Happy Canada Day! Or is that Happy Land Now Known as Canada Day? The latter is a phrase used by Indigenous leaders, journalists and others as a reminder that until colonization this nation was actually many nations and that the treaties eventually signed with the British Crown did not obviate their sovereignty. It was the violation of those treaties which resulted in the programs meant to extinguish Indigenous identity and claims to the land.
I continue to be a proud Canadian for many reasons yet in recent years I've come to temper my celebration with contrition, realizing that that my assumptions about my "home and native land" are dependent on "home on native land." When Canadian Jully Black sang the National Anthem at the NBA Allstar Game earlier this year with the substituted word she stirred conversation and, predictably, received racist responses.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9OFQUXpr8g
There are calls for a revision of the National Anthem, as well as a Home on Native Land initiative and a Land Back movement, all worth our attention.
In the congregations I served through the years we usually sang O Canada on the Canada Day weekend. We did so after the benediction as a recognition that we need to separate church and state but it was powerful to sing together, often led by pipe organs, and with the prayerful phrase, "God keep our land, glorious and free." We can't take that freedom for granted and for those of us who have assumed privilege through our lifetimes we must ensure freedom, respect, and equality for all.
Please click on the link below to find out more about the Raven Trust initiative regarding ammending the National Anthem:
https://raventrust.com/home-on-native-land/
No comments:
Post a Comment