Does the Integration of Algonquian Rituals in Catholic Churches

Does the Integration of Algonquian Rituals in
Catholic Churches Imply a
Move Toward Decolonization?
Anny Morissette
Université de Montréal
Introduction
All Quebec Natives were Christianized. Not all remained followers of the
faith in which they were evangelized, but most adopted Christian ritual
gestures, such as making the sign of the cross or kneeling to pray, or the
attitude of respect and recollection in a sacred place (serious demeanor,
head down). Quebec Natives also kept rituals which were integrated within
Christian ceremonies as they were tolerated by the clergy. Finally, they have
hidden other rituals that became clandestine or marginal because of initial
disapproval by the first generations of missionaries.
Drawing on fieldwork conducted since 2006 in one Innu, one Atikamekw,
one Abenaki, and four Algonquin communities, this paper focuses on the
Algonquian people of Quebec who were originally evangelized by Catholic
missionaries. This research1 is based on ethnographic observations and
interviews2 that Marie-Pierre Bousquet and I conducted with Algonquians,
missionaries serving (or retired) in various Native missions, as well as a
diocesan priest attached to a Reserve church. Here, we examine Native
rituals performed at Masses, in processions, and during celebrations such
1. This article is part of a larger study of Algonquian religiosity and religious heritage
in Quebec Native missions, conducted jointly with Marie-Pierre Bousquet and with the
financial assistance of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. I
wish to thank Marie-Pierre Bousquet, Bryn Williams-Jones, Clint Westman, Guy Lanoue,
and the anonymous reviewers for their suggestions, comments, and corrections of a
preliminary version of this text. My gratitude also goes to the Algonquians who were
willing to share with us their knowledge and beliefs, as well as the Oblates working in
Native missions or at the Archives Deschâtelets.
2. In order to ensure confidentiality, the names of informants and communities are
omitted.
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as funerals, weddings, and baptisms. We focus on rituals that use objects
which originally had shamanic vocation, especially the drum, and on panIndian rituals like smudging with sage, cedar, tobacco, and sweet grass.
The drum and other objects were part of a shamanistic belief system
centerd on humans and animals in a hunting setting. In their concern for
evangelization of the Natives of Quebec, missionaries banned the use of
these objects which they considered evil. To replace these non-Christian
practices, the missionaries introduced other rites to the Algonquians. But
after the desertion of mission churches in the late 1980s, missionaries have
accepted and even sought the introduction of practices and objects that they
had previously prohibited. How is it that these practices and objects have
become, more than tolerated, but fully integrated into important Catholic
events and rituals?
A process of adapting to Native cultures, and finding the way
to proclaim Christianity to Indians, typified the early years of Catholic
missionaries in Quebec (Morin 1972:90). The reason was simple: to induce
various Algonquian peoples to convert. Father Gaston Carrière o.m.i.
(1958:70) recalled the beginning of the mission of Father Charles Arnaud
o.m.i. (1826–1914) among the nomadic Montagnais (early 1850s):
Le père a soin de dire qu’il n’éprouve aucune peine dans cette vie à
l’indienne, mais il ajoute, ce qui le trahit à son insu, que la meilleure façon
de faire du bien à ces pauvres gens est d’adopter leur manière de vivre.
C’est donc par esprit apostolique et non par goût personnel qu’il le fait.
Are current adaptive processes in use in Native missions aimed toward
conversion? If this is the case, conversion does not seem to refer to a change
of religious allegiance, but rather to a process to influence an individual so
that—in the fullness of their beliefs—one religion has primacy over others.
Is adaptation then a manifestation of a movement within Catholicism that is
open to the decolonization of religion? In Native studies, the idea of religious
decolonization was briefly touched upon by Henriksen (1993), in the context
of the Innu, quoting Tanner et al.: “to sort out the ‘interface’ between the
syncretic religion of the older people and the younger peoples’ yearning
for spiritual power and the securing of their identity in a decolonized Innu
religion” (Henriksen 1993:16). The concept of religious decolonization
has not, however, been further developed with specific reference to the
Algonquians of Eastern Canada.
