Multiculturalism contributes to peace as a beacon which policy and culture can move towards.

Canadian multiculturalism is fundamental to our belief that all citizens are equal. Multiculturalism ensures that all citizens can keep their identities, can take pride in their ancestry and have a sense of belonging. Acceptance gives Canadians a feeling of security and self-confidence, making them more open to, and accepting of, diverse cultures. The Canadian experience has shown that multiculturalism encourages racial and ethnic harmony and cross-cultural understanding. – http://www.cic.gc.ca/

Canada was the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy, at least in name, in 1971 by Pierre Trudeau’s government. However multiculturalism as a concept, as well as the accompanying policy and cultural shifts spurred by it, go back a bit further.

The idea is to celebrate the distinctiveness of multiple cultures while sharing the same geographical area, as well as provide them with opportunities to share with eachother. In contrast, the opposites of multiculturalism would be social integration, assimilation or racial and ethnic segregation. Multiculturalism has also been compared and contrasted to the largely American notion of the cultural melting pot, in which distinct cultures sharing an area are intended to gradually “melt together” into a harmonious whole.

So unlike the melting pot, multiculturalism can perhaps instead me imagined as a “salad bowl” or “cultural mosaic”.

Examples of the impact of this policy would be:

• Canada currently has one of the highest per-capita rate of immigration in the world.
• Canada resettles over one in ten of the world’s refugees.
• Approximately 41% of Canadians are of either the first or second-generation.
• One out of every five Canadians currently living in Canada was not born in the country.
• Canada receives its immigrant population from over 200 countries of origin.
• Economic policy plays a role in multiculturalism by inviting those with bright minds, skills, or investments to immigrate
• Policies supporting global asylum seekers and refugees allow a percentage them to escape deadly circumstances
• Cultural policies and practices provide a framework by which new and existing Canadians can support and celebrate each other

So if a policy of multiculturalism indicates an intention to equally celebrate racial, religious and cultural backgrounds, then we have certainly come a long way since 1971, but we still have a long way to go.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy describes multiculturalism as:

The view that the various cultures in a society merit equal respect and scholarly interest.

Catherine Doherty contributed to peace by devoting her life to working for social justice and the poor.

Catherine Kolyschkine was born in Nizhny-Novgorod, Russia, on August 15, 1896 to wealthy and deeply Christian parents. Raised in a devout aristocratic family, she grew up knowing that Christ lives in the poor, and that ordinary life is meant to be holy. Her father’s work enabled the family to travel extensively in Catherine’s youth. At the age of 15, she married her cousin, Boris de Hueck and became a Baroness.

Soon, the turmoil of World War I sent them both to the Russian front: Boris as an engineer, Catherine as a nurse.

The Russian Revolution destroyed the world they knew. Many of their family members were killed, and they themselves narrowly escaped death at the hands of the Bolsheviks. The Revolution marked Catherine for life. She saw it as the tragic consequence of a Christian society’s failure to incarnate its faith. All her life she cried out against the hypocrisy of those who professed to follow Christ, while failing to serve him in others.

Nearly starving to death as refugees in Finland, together they made their way to England, where Catherine was received into the Roman Catholic Church on November 27, 1919.

Immigrating to Canada with Boris, Catherine gave birth to their only child, George, in Toronto in 1921. In the following years she experienced grinding poverty as she laboured to support her ailing husband and child. After years of painful struggle, her marriage to Boris fell apart; later her marriage was later annulled by the Church.

To make ends meet, she took various jobs, eventually travelling across the United States, giving talks on the Chautauqua lecture circuit, an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  At this Catherine was very successful. Once again she became wealthy—but she was not at peace.

Prosperous now, but deeply dissatisfied with a life of material comfort, her marriage in ruins, de Hueck began to feel the promptings of a deeper call through a passage that leaped to her eyes every time she opened the Bible: “Arise — go… sell all you possess… take up your cross and follow Me.”  And so she did

In 1932 Catherine sold all her possession, provided for her son, George. And went to live a hidden life among the multitude of poor people in downtown Toronto where she established Friendship House with its soup kitchen. She gave food to them when she had none for herself – and offered education and fellowship, too. Ironically, she was tagged as a communist sympathize.

