored by several tribes that live in this territory. It took place on February 14, 1963, and was held in the huge longhouse in the Tsawout East Saanich Indian Reserve near Sidney. It began with a ceremonial canoe ride, recalling the arrival of the first bishop, Msgr. Demers. After the welcome by one of the leaders, I was invited to plant a large wooden cross fashioned from a cedar tree. We then processed to the longhouse, where a large, crackling fire had been lit at both ends of the building. Chiefs from several tribes made speeches marking their accord with the purpose of the ceremony. I, in turn, presented a ceremonial woolen blanket to each orator. Then two elderly women approached and placed a decorated blanket on my shoulders. “Now you are one of us, you belong to us;” was the theme of the comments made by several of the Chiefs. I was given my new na,me, “Siem Le Pleet S’HWUWQUN;” which translates as “Great High Priest White Swan;” indicating that I was now formally adopted into the Indian race. It was with great satisfaction that the attendants learned I had been born in the village of Swan Lake, MB. Ever since then, I have been greeted as a Native Elder when I visit a reserve or meet a group of First Nations people.

Chronicles, p. 82-83

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The Native Peoples gave me more than a new name. I am one of the few white people who have gone through the initiation into the native race. I’m a blood brother, not just an honorary chief. Of that, I am very proud because it gives me a link with Canada which is more than immigrant status. It’s a link with these people who are the original Canadians. I’m very conscious of the fact that we are in their home here, enjoying their hospitality. We owe so much to the Native Peoples who are the original Canadians. I think it must be said time and time again because we’re in the process today of testing the quality and the calibre of Canadian democracy. Whether the fundamental issue of native rights is solved in Canada is going to determine the calibre and the quality of our democratic culture and civilization for the future.

Are we ready to recognize the historic fact that the Native Peoples are the original Canadians and that we of the other races came here and innocently walked into their country, into their culture, their environment and without negotiating set up Confederation? The fact that Confederation was born in a context of and injustice towards the Native Peoples, we must right that wrong; otherwise, our Canadian democracy has nothing to say to the rest of the world.

I hope that all of us here, from the variety of cultures and races and languages that we represent, would see it as in our own interest to be in solidarity with the Native Peoples as they try to negotiate with the leaders of Canada some fair and just settlement to their legitimate claims.

“Keynote speech:” Mosaic’s annual general meeting, Vancouver, British Columbia, September 23, 1986

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Colonial reality is certainly not new. It is deeply rooted in the history of the past. For centuries, our dominant culture has prevented most people from seeing this colonial fact in our history. Indeed, most people in Canada have suffered from a heavy dose of historical amnesia concerning the European occupation and its impact on the Aboriginal peoples of our country.

The Christian Churches, often unwittingly, played a role in this colonial process. Many explorers, missionaries and early settlers were insensitive to the culture and spirituality of the peoples who had inhabited these lands since time immemorial. The Church often participated in the cultural domination of Native Peoples through inadequate understanding of Gospel values and a limited Gospel vision.

“Exploring the Canadian Experience,” Institute for Christian Life in Canada, Toronto, Ontario, August 21, 1977

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Christian missionaries who brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to foreign lands were traditionally people of broad vision and high ideals. But with the advent of European nationalism in the 16th century, the colonial mentality gradually narrowed. Most of them misunderstood native cultures and disparaged their social and educational values. They failed to recognize that God had preceded them in their ambitious journeys. So, they misread as pagan, uncivilized, and deserving of scorn signs and symbols which the Creator had fashioned with native hands. Thus, the cross of Jesus Christ was sometimes forcefully imposed by sword and gun. The freedom of God’s grace and of the Gospel was often. betrayed by a sinful Church complicit with the powers of colonialism marching under the banner of Western progress.

The Christian Churches have much to be forgiven. I know that I reflect the thoughts of many other church leaders in apologizing to Native Peoples of the world for the many faults of action and omission which have left painful scars on collective memories. It is my hope and prayer that by forgiveness and mutual reconciliation we can develop attitudes of trust, which will enable us to learn together from our experiences and to build bridges for a more beneficial collaboration as we fashion the world of tomorrow.

We cannot dwell on past mistakes. Self-pity is a debilitating prison, and time is too precious to squander on mutual recrimination. Our post-industrial world, with its increasingly complex society with structures and its exhilarating dreams of Utopians, scorns the skeletons of the past. If we wish to be part of the future, we must organize together. We need all our combined resources and goodwill, multiple insights, and creative energies if freedom is to survive and civilization is to flourish.

There are increasing signs today that the Churches are being challenged by the tensions between colonialism and spirituality. They are learning to appreciate Aboriginal views on the nature of the human being, the mysteries of the universe, spiritual relationships to the land, and corresponding values and institutions.

“Developing New Forms of Mission in Solidarity with Aboriginal Peoples,” First World Assembly of First Nations, Regina, Saskatchewan, July 18-25, 1982