Lisa is the Executive Director at Returning to Spirit, and a member of the delegation of indigenous leaders who met the Pope to invite him to Canada to apologize for the harms inflicted on generations of indigenous families. She is from Hollow Water First Nation, Manitoba.

thumbnail_Lisa-Raven.jpg

Lisa-Raven.jpg

Lisa Raven

<h4
 class="block-heading"
 id="h-lisa-raven-is-the-executive-director-of-returning-to-spirit-and-a-member-of-the-delegation-of-indigenous-leaders-who-met-the-pope-to-invite-him-to-canada-to-apologize-for-the-harms-inflicted-on-generations-of-indigenous-families-here-she-shares-what-reconciliation-means-to-her-her-organization-delivers-two-four-day-sequential-and-experiential-workshops-on-reconciliation-you-can-find-out-more-at-https-www-returningtospirit-org"
 >
 LISA RAVEN
 is the Executive Director of Returning to Spirit, and a member of the
 delegation of indigenous leaders who met the Pope to invite him to
 Canada to apologize for the harms inflicted on generations of
 indigenous families. Here, she shares what reconciliation means to
 her. Her organization delivers two, four-day sequential and
 experiential workshops on reconciliation. You can find out more at
 <a href="https://www.returningtospirit.org/"
 >https://www.returningtospirit.org/</a
 >
 </h4>

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 The truth and reconciliation process involves resolving conflict from
 the past, often between governments, non-state bodies, and groups of
 people. The process1 aims at healing the relationship between
 the opposing sides through uncovering facts, allowing for
 acknowledgment, mourning, and forgiveness – all toward the final goal of
 healing.
 

 
 Reconciliation means being at peace – our ability to be at peace for
 longer periods of time. Therefore, reconciliation has everything to do
 with each of us as individuals, as opposed to the “other.” For a lot of
 people, that’s a difficult concept to grasp.
 

 
 Some people in Canada believe that Indigenous people should “get over it
 already,” however, reconciliation is not a journey with a destination.
 It is a series of moments and building relationships along the way,
 which are highlighted by peace, understanding, and mutuality.
 

 
 For Indigenous people in Canada, reconciliation is in the language, and
 is a spiritual journey. There are no words for hate and resentment.
 There are words that describe those feelings, but there is also an
 understanding that if we hold those feelings we are actually harming
 ourselves. We are only meant to hold those feelings temporarily, because
 the translation of those words helps us understand that “as I hold this,
 I’m hurting myself, so I’m only holding it for a little while.”
 

 
 “Knowing” or holding hurt and suffering from the past is described as
 “already knowing.” It’s that little voice in your head that tells you
 the way things are, and the way people are – an “already knowing.” It’s
 like putting glasses on so we only see through that lens of judgment. It
 is like a boomerang that goes behind our backs, but then as soon as
 something happens, the feelings are re-triggered. For example, a couple
 of years ago, the discovery of children’s graves at the Kamloops Indian
 Residential School brought all that stuff forward and created a
 nationwide reaction.
 

 
 People are confused about what acceptance really means. I think we are
 stuck with the idea that acceptance means having to accept all that
 happened; but that’s not the case. We can’t change the past – it
 happened the way it happened. We can change our reaction to it, and how
 it lives in us today. I can remain the victim of another person forever,
 or forgiveness and letting go can help me take back my power.
 The other person could go to jail, but that does not heal my trauma.
 Forgiveness does. Forgiveness is not for the weak; it’s for the strong.
 For Indigenous people, it is a part of who we are. The word for
 forgiveness in our language is so vast. It’s an experience and a gift
 you give yourself. It has nothing to do with the other person.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img
 alt="reconciliation2"
 class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/reconciliation2_700x394_3375ff5a96.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:39:56.110Z"
 />
 </figure>
 </div>

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 Returning to Spirit, using visual and experiential processes, offers a
 gentle way of teaching; yet it’s very disruptive, it wakes people up.
 It’s like throwing a bucket of cold water on their faces.
 

 
 I went to Rome and heard the Pope’s apology. Great! However, no apology
 by the Pope or the government can take away the harm, and I think that
 is what people fail to recognize.&nbsp;
 

 
 My favorite part of the Rome visit was being able to do pipe ceremonies
 alongside my brother Friar Francois Paradis at the General House of the
 Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and the genuine interest it
 sparked to know and understand us. That is an experience so many who
 came before me never had. They made sacrifices, they experienced pain,
 some never came home. I believe that the ancestors want reconciliation
 for me; maybe as I heal, they are healing too. The best way I see to
 honor them is Mino-Bimaadiziwin (holistic health), and to pass
 that legacy of well-being on to my children and grandchildren.
 

 
 Hatred and resentment are passed from generation to generation. There
 are people who never went to residential schools but are walking around
 like it happened to them, carrying and perpetuating the anger and
 resentment. Unfortunately, they do it at the cost of their own peace. I
 don’t want to pass that stuff on to my son.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <hr />

 <h4 class="has-text-align-center block-heading">
 We can’t change the past – it happened the way it happened.
 We can change our reaction to it, and how it lives in us
 today.
 </h4>

 <hr />

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 For the last 20 years, we’ve been trying to reconcile in a vacuum,
 trying to heal without the other, and we need both. That’s what’s unique
 about our process. At Returning to Spirit, we are working with
 Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Each is different. And there are
 biases in judgment and assumptions on both sides.&nbsp;
 

 
 We give them the tools to be able to set their biases aside for long
 enough to have a conversation. This is a tool for reconciling all
 relationships.&nbsp;
 

 
 As I let go, as I continue creating peace for myself, I believe that my
 ancestors are also healing on the other side. It is beautiful that I’m
 living at a time in history where this is actually possible.
 

 
 There are a lot of people, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who are
 frustrated because the idea of reconciliation feels like a never-ending
 cycle. So how do we move forward? By everybody recognizing that this is
 something we live with, that we need to do our own work rather than
 expecting other people to make it okay. The government can’t do it for
 us.
 

 
 How do we address generational trauma? By doing our own work. We’re part
 of it all. It doesn’t matter what country you go to, every single
 Indigenous culture has a creation story. What runs through all those
 stories is that we are a part of creation, and we are made up of
 everything. Our bodies are 70% water, and our voices are part of the
 wind. How we speak, and how we take care of our possessions, we must
 take care of our wind.
 

 
 I love the word Namwayut, which means we are all one.2
 

 
 Throughout my journey, I have collected many moments of powerful
 reconciliation. No two have been the same, and the people are as diverse
 as the experience. I’ve come to see that there are many forms of
 reconciliation – it’s not just one way. However, the feeling of
 reconciliation in my spirit, is the same,
 despite the road traveled. It makes me feel good, and it makes me feel
 alive.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <hr />

 
 1The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the
 largest class-action settlement in Canadian history, began to be
 implemented in 2007. One of the elements of the agreement was the
 establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada to
 facilitate reconciliation among former students, their families, their
 communities, and all Canadians.
 

 
 2Namwayut–We Are All One is the title of a book
 by Chief Robert Joseph