“I considered Nazareth to be the center of my vocation. Only by being hidden would I be a light to my neighbor’s feet in the slums,” Doherty wrote. She believed that activism should be rooted in prayer and that faith should be brought to every aspect of daily life

As she implemented this radical Gospel way of life, young men and women came to join her at Friendship House, and lived the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi. In the midst of the Great Depression of the 1930’s, the members of Friendship House responded to the needs of the time. They begged for food and clothing to share with those in need and offered hospitality of the heart to all. They also tried to fight the rising tide of Communism, through lectures, classes, and the distribution of a newspaper called “The Social Forum.”

Misunderstanding and calumny plagued Catherine all of her life. False but persistent rumours about her and the working of Friendship House forced its closing in 1936. Catherine left Toronto, feeling her work had failed.

Soon after she left Toronto, a well-known Civil Rights Movement leader in the U.S., invited Catherine to open a Friendship   in Harlem. In February, 1938, she accepted his request, and soon the Harlem Friendship House was bursting with activity. Catherine saw the beauty of the Black people and was horrified by the injustices being done to them. She travelled the country decrying racial discrimination against Blacks.

A small community formed around her, but again, her work ended in failure. Divisions developed among the staff of Friendship House and in January, 1947, they out-voted Catherine on points she considered essential to the apostolate. Seeing this as a rejection of her vision of Friendship House, she stepped down as Director General.

On May 17, 1947, Catherine came to Combermere, Ontario, Canada, with her second husband, American journalist Eddie Doherty, whom she had married in 1943. Catherine was shattered by the rejection of Friendship House and thought she had come to Ontario to retire.

Instead, the most fruitful and lasting phase of her apostolic life was about to begin. As she was recovering from the trauma, Catherine began to serve those in need in the Combermere area, first as a nurse and then through neighbourly services. She and Eddie also established a newspaper, “Restoration,” and eventually began a training centre for the Catholic lay apostolate.

Catherine’s lifelong passion to console Christ in others propelled her forward. Again young men and women asked to join her.

On April 7, 1954, those living in Combermere voted to embrace a permanent vocation with promises of poverty, chastity and obedience, and the community of Madonna House was established. The following year, Catherine and Eddie took a promise of chastity and lived celibate lives thereafter. From these offerings, an explosion of life took place and Madonna House grew.

At the invitation of bishops, they opened houses in rural areas and cities in North and South America, Europe, Russia, Africa, and the West Indies.

Catherine’s vision was immense, encompassing farming, carpentry, cooking and laundry, theology and philosophy, science, the fine arts, and drama. “Nothing is foreign to the Apostolate, except sin… The primary work of the Apostolate is to love one another… If we implement this law of love, if we clothe it with our flesh, we shall become a light to the world,” she said, “for the essence of our Apostolate is love—love for God poured out abundantly for others.”

Catherine was a prolific writer of hundreds of articles, best-selling author of dozens of books, including her autobiography “Fragments of My Life, A Memoir.” This is not a dull, date-filled biography — Catherine’s memoirs read like an adventure novel. The book shines with her vision of uncompromising commitment to the Gospel. It’s a journey into Catherine’s life, disclosing the mysteries of world events that shaped her life; the mysteries of her leadership; the mysteries of her marriage; and, most of all, the mysteries of God’s love.

In response to the deepening dilemmas of the Western world, Catherine offered the spirituality of her Russian past. She introduced the concept of poustinia, which was totally unknown in the West in the 1960’s, but has since become recognized in much of the world. Poustinia is the Russian word for “desert,” which in its spiritual context is a place where a person meets God through solitude, prayer and fasting. Catherine’s vision and practical way of living the Gospel in ordinary life became recognized as a remedy to the depersonalizing effects of modern technology. In response to the rampant individualism of our century, she called Madonna House to sobornost, a Russian word meaning deep unity of heart and mind in the Divine and one another. Peace.

After a long illness Catherine de Hueck Doherty died on December 14, 1985, at the age of 89. She left behind a spiritual family of more than 200 members, and foundations around the world. She left to the Church, which she loved passionately, a spiritual heritage that is a beacon for this new century. The following is taken from a Letter to Madonna House Family:

“We need to be poor! Let us live an ordinary life, but, beloved, let us live it with a passionate love for God. Become a mystery. Stretch one hand out to God, the other to your neighbour. Be cruciform. … Christ’s cross will be our revolution and it will be a revolution of love!”