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In anthropology, the decolonization movement has inspired numerous
theoretical and paradigmatic questions and reformulations as anthropologists
questioned the knowledge on which the discipline has been built (Poirier
2004:8). In this article, we define decolonization as a process of not thinking
according to patterns of an imposed system (political, social, religious, etc.),
but according to a system developed according to endogenous standards.
Thus, decolonization of religion would seem to imply that a religion that
had been imposed by colonizers should be rejected. But this is not at all the
view of our informants: they do not want to reject Catholicism, but subject
it to a critical gaze. Is this sufficient?
For the philosopher Dirk J. Louw (2001), who focused on religious
decolonization in Africa, “This attempt at the decolonization of the religious
other defeats itself, in so far as it deprives us of the right to criticize the
beliefs and practices of any other, including the colonizing other.” Does this
suggest that only the parties involved in this process are able to analyze
their religious transformation? One may also point out that “decolonization”
is an outsiders’ analytic category. We would have to disagree considering
the fact that the informants we met often associate Catholicism to
colonization. Marie-Pierre Bousquet (2008) also confirms this fact for the
Algonquins in an article on the interpretation of conversion to Catholicism
among these people. Following this logic, decolonization is certainly not a
category of interpretation imposed from outsiders on the Native experience
of Catholicism. As anthropologists, what we see as important is not the
emphasis on beliefs, because we cannot measure these or see to what degree
they are (or are not) decolonized. However, we can see in peoples’ beliefs
the place of culture, particularly when that culture is politicized. It seems as
if “culture” has acquired a great deal of power through the indigenization
of religious practice within Catholic space. So what issues, then, are raised
by this openness to the Other?
Before addressing this question, it is important to first clarify some
theoretical points. First, common understandings of decolonization cannot
be applied directly in Canada because, endorsing the view of Lithman
(1984), Native peoples have experienced internal colonization. Unlike
African or Asian countries, Natives in Canada will never gain complete
independence and so must contend with an imposed system (Morissette
2007). Decolonization cannot follow the path outlined by Appadurai (1996),
in the context of India. As demonstrated by D’Arcy McNickle (1973),
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Canada finds itself in a situation where Native self-determination can occur
only within the framework of federal government policies. Any move toward
decolonization must take into account this political context.
In addition, Natives have found themselves forced to unite in order to
have their claims heard. It is part of the political movement commonly called
pan-Indianism, movement based on the denunciation of a shared experience:
dispossession, land loss, colonization (Boudreau 2000). The emergence of
pan-Indianism has gone hand-in-hand with that of a spirituality of syncretic
nature that is seen as traditional, which will be discussed later. As Vecsey
has shown (1983) for the Ojibwa, the Christian missions have had a great
influence on the re-elaboration of traditional spirituality, to the point that
it is impossible to disentangle what is Native and what is not. Similarly,
in the practice of the Catholic religion, for example, sometimes syncretism
was initiated by missionaries and then incorporated by the Natives, while
other times it was initiated by Natives. How, then, are we to understand the
move of some Natives from a syncretic religion in recent decades to one that
is decolonized? To what extent is a decolonized religion still syncretic, in
ways perhaps not fully realized? Is it more a gradation, than a move from
one to the other? Religious practices and beliefs can take various cultural
forms, for example, the use of feathers or smudging in Catholic services, but
the mere presence of these cultural forms does not signify decolonization.
Nevertheless, it is essential to recognize that the cultural form of these
practices is a means by which Natives and clergy (the coloniser) reformulate
and restructure power relations. Indeed, the question of who controls the
performance in a ritual is paramount.
Reserve churches appear to be a place for experimentation, for a
revitalized religion which is a synthesis of local beliefs and the Catholicism
that elders consider part of their traditions. We hypothesize that the
Algonquian rites, which previously were associated with hunting territories
and clandestine spaces have, in entering Catholic space, acquired a new
status and represent an emerging religious post-colonialism.3
3. Post-colonialism refers to a “[.  .  .] un stade où la domination est à la fois incorporée
et profondément discutée et, en même temps, où les représentations et les pratiques
coloniales sont réappropriées, de façon originale, par les acteurs concernés, alors que
l’hégémonie politique se fait encore sentir dans les relations avec l’État” (Bousquet and
Morissette, 2008:10).
