CREDIT: A SOLITARY GREAT HORNED OWL PERCHES ON A TREE.
sunflowerstate.tumblr.com

Just a few dozen kilometers west of London, between Bothwell and Thamesville, you may someday run across the Fairfield Museum, a Native Reserve, and the hamlet of Moraviantown. To look at these you might not guess that they mark the site of what was once an outstanding Christian mission of Native people in the 1800s. Thriving in the first part of that century, it consisted of a few German-American missionaries of the Moravian Church (still headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) and around 200 Delaware Natives.

Some time ago I wrote a thesis on the mission. That project gave me a lot of insight into the history of relations between Canadian political institutions and Native communities.

Seeing the news about Idle No More protests in Ontario and elsewhere for me recalls some of what I learned. In the 1800s, White society embraced the sciences, brought with it European political structures, and was growing in economic and industrial power. Almost everyone, including, unfortunately, many missionaries, operated on the assumption that Natives had to either become like Europeans or perish.

I wonder if things have really changed that much. On the one hand, Canadians work hard at giving Native communities every opportunity to celebrate their cultures. And certainly no one is calling for the segregation of Natives on reserves, while many efforts are made at integration. In support of Native peoples, there are many benefits that our governments have tried to provide.

At the same time, one has to notice that White society has never opted to live in Native style shelters such as longhouses and teepees. Reserves, in the meantime, have only European style housing on them. Similarly, while Native young people attend institutions of learning such as Fanshawe College, which are completely of European origin, there is no movement of White youth studying under the guidance of traditional Native elders or educators. And for decades, Native band organizations in the country have been building casinos, gas stations, cigarette stores and hotels — institutions that are, well, not exactly original to Native cultures.

But while the questions about who is "winning" the Native/White "culture war" in Canada can be raised, I also recall a film, an old one, that I continue to enjoy for the hopeful vision it brings forward.

In I Heard the Owl Call My Name, an Anglican priest, Mark Brian, is appointed to serve a small Native village on the northern coast of British Columbia. At first he feels he has much to offer the people. But as he lives with them he realizes that they have at least as much to offer him. They have an appreciation of place, of ancestors and family, of the cycles of nature, the habits of wildlife, the behaviours of wind and water, and their ancestral stories. As the movie progresses, Brian repents of his earlier arrogance and finds that God has given him a strength and a peace through the Native villagers.

Could such experiences be available to us who do not live in that fictional world created by Margaret Craven, the author of the story? I don't know. If I were able to live, as Brian did, with a Native community, would I learn greater peace and strength? Do Native villages that are able to provide a sense of community and peace to non- Natives exist in Canada?

The book and movie are a half century old. But Craven's story, with its unique vision of a possible relationship between European and Native cultures still intrigues.

It is a vision that, I think, sadly, is increasingly out of reach. Nevertheless, it is one worth looking at again. And who knows? It may find some champions who can help chart a more hopeful way for Native/non- Native relations.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.