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Katimavik contributes to peace by building connections and understanding between youth from coast to coast to coast.

Katimavik provided life-changing experiences for over 30,000 Canadian youth from 1977 until 2012 when its core programming was shut down by the Harper government.

In its original form, Katimavik provided opportunities for teams of Canadian youth to live together and do volunteer work in three different Canadian communities across the country (including a large city, a rural setting and at least one Francophone community). Upon completion of the program, youth were rewarded an honorarium of $1000* in appreciation for their work (*honorarium as of 2003).

Today, Katimavik delivers two programs:

One is Indigenous Youth in Transition, designed for 18 to 30 year olds. Katimavik partners with indigenous communities and their youth to develop programming that meets the aspirations of their young women and men and the goals of the community. Participants learn through a combination of volunteer employment in community organizations, the pursuit of academic goals, civic engagement projects, and the strengthening of their language and culture.

The second is Eco-Internship. Eco-Internships provide a unique opportunity for youth aged 18-30 to intern for three months within environmental organizations in Quebec. Eco-volunteers partner with various non-profit or public organizations to develop community projects that meet the environmental needs of the community and hone their skills as future environmental leaders.

Katimavik leaders are meeting with the current Trudeau government with the goal of resuming its core program. Features will include: shared, self-supporting housing that is inclusive diverse and respectful; reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous youth; opportunities to be bilingual; development of citizenship and 21^st century competencies; environmental literacy; experiential learning in an active lifestyle.

Supporters of Katimavik are invited to contribute to the ‘Katimavik Launch’ fund to help engage youth and communities on important issues like reconciliation, gender equity, eco-stewardship and multi-culturalism.  https://katimavik.org/en/donate/

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Judah Ourdshoorn contributes to peace through working to end male violence through trauma-informed restorative justice.

Author of Trauma-Informed Youth Justice in Canada and co-author of  The Little Book of Restorative Justice for Sexual Abuse, Judah Oudshoorn is a Professor of Community and Criminal Justice at Conestoga College. He is also a Restorative Justice Mediator with the Correctional Service of Canada, a Sessional Instructor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Waterloo, an Editorial Board Member of the Internet Journal of Restorative Justice, and the Editor for restorative justice titles in the Little Books of Justice and Peace building series. His work centres on making justice systems more trauma informed, and finding meaningful ways to hold men accountable who have used violence toward partners and children.

Judah has facilitated dialogue and conflict resolution processes in many places – from prisons to workplaces to family homes. He values workplaces that bring out the best in employees. Judah believes that character and skill development are important parts of doing meaningful work.

He has also worked in diverse capacities with youth in Toronto and with First Nations people on issues related to residential schools; he is also widely involved in community services that work with men, particularly fathers, on issues of abuse.

Reportedly, Judah likes hot coffee, cold beer, warm sunshine, and comfortable chairs, but most importantly, he is a proud dad and husband.

“…most of the time violence is acted out in private spaces, within the home and I think we need to recognize and acknowledge that most of the time we don’t publicly see the impacts of male violence… I do this work because I grew up in a violent home…. I was abused as a child and I understand the impacts of violence. I know what it’s like to grow up in fear, and I know what it’s like to sort of live under the thumb of patriarchy and male violence… I really think I have an obligation, a responsibility as a man to stand up and speak out against male violence and I have an obligation and a responsibility to encourage other men to do so as well.” -Judah on why he volunteers forMale Allies Against Sexual Violence

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Dr. Ursula Franklin contributed to peace in her work for disarmament, social justice, science policy and human rights.

“Peace is not the absence of war. It is the presence of justice and the absence of fear.”

As a Quaker, Ursula has been actively involved in work for peace and justice, international understanding, and issues related to women.  As an active member of the Voice of Women, and a member of its national council, she has been involved in many of the organization’s activities, from coordinating the collection of children’s teeth for strontium-90 radiation measurements in the early 1960s, to co- drafting submissions to the Senate inquiry into science policy.

German by birth, Canadian by nationality, Ursula’s energy and intellect have kept her in the forefront of these critical global issues for years.  By her actions, in support of, or in opposition to ideas and policies, she has changed the thinking, the assumptions, the directions of the lives of those who have welcomed her clarity, her honesty, her beautiful and often humorous language, her constant search for truth and her ability to share her knowledge with others

“Apathy sets in when individuals, especially young people, feel that no one is listening to their concerns.”