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A Brief History of These Rituals
Today associated with New Age and pan-Indian spirituality, rituals that are
performed by the Algonquian within the Catholic space have for some a
very distant shamanic origin. Some non-Christian customs seem to have
always belonged to Algonquian Catholic practices. For example, we found
that in the parish cemeteries we visited, it was quite common for people
to lay tobacco on graves. This gesture was reported by many authors for
different Algonquian peoples, since at least 1850 (Hackett 2005). A retired
Oblate Father told us (interview conducted in January 2009) that during
baptisms, which took place in the forest within the ancestral Algonquin
territories, several members of the audience had tobacco in their hands and
were gradually dropping it on the ground during the celebration. For this
Oblate, the offering of tobacco was an old Algonquin practice, and one that
he had never condemned. If the missionaries tolerated these practices within
Catholic rites, perhaps it was because they did not understand their full
import; the missionaries condemned and eliminated many other rituals, such
as drumming. Within the Algonquian people, the drum is not considered
as a mere musical instrument. Drumming was a shamanic practice, a way
to communicate with the spirit world (Armitage 1992:79). Not just anyone
could become a “drummer”; traditionally, drumming within Algonquian
groups was a privilege reserved exclusively for elderly men (Desmarais
et al. 1994:34). Armitage (1992:85) corroborates this among the Innu of
eastern Canada, but specifies that the drum “is reserved for older men who
have dreamed about playing it on three previous occasions.” For what
reasons, and in what manner, did these men communicate with the spirit
world by drumming? According to Armitage (1992:85):
Drumming provides the Innu hunter with information on the possible
location of game and future success at hunting. As he plays, and sings, he
falls into a kind of trance wherein he sees ‘sparks’ on the skin of his drum.
The size of these sparks, and their location on the drum head, indicate the
number of caribou that may be killed and their approximate location in
relation to the hunting camp.
According to the information gathered by Yvette Barriault (1971:141), “Pour
bien réussir cette cérémonie, le Montagnais croit fermement qu’il vaut mieux
ne pas être bon catholique.” This suggests that the particular shamanistic
practice of drumming was not altogether consistent with Catholicism. Is this
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the case for all the ways of playing the drum, or for the different occasions
where it might be played?
Among the Naskapi, the “elders” chanted and drummed when they
captured fur animals (Desmarais et al. 1994:34–35). According to Desmarais
et al. (1994:35): “Chaque homme a son chant personnel; on ne chante
jamais celui d’un autre.” The sound produced by the drum, along with the
songs it accompanied, appears to be the vehicle of power (Preston 1985:23;
Whidden 1985:35). Yet based on ethnographic data collected by Richard J.
Preston (1985:23) on the Cree of the east coast of James Bay, the power
of the drum does not seem to be connected only to the sound it produces:
I would say that it always had power because it was always taken care of.
It was always hanging up and away from the children. The children were
not allowed to play with it. You could not see the drum when it was not in
use. It had a covering which was well trimmed. They always had beautiful
coverings on it. The power was not in the sound of it: it was the drum itself.
It’s the same with the conjuring rattle. (Georges Head, in Preston 1985:23)
The drum is therefore a sacred object that is not within everyone’s reach
(Barriault 1971:142). How then can a shamanic sacred object become a
sacred Catholic object?
In addition to these ritual practices performed in private on hunting
territory, the “old hunters” also drummed at community events (Armitage
1992:85), such as at the dances following feasts and at weddings (Desmarais
et al. 1994:32–34). Practices related to the drum have, however, undergone
major changes because they were considered anti-Christian by missionaries
(Niezen 1993:232). The suppression of these practices by missionaries was
so important and widespread that drumming at community events became
marginalized. In 1973, Henricksen (1993:79–80, in Tanner et al.) noted
among the Innu: “They no longer play drums, sing or dance, and are
extremely reluctant to talk about religious traditions.” Indeed in some of
the Algonquian communities we visited, people do not easily talk about past
shamanic practices. One could even say that discussions on that topic are
surrounded with taboos and prescriptions. This is not only because of the
missionaries’ influence on their mentality; the people themselves still give
power to these practices as well as to their stories, which it is believed can
attract evil spirits to the communities and its members.
