Covenant relationships must be respected

Crown, First Nations’ covenants must be retained

Written by Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News Monday, 30 January 2012 11:14

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo and Prime Minister Stephen Harper process into Crown-First Nations Gathering Jan. 24. - Photo by Deborah Gyapong

OTTAWA - The historic Crown-First Nations Gathering revealed stark differences on how the relationship between Canada’s founding peoples and the government, embodied in the Indian Act, should continue.

And whatever is resolved, an advisor to the Catholic Church said, must re-affirm historic treaties signed between the two.

It is about recognizing the sacred importance of covenants, said Gerry Kelly at the one-day gathering held in Ottawa Jan. 24. Kelly is the former director of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ secretariat on aboriginal affairs and now advises Catholic entities regarding the Indian Residential Schools legacy.

“Our whole understanding of our relationship with God is understood scripturally in terms of covenants,” said Kelly. “We understand what it means. A covenant is sacred. We can’t hold that position and not recognize the covenant relationship established by treaties. It is timeless and it is binding.”


The rest at The Catholic Register