As an example to protest the war in Iraq, Franklin led a parade of professors in full academic attire out of Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto when then-U.S.-President George W. Bush was honored with a doctor of law degree.

A Toronto high School, Ursula Franklin Academy, has been named in her honour.

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Athlete Advocates, like Fox, Hansen, Keith, Hughes, & Kennedy, contribute to peace through advocacy. #Canada150

We celebrate 5 outstanding Canadian athletes and advocates (Terry Fox, Rick Hansen, Vicki Keith, Clara Hughes, and Sheldon Kennedy), all members of the Order of Canada, all of whom have contributed in their own unique ways to making Canada a more peaceful society.  Whether through raising funds or increasing public awareness and understanding of social issues, their efforts have constructively impacted on the lives of hundreds of thousands of Canadians.

Terry Fox (b. 1958; d.1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he began the Marathon of Hope, a cross-country run to raise money for cancer research. He hoped to raise one dollar from each of Canada’s 24 million people. He began with little fanfare from St. John’s, Newfoundland, in April and ran the equivalent of a full marathon every day. Fox had become a national star by the time he reached Ontario. He made numerous public appearances with businessmen, athletes, and politicians in his efforts to raise money. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometers, and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world’s largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over $650 million has been raised in his name.

He was the youngest person ever named a Companion of the Order of Canada. He won the 1980 Lou Marsh Award as the nation’s top sportsman and was named Canada’s Newsmaker of the Year in both 1980 and 1981. Terry Fox is considered a national hero and continues to inspire people in their efforts to find a cure for cancer.

Rick Hansen’s Man In Motion World Tour was inspired by the dream of creating an accessible and inclusive world and finding a cure for spinal cord injury (SCI). For 26 months, he and his team wheeled over 40,000 km through 34 countries raising awareness about the potential of people with disabilities, creating accessible and inclusive communities, and finding a cure. The Rick Hansen Foundation was established in 1988, following the completion of the Man In Motion World Tour, to continue raising funds and awareness to create a world without barriers for people with disabilities. For nearly 30 years, the Foundation has been actively improving the lives of people with disabilities, changing perceptions and breaking down barriers. The vision of the organization is to create an inclusive world where people with disabilities can reach their full potential. Through programs, collaboration and leadership, the Foundation has increased awareness and solutions for the barriers people with disabilities face, created more accessible spaces, improved the quality of life and health outcomes for people with spinal cord injuries, mobility issues and other disabilities.

Vicki Keith remains one of the most successful marathon swimmers in the history of the sport, holding 18 world records. After her marathon swimming career, Vicki took on a new challenge. While coaching at Variety Village, in the early 90’s, she found that swimmers with physical disabilities were invited to participate in only 3 meets a year…all of them for disabled athletes only. She immediately started pushing the boundaries, by getting the team invited to able-bodied meets.

Vicki has coached 22 athletes with a disability to the national level in competitive swimming, 5 athletes to the international level in competitive swimming and triathlon and 4 athletes with a disability to world records in marathon swimming. She has been appointed as a member of the Order of Canada.

Bonus Editor’s content: Vicki manages her own blog about coaching on wordpress here.

Clara Hughes is a Canadian cyclist and speed skater who has won multiple Olympic medals in both sports. She is one of the few athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games.   Hughes is one of only five people to have podium finishes in the Winter and Summer versions of the games, and is the only person ever to have won multiple medals in both.  Hughes is also the only Canadian to have won medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

In 2009, she agreed to become the national spokesperson for Bell Canada’s Let’s Talk campaign which is trying to remove the stigma of depression and other mental health issues. Clara’s story is particularly important, because it reminds us that anyone can suffer from depression, and it is not a sign of weakness. Many people blame themselves and try to work harder to “get over it”. They tell no one and suffer alone, afraid they will be judged. A 2006 study called mental illness the No.1 cause of workplace disability. Hughes encourages people who think that they may be suffering from depression, not to blame themselves and to reach out to resources that are there to help.

Sheldon Kennedy was a Canadian former professional ice hockey player throughout the 1990s. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames in the NHL.

Kennedy devoted his post hockey career to child abuse prevention and education. Along with his business partner, Wayne McNeil, he owns and operates Respect Group Inc. which provides training to thousands of people empowering people involved in amateur sport and education systems to prevent bullying, harassment, and abuse.

