Watershed Acknowledgement

 

                            

                                                                               Christi Belcourt 

We won't be in worship this morning but the service will likely begin with a Land Acknowledgement, a common practice now in many United Church congregations inviting those gathered to be mindful of the traditional lands of the Aboriginal peoples of our region. As some readers will know, I do wonder about including this each week but Rev. Isaac, our son, varies the acknowledgement in thought-provoking ways.

Lately I've been musing about occasionally employing a Watershed Acknowledgement, a recognition that the rivers flowing into the Bay of Quinte were important travel routes through the seasons for Aboriginal groups. The Trent, the Moira, Napanee and Salmon rivers all served this purpose through "time immemorial", a commonly used Indigenous phrase. One Sunday when I led worship I did invite the congregation to consider the Trent River as part of our acknowledgement. 

In these months we regularly paddle these rivers in both our canoe and kayaks. There are times when I am deeply aware of the Indigenous history and imagine that the Salmon River was once a source of abundance with a species fish which no longer make their way up this tributary. 

When we paddle we see an abundance of creatures, otters and bald eagles, deer and trumpeter swans. Even within the city we see a wonderful variety of birds as we cycle along the Moira, including black-crowned night herons and kingfishers.

Last week we were on a secluded stretch of the Moira north of Belleville and had a lovely but uneventful paddle until the last few minutes. Suddenly a pileated woodpecker and two young ones landed on a dead tree that had fallen into the river. We were immediately beside the parent who proceeded to feed the raucous youngsters. Pileated woodpeckers are more often heard than seen so this was an enchanting --watershed? --moment. 

We have this limited edition print by Order of Canada Metis artist Christi Belcourt in our home, and it is it's own Watershed Acknowledgement. 

                              The Fish are Fasting for Knowledge from the Stars --Christi Belcourt