Arta and the 94 Calls to Action

Rainbows in a blue sky, inviting us to imagine otherwise

The past several months were a gift of deep intensity for the family, as siblings and children travelled to Victoria to help Arta during the struggle with cancer.

As children, we shared notes on how our quiet conversations with Arta would frequently turn to the ways that we need to work individually and collectively to bring to life the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Report. 

Sitting out on the back deck... yes, we caught Arta flossing!

The day before her passing was just such a day, full of just such conversations.  Much of our time was spent on the back deck, enjoying the air, the trees, birdsong, and each other. 

The moon in the trees as visible to our eyes

As the sun set, we continued to sit on the deck, watching as the sky slowly darkened, and the moon became visible in the canopy above the trees.

The moon closeup with RJ's new camera!

As we sat there, the conversation turned to a project Catherine had been working on with her Latter-day Saint colleagues Karen Shirley, Dennis Wendt, Michele Hynynen and Sandra Pallin.  

They were drafting a document to post on the Canadian Newsroom to help Latter-day Saints celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21st. The document was intended to mark a "day of reconciliation to honour, care, share and heal and acknowledge that we are all brothers and sisters and children in the Creator's family."  The hope was to open a dialogue and invite Latter-day Saints to be part of this change.

Catherine was working to a deadline, and wanted to bounce some ideas off Arta and Rebecca. 

 

The three of them sat on the deck together well into the night, talking about different approaches, reading thoughts shared by Indigenous congregants, and writing and re-writing, under a clear sky with a bright moon.

If you would like to read the product of this special moment, it can be found here:

 Latter-day Saints in Canada Celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day. 

 

It has a concrete list of things people might do to bring the 94 Calls to Action to life in the spaces of their own communities.   Arta would be pleased.