![]() ![]() ![]() With assistance from six Métis community researchers, Fiola listened to stories and experiences shared by thirty-two Métis from six Manitoba Métis communities that are at the heart of this book. For some Métis, it is a historical continuation of the relationships their ancestral communities have had with ceremonies since time immemorial, and for others, it is a homecoming-a return to ceremony after some time away.įiola employs a Métis-specific and community-centred methodology to gather evidence from archives, priests’ correspondence, oral history, storytelling, and literature. Returning to Ceremony is the follow-up to Chantal Fiola’s award-winning Rekindling the Sacred Fire and continues her ground-breaking examination of Métis spirituality, debunking stereotypes such as “all Métis people are Catholic,” and “Métis people do not go to ceremonies.” Fiola finds that, among the Métis, spirituality exists on a continuum of Indigenous and Christian traditions, and that Métis spirituality includes ceremonies. ![]() This study seeks to understand the historical suppression of Anishinaabe spirituality among the Métis and its more recent reconnection that breaks down the colonial divisions between their cultures. Using a methodology rooted in Anishinaabe knowledge and principles along with select Euro-Canadian research practices and tools, Fiola’s work is a model for indigenized research.įiola’s interviews of people with Métis ancestry, or an historic familial connection to the Red River Métis, who participate in Anishinaabe ceremonies, shares stories about family history, self-identification, and their relationships with Aboriginal and Euro-Canadian cultures and spiritualities. The medicine garden contains herbs and other plants – such as sage, cedar, sweetgrass, tobacco, and strawberries – traditionally used for ceremonies, medicinal, and blessing purposes.Why don’t more Métis people go to traditional ceremonies? How does going to ceremonies impact Métis identity? In Rekindling the Sacred Fire, Chantal Fiola investigates the relationship between Red River Métis ancestry, Anishinaabe spirituality, and identity, bringing into focus the ongoing historical impacts of colonization upon Métis relationships with spirituality on the Canadian prairies. In many Indigenous cultures, fire honours the spirit of the ancestors. The space is shaped as a medicine wheel with a turtle in the centre for the ceremonial fire to sit upon. The ceremonial fire grounds and medicine garden on campus are a sacred space and should be honoured and respected Individual use for peaceful reflection is encouraged The WISC oversees the space being used for cultural and educational programming and the space SHOULD NOT be used in a formal or group setting without the engagement of WISC staff or designated caretaker by WISC staff. It is used for ceremonies, educational opportunities, and other gatherings. This space facilitates community-building throughout the university and surrounding area and provides a place for peaceful reflection. ![]() The space was created in close consultation with Shatitsirótha’, Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre (WISC) staff, Brian Roth, Architects, and sacred Fire Keeper Al MacDonald of Kitchener. ![]()
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