Afterword

Aboriginal Ministry Forum

Afterword

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Question: Rev. Scott. Can you tell us something about the past few years? What are your best memories?

Answer: Well! The best memories that I have would be the time that I spent with Ojibway elders from Berens River, for example. They have an irreverent sense of humor and a way of looking at life which is great. I was fortunate in getting to spend time with some of the best hunters, trappers and fishermen in the north.

G. Berens Jr. took me out in the bush and showed me how to cut up a moose and he showed me how to make medicine in the old way. He was very strong in his belief and respected all religion, very stoic man, and had a wry sense of humor.

Also, There were a number of old people there that could still recall some of the earlier methodist missionaries and they shared some of those memories with me. One old man told me about a group of children that had been lost in a storm on the lake a long time before. The methodist preacher was taking this group of students out to residential school and everyone drowned including the preacher that time. It was a severe blow to the community and it happened at the turn of the century. Most of these old people are gone now but in a sense they left their memory with me and that is a kind of honor I think. It is good that I have connections at the U. of W. and the history department there because these links are important to preserve. In a sense I have become a resource of history myself now!

Another good thing that happened in the past three years was finding a competent spiritual adviser. I now have been working under him, keeping up my religious study, re-writing my life experience, so to speak. Making sense of the turmoil and struggle of my professional life.

That kind of person, who can work with damaged clergy or other professionals, is a rare find I think.

Question: How do the good memories make a difference for you now and how can these things be applied?

Answer: The important thing is to remember is that the thoughts and memories can be incorporated and integrated into oneself. Specifically, the Ojibway mannerisms, values and language can be incorportated into ones own worldview. The benefit of this is taking what is important and applying that to everyday situation. If, for example, a young person comes to me and talks about their trouble with alcohol, violence or poverty then I have a resource. I can remind them about what their relative ancestor said or did and this is an immense benefit to younger people. The thing is that you have to be there in person because it does not work if you only read from books!

Taapwe? Minoge! Do you understand?

Question: OK! On the other hand. What would be some of your bad memories and experience from the past?

Answer: That would be dealing with the violence and poverty issues which are ongoing in the aboriginal community as I have said. I came from a middle class life and had been raised in a sheltered way through adoption by a United Church minister and his wife. It was a shock to experience the level of violence that happens on the reserve these days.

In ministry I did deal with the after-effects of murder, suicide, random violence which did happen and frequently. It takes a toll as I have mentioned earlier.

I am still in touch with those families because I see many of the same faces here in Winnipeg. They are always glad to see me and treat me with respect on the street. I sometimes think of the time I was called to the nursing station to pray with a young wife because the husband had just shot himself. I got there to be with him in his last moments. I still run into Bob, as they call her here in the city. She went on to raise her children alone and has never been able to find a suitable partner to live with.

Shortly after that I was called to a home in Poplar River and again it was a suicide. I prayed with the family in the bedroom where the the blood was still on the walls. It goes on from there and I dont want to recite a litany of tragedy verse by verse. My point is that working in the aboriginal community is a special vocation and not for the faint hearted.

The thing to remember is that historically there have been periods of excessive violence in our communities in the past. These violent periods have been brought on by scarcity of resource and social turmoil and that is the root of it. One of the first missionaries in the west, Rev. Rundle, who had a mountain near Calgary named after him, was shocked by the violence that he saw in the west. At the time the Cree and Blackfoot were at war and I think that he found it shocking. He returned to England and never did come back to the west and maybe that was the reason.

Another unpleasant memory I have is dealing with the bureaucracy in the United Church. That can be very frustrating because of this myth of harmonious relationship which is presented. The person who brings up difficult questions may not get an answer or even a good reception just because that person does not buy into the myth-making process.

The next thing that I had trouble with is the Vision Keeper concept that is part of the training program of ministry. My first vision keeper was kind enough person but lost sight of the ball. My next vision keeper was an academic, into a lot of feminist issues and such, but not plugged into the reality or hardship concepts. She did some funny things to me and the result was I was turned off my the vision keeper concept.

In general it is important to have a spiritual advisor, or vision keeper, and one that is receptive to the the reality of ministry but is also capable of advising someone on the reality of dealing with the church bureaucracy. This kind of person is not easy to find and maybe there should be a training process for spiritual advisors, vision keepers?

Question: Rev. Scott. Do you think that you will ever work in ministry again?

Answer: The thing is that I have never really stopped working in ministry! I am still active in the aboriginal community because there is so much to be done. Ojibway people like to hang on to their sources and that is what they have done to me. The fact that the church has its own views does not concern them.

Since I left the ANCC six years ago I have carried on my own training process and I have good connections at the university level. It is true that for a good many years I was without a spiritual advisor but going on three years ago I found one that is compatible. He is a linguist, a world class scholar and he has helped me deal with the bureaucracy issues because he went through that kind of thing himself.

Further he had the kind of field experience I admired because he worked in corrections and storefront education with aboriginal youth and that was important for me.

The thing I think about sometimes comes from another industry. One man in the airline industry was told this, " If you become a whistle blower then you will never work in this industry again!"

In terms of Ojibway worldview the elders would tell say something different. In their view it is wrong to throw your family away! Maybe that is what the church is tempted to do because it is at odds with the grassroots at this period in history.

In any case I prefer to think of myself in terms of being neither clergy nor layperson at this time.

Question: Rev. Scott. What would be your advice to those thinking about ministry as a career?

Answer: I think I would tell someone in that situation to think it over carefully. Do some research and ask some questions. The questions are as follows:

- Who are the stakeholders in the program?

- Who are the main players in the program?

- Is there a mediation process to deal with conflict?

- Is there a process of advancement that works?

- Is the leader a person committed to reality checks?

The thing to remember is survival today is survival in a political structure. Our ancestors faced survival issues in the natural world but now people face survival issues in the abstract world.

In that world it can happen that others are given expensive trips, cushy office jobs and the opportunity to own property. Meanwhile you might find yourself living in isolation throwing drunks or sniffers out of your house. That is the crazy - making part of it.

I had that experience of being turned down for advancement while I could see some other people taking jobs that were not posted. I also saw other people going from one position to another or sometimes holding more than one position at once. That seems to be the pattern in the United Church and that pattern can be found in many aboriginal agencies. It does not make it right!

The key to overcoming these obstacles for me was the Ojibway worldview because the old people knew

about survival. I think my story reflects these traditional values and that is why I have shared my thoughts with others. Thanks!