On June 15, 2012 Kennedy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Fraser Valley for his work supporting victims of child abuse and promoting education and awareness of the topic. On June 8, 2015 Kennedy was awarded with an Honorary degree, Doctor of Laws, from the University of Calgary for his extraordinary commitment to violence and abuse prevention programs in Canada.

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Moses Coady contributed to peace by improving the lives of others through adult education and cooperatives. #Canada150

A Roman Catholic Priest, adult educator and co-operative entrepreneur, Coady was concerned about the poverty afflicting farmers, fishers, miners and other disadvantaged groups in Eastern Canada and the exodus of maritimers to other parts of Canada.

In 1924, regional economic conditions were difficult for many people. There was labour unrest in the Cape Breton coal mines and continuing out-migration caused by economic decline. These factors profoundly affected the Diocese of Antigonish whose socially minded priests were searching for ways to counteract these problems.

In his early career while working for St. Francis Xavier Highschool in Truro, NS, Coady was dissatisfied with the working conditions and pay of the teachers. He suggested the Teachers Association strike an organizing committee, hire a paid organizer, and start a magazine for teachers. Members agreed and appointed him to the task; by early 1923, one-half of Nova Scotia teachers were paid members of the union. He started the teachers bulletin, and as editor, lobbied hard for higher teachers’ salaries and other benefits.

He developed what became known as the Antigonish Movement.  The project helped Coady put into practice his theory that “the short, quick, scientific way to progress in the world, even in the field of formal education of youth, was through the enlightenment and education of adults.” The leaders of this movement viewed their task as developing the full economic, social and cultural potential of the people in their region. Dr. Coady and his associates used adult education, group action, and development of cooperative business models to meet the immediate economic needs of the local people.

After World War II, increasing numbers of people interested in the co-op movement were coming to St.F.X., many of them Catholic clergy and leaders from third world countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia. The high profile of the Antigonish Movement and the renewed interest from abroad attracted some attention from the American government that saw it as a promising means to combat communism in the Cold War era.

Bonus Editor’s content: We found this great documentary on Youtube here. In the first minute, a Nova Scotia MP, and colleague of Coady’s shares stories from the time they first met.

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Naomi Alboim contributes to peace as an advocate for refugees and co-founder of Lifeline Syria. #Canada150

Naomi Alboim is a fellow, adjunct professor and Chair of the Policy Forum at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University, Kingston.  She is an active public policy consultant, advising governments and NGOs across Canada and abroad in Europe, the Caribbean, Ghana, Vietnam, Indonesia and Kenya.  She also chairs the Intergovernmental Committee of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council and is a co-founder of Lifeline Syria.

Lifeline Syria is a charitable organization which seeks to recruit, train and assist sponsor groups as they support Syrian refugees coming to to Canada. The group’s broad goals are to:

• Enrich Canada as every other refugee movement has in the past
• Enhance Canada’s refugee resettlement commitment
• Provide opportunities for ordinary people to respond to a humanitarian crisis
• Assist Syrian fami lies in the Greater Toronto Area to be reunited with their friends and family
• Give refugees an opportunity to restart their lives in Canada

In 2016, the membership at Alboim’s synagogue, Darchei Noam, made headlines in the interfaith community when they decided to sponsor a Syrian refugee family. You can hear the story on CBC’s Tapestry Archive here.

“We, as Jews, understand what it’s like to be a refugee… I think people might be surprised that Jews are helping Muslims… It is irrelevant what the religious denomination is of the groups that we’re helping. They are in need and we want to help.” – Naomi Alboim

She says many members of the congregation are the children and grandchildren of refugees. Others, like Rabbi Grimberg, are refugees themselves. So it made sense for the congregation to sponsor a family.

And doing so brings Rabbi Grimberg’s story full circle. Once she was a scared Soviet teenager arriving in a new country. Now she is welcoming the newcomers and helping them to get settled in their new life.

Ms. Alboim has written extensively on Canadian immigration policy, and advises the federal and provincial governments, universities, colleges, regulatory bodies, and NGO’s on a variety of related topics including immigrant labour market integration and refugee issues.

Ms. Alboim has also worked at senior levels in the Canadian federal and Ontario provincial governments for twenty-five years, including eight years as Deputy Minister in three different portfolios. Her areas of responsibility included immigration, human rights, labour market training, workplace standards, culture, sport and recreation, as well as women’s, seniors’, disability and aboriginal issues. She is a recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals and is a member of the Order of Ontario.