If, for the Algonquian, rituals surrounding the drum go back to time
immemorial, the smudging ritual is a very recent phenomenon. Originally
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practiced by the Plains Indians, then used by the central Algonquian of
Canada (the Odawa, the Ojibway, etc.), smudging was adopted by the
Algonquian of Quebec only in last twenty-five years, along with other
pan-Indian spirituality4 practices such as the sunrise ceremony. Smudging
is generally done by burning sage, cedar, tobacco, and sweet grass in a
shell. The smoke produced is then dispersed with a feather toward the four
elements (earth, air, water, fire), the four directions (north, south, east, west),
and toward objects or individuals in order to purify them. Using the feather
as a sacred object is not unique to the smudging ceremony. Its versatility can
be understood in the light of remarks made by a fifty-year-old Atikamekw
informant: “The eagle feather for indigenous people means the same as
the white dove for Christians, it is spirituality” (interview conducted July
24, 2003). If feathers (Photo 1) are increasingly part of the decoration of
Algonquian missions churches, does that mean that Algonquian spirituality
has a place within Catholic space? Or is it just an Indianized decor? How
can one explain that rituals, which in the past were related to hunting, are
now conducted within the halls of mission churches? Has the lack of access
to ancestral territories forced the Algonquian to practice these rituals within
the space of the Reserve?
Context of Emergence of Algonquian Rituals in Catholic
Space
The Vatican II council of 1965 was responsible for major reforms to the
Catholic Church, because it advocated the emancipation of peoples and a
closer relation to local cultures. Following Vatican II, Native mission churches
began making room for local cultures. It was first through Christianized
Algonquian objects, such as birch bark baskets for the collection or the
Way of the Cross manufactured from beaver pelts (Photo 2), that Natives
invested in the Reserves churches (Bousquet and Morissette 2008). Parish
life was at the heart of communities (ibid. 2008:14) until the late 1970s, and
4. Pan-Indian spirituality “[.  .  .] correspond à ce que Wallace a appelé un « mouvement
de revitalisation », c’est-à-dire qu’elle met en place des valeurs, une vision du monde,
des pratiques et des croyances communes, qui semblent avoir toujours existé dans le
contexte culturel, mais qui sont des créations organisées. Mais nous postulons que toute
création s’organise aussi autour de vieilles idées et de vieilles pratiques, remise au goût
du jour pour donner sens dans le present” (Bousquet, 2005a:173).
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Photo 1. Feathers decoration, Kateri Tekakwitha Church, Mashteuiatsh (Innu).
February 2008, by M.-P. Bousquet and A. Morissette.
Photo 2. The Way of the Cross, Saint Catherine Church, Pikogan (Algonquin).
February 2007, by M.-P. Bousquet and A. Morissette.
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missionaries and priests governed both the social and religious life. However,
they lost their influence on Native missions in the 1980s. Following the end
of Indian residential schools, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples,
and the public revelations by former residents of experiences of abuse,
from the 1990s onward the mission churches became deserted. From a
Native perspective, the loss of identity suffered by the mandatory boarding
schools gave birth to a cultural quest. This was also evident in the religious
sphere, with a proliferation of religious sects in the Reserves. Yet, a many
people on the Reserves are still—and self-identify as—Catholics. Concerned
for the future of Reserves churches, priests gradually opened up to Native
cultures to enable the development of a local church. At the theological
level, taking into account religious cultures is associated with the concept
of inculturation. Inculturation is the re-expression by a culture of the Gospel
message, following a continuous evangelization (Jaouen 1985:33 in Lapointe
1996:172). The term “indigenization” was also used in the same sense by
the Synod of 1974 (Elavathinggal 1990:241). In this way, elements of local
culture were gradually integrated within mission churches. However, it is
also in a context of reconciliation between Native people and the Church
that the inclusion of indigenous rituals took place. This is part of the healing
process between the missionaries and Native people who are trying to heal
the wounds of the colonial past, the domination of the Church in all aspects
of Native life, and the damage left by the residential schools.
