Saturday August 27, 2016 5:30 to 8:30pm Band Office for Women

Saturday August 27, 2016 5:30 to 8:30pm Cultural Centre for Men

Sunday, August 28, 2016 10am to noon for community meeting reporting on progress and proposal of next steps.

Prior to the coming of the Peacemaker the women’s minds, hearts, and spirits were broken due to losses of lives, unresolved grief, restricted freedoms, poor physical health due to injuries of war, limited access to prime hunting, fishing, and natural food gathering places due to fear of enemies and perpetuation of feuds between clans. They also struggled with deep superstitions about bad medicine, charms, and spells that were used to injure others.

In their heart of hearts, they secretly desired peace, love, and happiness. Since our Great Creator would never forsaken our people he again sent a messenger to restore the spiritual, social, and political spheres of the people. The first women the Peacemaker had to impact upon was his mother who found it strange to be pregnant with no man, then his grandmother who tried to destroy him three times unsuccessfully. Then when he left the village as a young man he met a woman who fed the men in the conflict and she became the third to accept this peace. Once she accepted the great peace he changed her name to Tsi Konhsase (new face) who later became the first clan mother in the social reformation.

Today women worldwide are again suffering under the oppression and violence of men. There are Indigenous murdered and missing women IMMW, loss of clans and identities, family lateral violence, suicides, sexual violence, discrimination, inequality, diminished political powers, etc. So like in days of old, women need to once again stand strong understanding their roles in parenting and raising healthy, peaceful young men. They need to cry out for peace, justice, happiness, and unity again to restore balance.

This peace proposal invites all women of Wahta, living on living off, native and non-native, metis, and other women supporters from surrounding and/or far communities to join together and show support in solidarity for peace. We will form a circle of peace around the band office. Every woman, girl, and female child will carry a candle (representing their inner sacred fires) as we pray for peace, love, forgiveness, healing, and unity. Young boys 9 years old and under will join with their mothers and sisters if they desire. This will help give them some insight into future peacemaking as they hear their mother’s pleas. At this gathering there is no agenda per say, except that women who have the gift of bringing life into this world join together to birth the peacemaking process in Wahta. It has been said that our people remain strong as long as our womens’ hearts, minds and spirits remain strong. This ceremony will have the women gather for three hours. One hour for each clan family. We will start Saturday August 27 at 5:30 pm until 8:30 pm and leave just before mosquitoes start to bite.

We will then all go into the assembly hall for a snack of drinks and finger foods. Kahente and Waneek along with those who they decide will lead the process will wrap up the gathering. Through this healing event we will gather insight into how this gathering will initiate the healing process of building trust, peace, love, happiness and unity again.

Ed and Ka’nahsohon will gather Saturday August 27 at 5:30 pm until 8:30 pm at the cultural center and share our thoughts as men within a tobacco burning ceremony. This ceremony will be in support of our women. Any and all other men will be welcome to join us in this ceremony.

On Sunday morning at 10 am at Cultural Centre we will gather together and share our experiences as peace facilitators with the Three Bears Consulting, Wahta leadership and community to discuss what we have learned and the next steps of your peacemaking process.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ed Connors, Ka’nahsohon Deer and Three Bears Consulting

Download the Invitation to the Community Peacemaking Process