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YOU EXPLAIN HOW NATIVE PEOPLE *** We live in a time of controversy and accusations between native and non-native people in Canada, and yet, precious dialogue continues with our native brothers and sisters. In 1999, the Canadian Council of Catholic Bishops published a pastoral message to Catholic members of the First Nations; they represent almost half of the 550 000 native people in Canada. The bishops reminded them that their traditions are a treasure of the Church. There are many holy people in their ranks. Can we forget the example of Blessed Kateri Tekakwita, the Lily of the Mohawks, who died in 1680, or the edifying life of Rose Prince, of the Carrier Nation in British Columbia, who died at the age of 34 in 1949? The Church acknowledges and respects the abundance of good and holy elements in their culture. This includes their very old devotion to Good Saint Anne. As I travel around preaching devotion to Saint Anne, I visit many Indian reserves. Many of their churches are dedicated to her. I often find statues and banners in honor of Saint Anne: at Eskasoni, Big Cove, Burnt Church, Waycobah, Indian Brook, Lennox Island, Bear River, Chapel Island, Barra Head, Wagmatcook, Millbrook, Pictou Landing, Red Bank, Listiguj, etc., among the Micmacs; in Kingsclear, Tobique, Woodstock, among the Malisseets; in Old Town, Maine, among the Penopscots; etc. It is moving to see how attentive the chiefs are during the ceremonies, also the many fervent men and women, young people, even the children who sneak among pews and who are proud to carry shades and candles for the procession. Devotion to Saint Anne is popular all over North America, in the east as in the far north and out west, for example at Lake Saint Anne, Alberta. Every last Sunday in June, the Shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupre celebrates the First Nation Sunday. Natives come from all over, the Hurons-Wendats, the Micmacs and Malisseets, the Algonquins, the Montagnais, the Abenaquis, the Attikameks, the Mohawks, the Naskapis, the Ojibways, the Crees, etc. They celebrate the Lord in the Eucharist, they gather at the foot of Saint Anne’s statue, they take part in the candlelight procession, they express their faith in traditional Indian rites: the sweet grass ceremony, the dance of the crops, etc. After Mass, bishop, priests, chiefs and organizers, dancers and members of the choir, share together a banquet offered by the Redemptorist community in charge of the Shrine. Devotion to Saint Anne goes back to the time of the first missionaries, diocesan priests, Recollets, Capuchins, Jesuits, and communities of Sisters. Coming from Europe, these apostles were moved by a deep devotion to Saint Anne. Native people immediately loved her and venerated her. In 1610, the great chief of the Micmac Nation, Membertoo, was converted. The Micmac nation became the eldest daughter of the Church in North America. Thanks in part to its devotion to Saint Anne and in spite of great difficulties, the Micmac nation remained faithful to Christ and to the Catholic Church. The other First Nations did the same. Some chose to be buried at Saint Anne de Beaupre. The first organized pilgrimage to the Shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupre was made by the Huron nation in 1671. What happened in Canada also took place in the United States. Thanks to Father Carheil, a Jesuit who was cured by Good Saint Anne, the Cayugas, of the Mohawk family, developed a tremendous love for Saint Anne, Mary’s mother and Jesus’ grandmother. Father Curtis Sappier, a young priest of the Malisseet Tobique First Nation, in New Brunswick, presided over the Eucharist at the 1999 First Nation Sunday at Saint Anne de Beaupre. In his homily, he said: “Our ancestors have always told us: ‘Respect your elders’. This is a teaching we truly respect and uphold as native people, when we take the time to listen to their stories as we drink of tea, when we take the time to learn our old ways as we cast our lines to fish, when we take the time to love as we gaze at the rising sun our Creator has given us. As Christians, we need to remember our ancestor Saint Anne. When adoring the Lord or honoring his Mother, let us not forget the ancestor, Grandmother Saint Anne”. |