In every community we studied, the introduction of Algonquian
rituality in the Catholic space has emerged as a result of various initiatives
by the parish priest, Native parishioners, or joint efforts by both. However,
we noted during the course of our research that there were two schools of
thought amongst Native parishioners about the introduction of Algonquian
rituality into Catholic space. On the one hand, there are those who want
to return to their beliefs of origin, and on the other, those who recognize
themselves within the Catholic Church. In any case, as one Native informant
remarked: “It gives a Native touch to the rituals in order to resemble us.”
Under What Circumstances Are These
Rituals Performed?
As we observed in several communities, Algonquian rituals are not at the
heart of Sunday Masses. Rather, drumming and smudging take place in
Christian ceremonies that are family events and mark rites of passage,
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e.g., baptism, marriage, and funerals. Sometimes, these ceremonies are
completely reworked to the point where culture seems to occupy a greater
place than the Christian rite. Sue Roark-Calnek (1993), who documented an
Algonquin wedding in the woods in 1988, showed how some elements of
the Algonquin tradition were selected and reinterpreted by the host family.
The latter wanted to show with this marriage the Algonquin cultural renewal
(Roark-Calnek 1993:105). For Roark-Calnek (1993:105):
[.  .  .] les pénétrations culturelles peuvent aller dans plus d’une direction
[.  .  .]. Le catholicisme algonquin coexiste avec les reliquats de la pratique
rituelle traditionnelle. Les syncrétismes culturels, les ambiguïtés, la
dissonance et le compromis constituent “la façon dont les choses sont.”
The “Anishnabe rite of Baptism,” a ceremony conducted in the spring of 2007
in a Algonquin mission church, is another example of the cultural reworking
of Christian rites. Bernadette Rigal-Cellard (2006:23–24) also reported a
similar ceremony for the Chippewa in the United States. Far from the usual
formula, the “Indianized” baptism in Quebec was inspired by a version done
by the Jesuits who worked among the Iroquois of Ontario. It was a layman and
an Oblate missionary who adapted the Anishnabe ceremony. The missionary,
whom we met in January 2009, told us how he chose particular biblical
readings and used the designation of “Creator” instead of God due to the
Aboriginal public. According to him, the term “Creator” reaches the First
Peoples far more effectively than the term “God.” All those in attendance at
this meeting were called to participate in the celebration by forming a circle.
Traditional elements were present and characterized this rite: smudging the
participants with the eagle feathers and sacred herbs (sweet grass, cedar, sage,
and tobacco); positioning the various participants in a circle (for example
grandmothers sit in the South); opening the door to the east, south, west, and
north; the teachings of the medicine wheel; a prayer to Mother earth, etc.
Toward the end of the ceremony moccasins were offered to the baptized child.
This offering recalls the traditional “first step” ceremony as it is performed
among the Cree of Mistassini. We cannot know who had the initial idea to
redo the ritual of baptism in the Indian style. From a catechism point of view,
the rite of baptism is very simple; perhaps it lends itself to an indigenization.
What is most striking, when one analyzes this ceremony, is that the Christian
ritual is almost completely invisible, even secondary.
Besides baptism, marriage, and funeral, Algonquian rituals are also
performed at major celebrations of the liturgical calendar, especially at
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Christmas when even traditional dances are held in the church (interview
conducted 4 October 2008). Algonquian rituals also appear during special
occasions for the local church. On the 27th of August, at the inauguration
of the new Winneway church by Bishop Dorylas Moreau, women of the
community played the drum while the Bishop cut the ribbon. Father Rémi
Cadieux, parish priest, has also described how “Pour l’offrande de l’encens,
on a utilisé un mélange de tabac, d’encens et de plantes sacrées” (newsletter
info IMO, 15 September 2008). The visit of the bishop to a Native mission
can also give rise to special celebrations, as reported by an Oblate priest
working in an Innu community in an interview conducted in the winter of
2008. On this particular occasion, the Innu organized a ceremonial entry to
the Reserve for the bishop: he arrived by canoe as it used to be at the time
of summer missions. Then, as soon as the bishop set foot on land, the Innu
“smudged” him. The priest, who had not been informed of the content of
the ceremony, feared the reaction of the bishop. The latter, it seems, “was
into the game.” In his parish, the Oblate father told us that drumming has
no shamanic meaning as is the case in other Innuat communities. But would
he have accepted it, if it had a shamanic function?
