White culture, the gospel, and Canadian history

This poem is an artistic reflection, written in response to a talk given by Terry Leblanc at P2C PLUS.

White Canadians, do we know our history?
A mismatched group of immigrants and refugees.
All seeking a better life.
Hope.
Peace.
Freedom.

What about our first nations?
The people who developed the land.
Protected it.
Shared it.
Watched it get stolen. Taken.
Where is their justice?

White Canadians, we are a new people.
With an old and sorry past.
We are a blend of hopes and dreams.
Thoughts and passions.
But many things were lost,
on our way to get here.

Did you know? Have you learned?
Have you heard the whispered stories of old?
Colonial powers still take hold.
They dominate.
Run free.
Control the narrative.

We imagine that we are innocent.
We are bystanders, onlookers.
When aboriginal women get murdered,
Go missing,
And are forgotten.
Where is their justice?

First gen.
Second gen.
Third gen.
What about 300 generations of wisdom?
Are we losing our unique voices?
Have we suppressed them?
Erased them?

To move forward,
we need to look inward.
Our values, our hearts, our stories.
Examine the brokenness within ourselves.
Start with our identity.
What makes us truly Canadian?

Or is true identity found in Christ?
Redeemed, bought, made new?
Found in faith, in saying yes to God.
In being his child?
Perhaps it's both.
We’re created in God’s image,
But placed in this culture and time.

Maybe we don’t need to lose one to keep the other.
Perhaps we can be free to be.
Who we were created to be.
Brothers, sisters, friends.
Allies.
Partners in this world.

Together we need to fight the lies.
That white is better.
That white is Christian.
That white is holy.
We can lay those down at the cross.
Repent of the mistaken sides of our own culture and thought.

We’re colourblind, we say.
But God isn’t.
No. He created culture.
Birthed forth language and custom.
One day all languages and cultures,
will bow and sing before the throne.

We are called to be reconcilers.
First, reconciled to Christ.
And now, to be reconciled to each other.
To build bridges.
Ambassadors: belonging to another world,
To help others know Creator too.

White Canadians, we need to look back,
in order to move forward.