Archbishop Shane Parker, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, met with the people of Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation during a visit to the Indigenous Spiritual Ministry of Mishamikoweesh from Feb. 28 to March 2. Archbishop Parker, who often describes the role of Primate as bringing the Anglican Church of Canada to those he visits, says he was moved by the stories he heard on his visit to the diocese, which includes parts of northwestern Ontario and northern Manitoba.
People who live in remote Indigenous communities often feel neglected by the organizations that are supposed to represent them, says Roy Fiddler, a manager at the Indigenous suicide prevention organization Choose Life and brother to Bishop Morris Fiddler, suffragan bishop for Northern Ontario in Mishamikoweesh.
“[People] know we live up here, but nobody pays attention to us,” Mr. Fiddler says. “So to have him come there and acknowledge that we are part of the church and that we are part of society, that really meant a lot to people.”
Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation was founded on teachings from elders who wished for the community to be unified in the Anglican denomination, Mr. Fiddler says. He believes the nation is still holding on to that ideal, though they remain welcoming to people from other traditions, and says the Primate’s visit reaffirmed that connection. “For him to come and reinforce that belief, I think it spoke volumes for the church.”
Archbishop Parker also met with Ontario MPP Sol Mamakwa, who represents the Kiiwetinoong riding where Muskrat Dam is located, and Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Chief Carla Duncan of Muskrat Dam, along with the local band council and Anglican leaders. The Primate says the stories they told of the Anglican Church’s importance to the region and fond memories of former Primate Archbishop Ted Scott were a striking counterpoint to the pain associated with the church through the crimes of a former priest, Ralph Rowe, a predatory pedophile.
In 2023, a judge ordered the Anglican Church of Canada and Scouts Canada to pay $13.25 million in settlement money in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of survivors of Ralph Rowe’s crimes. The settlement also required the church and Scouts Canada to formally apologize. The shape the apology takes will be determined in consultation with the survivors and with the communities that have been affected, the Primate says.
Archbishop Parker’s visit included the Muskrat Dam Gospel Jamboree, a worship event that drew visitors from across the region and different Christian denominations to an evening of song, dance and celebration of the faith.
Mr. Fiddler has been an organizer of the jamboree for 38 years. He says it was good to see the Primate there participating not as a leader of the event but as one member of an interdenominational gathering. Archbishop Parker’s participation as the Anglican Primate was especially meaningful, says Mr. Fiddler, as the Anglican church Mr. Fiddler grew up in held a much more prescriptivist view of worship that frowned on gospel music.
The Primate likewise praised the jamboree’s ecumenical nature and the quality of music played on shared instruments by musicians from around the region, calling the event a “rich fair of food and music and praise and community.”
Archbishop Parker says he was “deeply touched” when some members of the community presented him with a hand-beaded medallion bearing the image of a muskrat.
The medallion is a symbol of Muskrat Dam as a nation, a sign that the community wants to work with the Primate and a reminder of his relationship and responsibility to uphold their trust, Mr. Fiddler says. Medallions like this cannot be bought, he adds, only presented to people the community decides have impacted it in a positive way. For that reason, he declined to say who made it.
“We don’t want to give up names because nobody can just order it,” Mr. Fiddler says. “Not just because he’s a primate, we gave him that to remind him, ‘You came to Muskrat and you made a commitment and we honour that. And here’s a gift to appreciate that and to remind you of that.’”
Archbishop Parker describes it as “a huge honour. This medallion represents the beginning of my particular journey as Primate into the healing journey of the people of Mishamikoweesh, especially of those who suffered abuse by Rowe.