The outdoor Mass held at the annual Odanak powwow is also an event
where non-Christian Native objects and rituals are honored. The ceremony
includes the use of bannock at the Eucharist and a singing and drumming
tribute for the persons in the community who died over the past year.
The reinstatement of this Algonquian ritual was not an initiative of the
parishioners of the Reserve, but of the mission’s diocesan priest. Moreover,
the priest considers the powwow mass to be an interfaith celebration: not
only are Native rituals included, but the Anglican priest also officiates at his
side during the ceremony. Thus, Algonquian rituals within Catholic space do
not appear to be syncretic practices, but rather moments of shared beliefs
and ritual roles with Catholic celebrants, even moments of reconciliation.
This interfaith celebration in Catholic space may be a way of tightening
community spirit, for example, by encouraging interpersonal exchange and
soothing tensions; but it also places the priest on equal political footing
with the Natives who perform the Algonquian ritual.
It is important to remember that the missionaries took a very
paternalistic view of Natives, whom they saw as children. Who then are the
current protagonists of Algonquian rituals in Catholic space? For drumming,
depending on the community, the traditional requirements do not seem to
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have persisted. In some communities, women are allowed to play, while in
others, they are not; sometimes men can play without having previously
dreamed of drumming, but elsewhere they must also meet this requirement.
In contrast, the requirements for the right to practice “smudging” remain
rather strict. The question of age seems to be a key discriminating factor,
as young people do not perform the ritual. Although it is usually men in
their forties and older who perform this rite, in some communities women
“smudged.” Those who perform the smudging hold a distinct social status,
but some seem to be self-proclaimed experts, while others have broad
community recognition. Our future research will further document the life
journeys of these protagonists in order to gain a better understanding of
their ritual and community roles.
Although the inclusion of Algonquian rituals in Catholic ceremonies
has intensified over the past ten years, it would be wrong to think that
this is a recent phenomenon. At the August 15, 1973 procession of the
Innu community of Betsiamites, filmed by the director Arthur Lamothe,
the Innu honored the Virgin by firing gunshots, drumming, singing, and
dancing in front of the mission church. What is novel about contemporary
practices—whether they be rituals or sacred objects, originally shamanic or
pan-Indian—is that they are no longer taking place outside the church, but
within it. The presence of dream catchers and medicine wheels (Photo 3)
in the Reserve churches may, however, be misleading; they have sometimes
been brought in by parish priests, and may imply nothing other than that
they are part of the decor. It is thus important to document the history of
these church ornaments, as well as their ritual use.
Integration, Variation, and Dissent Within Communities
The integration of Algonquian rituals within Catholic space varies among
communities, and depends on the degree of openness of priests and Native
Christians. Some priests encourage inculturation because they see a religious
renewal in communities where they work. For others, “we do not do just
anything in a mission church” (interview conducted 24 February 2008).
During fieldwork in an Algonquian community in early October 2008, a
woman who is part of the mission choir confided in us about these rituals:
“we have not witnessed them but they are part of our ancestral customs.”
Although within and between communities ritual expressions may vary, they
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Photo 3. Medicine wheel, Holy Rosary Church, Kitigan Zibi (Algonquin). January
2008, by A. Morissette.
all seem to emerge from a conscious desire for revitalization, as scholars
have noted in other contexts, such as Prins (1994) about the Micmac. At
the conference Églises et Premières Nations: d’hier à aujourd’hui,5 Nicole
O’Bomsawin, an Abenaki from Odanak and a member of the Native
pastoral committee of the Catholic Bishops Assembly of Quebec, said that
if the Algonquian rituals were previously part of the natural order, they
are now conceptualized and analyzed by those who practice them. This in
effect draws on the classic definition by Anthony Wallace (1956:265) of a
“revitalization movement,” that is: “a deliberate, organized, conscious effort
by members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture.” Even if a
revitalization movement may push toward a religious decolonization, it is
not at the heart of the phenomenon we witnessed.
5. Event organized by the Faculty of Theology of the Universite de Montreal, 14 March
2008.
