Publishing in the Winnipeg Free Press March 22, 2022.
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/fire-camp-honors-sacredness-576317972.html

The events of March 9 in which the Manitoba government authorized the partial demolition of the Migiziiwazison Sacred Fire Camp on the legislature’s east lawn put into sharp focus the enduring conflict between government and Indigenous sovereignty.

A sacred fire was lit on June 25, 2021, in recognition of the 215 graves discovered in Kamloops, B.C. From the beginning, the stated intent of the camp was for prayer and to offer healing to those impacted by “Indian” Residential Schools and to remain until all school grounds are searched. In contrast, the only category the Manitoba Legislature appears to have for the camp is one of “protest”, for which they typically allow a month’s long encampment. The Migiziiwazison camp has been held for nine months now.

I have been involved with the camp since July of 2021. My commitment and respect for the camp grew as I sat around the fire listening to stories of healing and the sharing of traditions and ceremonies.

The longer I attended, the more I began to witness the struggles and challenges that come in any grassroots movement but add to this the realities of generational and colonial traumas. Then came winter. This Two Spirit Indigenous youth-led camp dug deep even as most of them also worked or attended school. They focused on keeping the fire going 24/7 through snow and bitter cold, sometimes having to rely on a bag or two of gas-station firewood before the next larger donation would arrive.

The sacred fire was held with great struggle, joy, commitment and cost. All of this work was met with skid steers and a bulldozer tearing down half the camp.

The sacred fire and the camp resolve remain but so does the agenda of the Manitoba Legislature, which is for the camp to close and move out. Added to this is news of proposed legislation creating greater powers of enforcement over those occupying legislative grounds. Rather than the drama of bulldozers I am worried our government could quietly squeeze the camp with fines.

Tending to my concern over the likelihood of another conflict, something came to mind. Those who sit as MLAs inside the legislature building are called “honourable.” We speak easily of the “sanctity” of family and property. I myself am referred to as “reverend.” Do we recognize this fire as “sacred” and if so, what would that mean?

From my experience around the fire and from my understanding as a pastor and theologian, sacredness has the power to disarm and undo, laying us bare that we might be healed and remade. A small piece of land has been consecrated and we should act accordingly.

The notion of “land back” has become a popular phrase when addressing settler-Indigenous relations. The question of land often arises at sites of conflict between Indigenous claims and corporate interests. The occupation of land by the Migiziiwazison camp is also an expression of “land back.”

The Manitoba government now officially acknowledges that it exists on Treaty One territory.As many of us settlers still need to learn, Treaty One cannot be interpreted solely from Canadian documentation. Author Aimée Craft has demonstrated an Anishinaabe perspective in which the land was opened to be shared rather than surrendered.

Canadian governments have demonstrated time and again that they cannot share outside their own agenda. We now have an opportunity to try something else and honour the reclamation of a small piece of land as sacred and Indigenous. Alongside the challenges faced by the camp, there are also dreams and visions flowing from this place; the planting of sacred medicines and vegetables, sharing circles, drum and singing workshops, full moon ceremonies and the establishment of a sweat lodge.

We know how these things typically go. The agenda of the legislature is closure and governments tend to find a way. The provincial government understands this camp to be a protest but what if the ground of the camp is an expression of “land back,” a sacred authority with the power and potential to help undo past wrongs and remake a shared future?

Rev. David Driedger is leading minister of First Mennonite Church in Winnipeg as well as firekeeper at the Migiziiwazison Sacred Fire Camp.