Maggie Hodgson - Speaking My Truth

a new investment in life with his grandchildren who show him love every
day. Paying off his credit cards was a very big relief for the Elder and his wife
because the old age pension is their only income. They also accessed the
treatment planning money for extra counselling and traditional healing
ceremonies for their family.
The family is active in ceremony throughout the year. They have invested in
restoring balance within the family. In their case, this was not a response to
receiving money, it has been a twenty-year investment. The Elder had been an
active drinker but he has been sober for about twenty-plus years. During his
drinking years, he manifested many of the behaviours many drinkers follow.
His parenting and his relationship with his spouse were challenging during
this time. Since his recovery, he has been an active participant and ceremony
holder. He has been involved with his family in dealing with his lifestyle
choices during those drinking years. He has had many one-to-one times with
his children about their unmet needs during those years.
He had held fasting ceremonies on his land, and in one four-year period,
he hosted a group of priests and nuns who chose to fast with the Aboriginal
people. This provided a place for dialogue in the days before the fast and
an opportunity for the nuns and priests to deal with their pain of hearing
the experiences from all the former students in their parishes. A place of
understanding unfolded. All of the parties opened themselves to hearing
the other group’s perspectives and experiences. Each person faced their own
pain and found a new connection toward building respect, acceptance, and
shared relationship.
Now, his son carries on ceremonies for the community to come together to
share in the process of rebuilding community through ceremony. This is one
more step in Nelson Mandela’s statement of “freedom” and its meaning in
our lives. The Elder’s son, two daughters, and his wife are all abstainers, not
because they were ever alcoholics, but because they live a lifestyle that does
not need that source of stimulation. They have ceremonies and their family
to provide pure stimulation. The family has hosted local National Day of
Healing and Reconciliation ceremonies held each year on May 26 th .
At one time, there was a boycott of the local town by the reserve because of
remarks made by a town councillor. Local businesses, school board trustees,
and townspeople were invited to attend a reconciliation walk with about
seven hundred First Nation people. They walked with the former residential
school students and their families, listened to Survivors’ speeches, visited
the grave site of the students who died while in the school, and ended the
walk with a feast to enjoy good company. Their action of inviting the town’s
368 | Maggie Hodgson