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The revitalization and integration of these Native practices into
Masses, processions, funerals, marriages, and baptisms are not universally
welcomed by all members of the community. We noticed among the
communities we studied at least three distinct visions of Catholic space and
the appropriateness of including Algonquian rituals: complete opposition,
full acceptance, and ambivalence. Perhaps not surprisingly, these visions
are the source of division and discord within communities. The strongest
opposition to inclusion of Algonquian rituals appears among the seniors
members of the community who, as we have seen in our fieldwork, consider
the Catholic religion as part of their tradition. This was also observed by
Armitage (1992) and Gagnon (2002) for the Innu, and by Gélinas (2003)
for the Atikamekw. An Oblate missionary serving in an Algonquin mission
notes that: “The Oblates have made a too good job by Christianizing the
Algonquins to the point where it seems inconceivable for them to include
their rituals within the church” (interview conducted 9 January 2008). This
missionary did not simply want to adapt Native symbols to the Catholic
religion, he wanted the Natives to appropriate these symbols according to
their proper culture.
At the other extreme, among the senior members of the community
stands a group of individuals, mainly former residents of residential schools,
that encourages a maximum indigenization of Catholic rituals. Between
these two positions are a group of undecided persons who are ambivalent
about the integration of Native symbols and practices, and oscillate from one
side to the other but without taking a public position. Yet what has emerged
most often from our interviews is a form of confusion and disillusionment
on the part of Natives with regards to a Catholic religion that no longer
appears to them to be consistent. According to a fifty-year-old Algonquin
informant (telephone interview, 8 October 2008):
In our church we are going traditional. We are passing from one extreme to
the other. Our practices were considered as evil and they were banned by the
Catholic religion. Today these practices are encouraged. It was considered
wrong when they say so and now it is ok. In 1960, we were going to hell
if we put a feather in the church. Now we have drum at church.
Bernadette Rigard-Cellard (2006), who in 2005 performed a survey in
Montana, Ontario, and Quebec on Catholicism and the inculturation among
Aboriginal people, also collected similar comments. For example, one of
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Anny Morissette
her informants, Sister Priscilla (Solomon Sister congregation) who works
in North Bay,
m’expliqua que dans ce cas encore, les Indiens, qui depuis des siècles
n’avaient entendu que des condamnations de leurs propres rituels décrétés
sorcellerie maléfique par les missionnaires, ne pouvaient tout d’un coup
comprendre pourquoi ces mêmes prêtres leur disaient subitement de
retourner à leurs superstitions. (Rigard-Cellier 2006:51)
What seems to arouse indignation among Native Catholics is the imposition,
by missionaries or priests, of elements of their cultures within the Church:
Dans les régions que j’ai parcourues, les premiers à bouleverser l’ordre des
choses furent les jésuites et ce qu’ils firent choqua profondément les Indiens.
À Thunder Bay ce fut le Père Maurice, S.J., qui un beau jour, dans les années
soixante-dix plaça une coiffe de plumes sur le tabernacle pour signifier que
le Christ était un grand chef. Vite les fidèles la retirèrent en s’exclamant:
“ce n’est pas comme ça qu’on fait!” Quelques années plus tard, ce fut au
tour de Soeur Eva Solomon d’improviser et elle introduisit le smudging.
Cela perturba considérablement les gens qui étaient des catholiques très
traditionnels. Il en fut de même lorsque le tambour fut introduit, beaucoup
de gens refusèrent de l’entendre et sortirent. (Rigard-Cellier 2006:51)
Have inculturation and indigenization within the Catholic Church been
orchestrated from within by religious institutions, without the participation
of the Natives that they wish to reach through this movement? According
to our findings, the situation varies considerably from one community to
another depending on the personality of the missionary or the priest present
in the Reserve and his perspective on the issue. Do the missionaries or
priests who work in Native missions have autonomy in deciding what may
or may not take place inside the Reserve churches? Rigal-Cellard (2006:20–
21) noted in the preparatory documents for the Tekakwitha Conference of
1978 (an annual conference which aims to “unifier les catholiques indigènes
américains tout en respectant leurs différences tribales”) Native innovations
that received the Pope’s approval. These include:
• Les symboles, les chants et les danses doivent rehausser la
liturgie et entraîner les fidèles vers une profonde compréhension
du mystère chrétien.