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Formal apologies recognize injustices caused by government actions, and help victims to heal.  #Canada150

We wanted to add this to the list because of how strongly we all felt that formal apologies, followed up by appropriate changes in behaviour, are absolutely crucial for healing, forgiveness, and true reconciliation to take place.

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized for Canada’s decision to turn away the ship Komagata Maru in 1914 which carried 376 Sikh migrants from British India because the ship did not make a “continuous journey”, admitting the goal was to keep Canada “white”.
• Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a formal apology to the country’s Chinese community for the discriminatory “head tax” imposed on Chinese immigrants who came to Canada between 1885 and 1923. The tax started at $50 per person in 1885 and rose to $500 per person in 1903, equal to as much as two years’ salary. Again, the unstated goal was to keep Canada “white”.
• Prime Minister Brian Mulroney apologized to Canadians of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly removed from their homes and interned in inhumane conditions during WW II because it was thought that they might be sympathetic to Canada’s enemy, Japan, and commit terrorist acts. Those interned had their property sold and the money raised was used to pay for their imprisonment. They were punished for their heritage.
• Prime Minister Harper apologized to the country’s indigenous populations for the kidnapping of tens of thousands of indigenous children who were placed in boarding schools, removed from their parents and culture, punished for speaking their languages and very often physically and sexually assaulted. The goal was to assimilate them into the new emerging “Canadian” culture.
• On May 30, 2016, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne apologized on behalf of the Government of Ontario for the brutalities committed for generations at residential schools and the continued harm this abuse has caused to Indigenous cultures, communities, families and individuals.

“From coast-to-coast-to-coast, the residential school system set out to ‘take the Indian out of the child,’ by removing indigenous children from their homes and systematically stripping them of their languages, cultures, laws and rights. Children were physically, emotionally and sexually abused. Many died…Thank you for finding the strength and courage to come forward and tell your stories — and the stories of those who were lost. In opening our eyes, you have given us this chance to move forward as partners and the opportunity to say we are sorry,”  – – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne

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Chief Dr. Robert Joseph contributes to peace by working for reconciliation and healing between all Canadians. #Canada150

Chief Robert Joseph was hereditary chief of the Gwawa’enuxw First Nation.  He leads a life dedicated bridging the differences brought about by intolerance, lack of understanding, and racism at home and abroad. He is currently an Ambassador for Reconciliation Canada and a member of the Assembly of First Nations Elders Council, he was formerly the Executive Director of the Indian Residential School Survivors Society and is an Honourary Witness to Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Chief Joseph’s insights into the destructive impact of racism were shaped by his experience with the Canadian Indian Residential School system. He began his life immersed in the rich cultural and family life of the Kwakwaka’wakw People. Unlike many other First Nations, his people were able to maintain much of their traditions due to the isolated and self-sustaining nature of their small village located on the central coast of British Columbia. As a young child of 6 years old, Joseph was removed from his community in order to begin an education designed to “kill the Indian in the child.” Despite the harsh lessons and abuse endured during his 11 years spent at St. Michael’s, Chief Joseph retained a deep understanding of his place in the world and his responsibility to his people.

As one of the last few speakers of the Kwakwaka’wakw language, Chief Joseph is an eloquent and inspiring Ceremonial House Speaker, sharing his knowledge and wisdom in the Big House and as a Language Instructor with the University of British Columbia. Internationally he is also recognized as an art curator, and is the  co-author of “Down from the Shimmering Sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast.”

In 2003, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Law Degree from the University of British Columbia for his distinguished achievements in serving BC and Canada. Chief Joseph is currently the Ambassador for Reconciliation Canada and the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, Chairman of the National Assembly of First Nations Elder Council, and Special Advisor to both Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Indian Residential School Resolutions Canada.

As Chairman of the Native American Leadership Alliance for Peace and Reconciliation and Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation with the Inter-religious and International Federation for World Peace (IFWP), Chief Joseph has sat with the leaders of South Africa, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia and Washington, DC to learn from and share his understanding of faith, hope, healing and reconciliation.

“Let us find a way to belong to this time and place together. Our future, and the well-being of all our children rests with the kind of relationships we build today.” 

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