‘We’re building on a momentum that’s happening in Canada’

Beyond Dream-Catchers was also partly inspired by the ongoing Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is investigating human rights abuses against native children in Canada’s residential school system. While attending the hearings in Vancouver last September, Jamieson was struck by the level of spiritual expression among the participants.

“There were religious ceremonies going on all the time,” she says. “For the First Nations people, spirituality is integral to the whole process of truth and reconciliation.”

With that in mind, Sister Eva Solomon — a member of the Henvey Inlet Ojibwe First Nation and the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph — will kick off the conference with a lecture about Aboriginal spirituality and ceremony on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. A sacred pipe carrier and sweat lodge conductor, Solomon has spent decades in Aboriginal ministry, faith development and social justice work.

On Saturday, February 1, the conference will feature four speakers:

• The Right Honourable Graydon Nicholas, Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick and a member of the Tobique First Nation, will deliver a lecture on theological encounters with Aboriginal spirituality. Nicholas has advocated on behalf of First Nations communities since the 1970s.
• Mohawk film director and writer Sonia Bonspille Boileau, a graduate of Concordia’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, will talk about Aboriginal spirituality in the arts. Boileau won the Diversity Award at Le Gala des Prix Gémeaux for her 2010 documentary, Last Call Indian.
• Maria Satya McDonough, visiting assistant professor at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, will discuss Aboriginal spirituality and literatures.
• Mark MacDonald, the Anglican Church of Canada’s first National Indigenous Anglican bishop and the World Council of Churches president for North America, will explore “Ways Forward for Aboriginal Theology in the Canadian Context.”