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• L’autel sera recouvert d’une nappe de la couleur sacrée de la
communauté invitante.
• Les chants indigènes, le tambour (éventuellement avec la flûte,
la guitare ou d’autres instruments traditionnels) et les danses
accompagneront la procession d’ouverture et de clôture, la
profession de foi, l’acclamation de l’Évangile, et la procession
de l’offertoire.
• Pour le rituel de purification, et pour la bénédiction des
offrandes, on brûlera du tabac ou de la sweetgrass au lieu de
l’encens. Ceci s’appelle le smudging. Les offrandes pourront
être, en plus du vin et du pain, du maïs, de la citrouille, du
riz sauvage ou une autre denrée traditionnelle.
• Les plumes d’aigle peuvent être choisies pour la bénédiction.
• Pendant la prière, on pourra utiliser la pipe (calumet). On
pourra adresser ses invocations aux quatre points cardinaux,
de même lors de l’Élévation, le pain et le vin afin de refléter
la spatialisation sacrée autochtone.
• Les symboles et les vêtements sacerdotaux seront également
indigénisés. La croix indienne sera utilisée; ses deux branches
d’arbre sont attachées à leur intersection.
• Les ustensiles et les vêtements liturgiques doivent être décorés
de motifs indigènes. (Rigal-Cellard 2006:20–21)
341
Remarks by the Oblate fathers that we interviewed suggest that they
have open minds about Algonquian rituals that goes well beyond the few
elements of Native cultures mentioned above that received the Pope’s
approval. Is inculturation supposed to censor aspects of local cultures that
are more appropriate to Catholicism or, on the contrary, leave room for
the latter?
In the report “Chercher un sens,” broadcast on Second regard on
Radio-Canada Television (19 November 2006), Paul-Yves Weizineau, an
Atikamekw from Obedjiwan, stated that “Aujourd’hui, nous autres, on
est capables de se remettre en question, pis on est capable de remettre
en question les religions, pour répondre à nos besoins.” This sentence
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Anny Morissette
seems to characterize the views that we encountered in our fieldwork: the
ability to question beliefs and practices of Catholicism is accompanied by
critical thinking that can result (since the informants say they can make
the choice) in an original reappropriation and reinterpretation of a religion
that had been imposed. This association between questioning, critical
thinking, and freedom to adapt seems to be one of the paths to religious
decolonization.
Conclusion
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Catholic clergy in charge of Natives gave
a Christian flavor to a number of Algonquian practices. After all, the
Christianization of gestures and pagan places has always been part of the
evangelization techniques of the Church. Thus, it was common in many
communities that priests blessed boats and guns prior to departure on the hunt
(which seems to have been abandoned in the early 1990s). At Natashquan,
the great collective salmon fishing celebration was even appropriated by a
former missionary, who has turned it into a Catholic celebration, the salmon
celebration, which is inaugurated by a mass. The documentary made by
Arthur Lamothe, “Prêtre et chaman à Natashquan,” reveals this transition
from a shamanic to a Christian celebration. Michel Grégoire explains that
the shamanic rites that took place at the great collective salmon fishing,
including that of the shaking tent, were intended to bring good fishing.
In recovering the shamanistic beliefs and actions in order to make them
Christian beliefs and gestures, it seems that the priest had taken the place
of the shaman. But this is no longer the case today.
Once Native people incorporated Catholicism into their representations,
they seem to have reclaimed the power to Indianize. Today, the situation
seems to be changing on the Reserves, and it is the turn of the Catholic
religion to integrate Native religious world views. The mission churches
and the Catholic rituals are being reappropriated in an original way by
Native people. For there to be a genuine inculturation and indigenization,
changes must come from the Native peoples. Is the indigenization of Native
mission churches enough to decolonize a religion? There is no firm answer
to this question, but one thing is certain: the post-colonial stage is well
and truly begun in the Catholic space of Reserves. Documenting the use
of contemporary Native mission churches is thus essential to understanding
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343
the articulation of the religious mosaic in the Reserves. The combination
of rituals does not necessarily imply the division of beliefs; rather, it
demonstrates that there is a creative flexibility on both sides.
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