There are many people in Canada who are not aware that the Jewish people are indigenous to the region that is Israel. The fact that the Jewish people are an indigenous people, who share bonds with indigenous peoples in Canada and elsewhere around the world was brought to life at a recent event on July 24. The event held at the Asper Campus featured indigenous leaders and cultural groups from around the world.
Indigenous Peoples at the event expressed their solidarity with Israel. The event stressed that Jews are indigenous to their ancestral homeland in Israel, having remained on their land for 3000 years continuously. At the event there were some 60 energetic, vibrant indigenous dancers, singers and musicians in colourful dress from Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Canada, Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand , Philippines, Samoa, South Africa, the United States and Tonga. They were all in Winnipeg for an international conference in Steinbach of Island Breeze, a Christian group that connects with local ministries in Manitoba, Indigenous communities, and teaches on faith and culture. It's the first time Canada has hosted the conference, which runs every two years.
The event was titled "Beyached" which means "Together" in Hebrew. It was organized by B'nai Brith Canada, Winnipeg region, and Ruth Ashrafi, Executive Director of B'nai Brtih Canada's Winnipeg region welcomed the indigenous groups
Grand Chief Emerius of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) representing 26 First Nations in Northern Manitoba said following the event that "Colonial governments in Canada are the ones who brought us the Bible. When we read the Bible, it says in Genesis and Deuteronomy that the land of Israel was given to the Jewish people by God. They are the stewards of the land in Israel, and the same God gave stewardship of the land in Canada to First Nations." MKO is a non-profit, political advocacy organization that provides a collective voice on issues of inherent, Treaty, Indigenous and Inherent Human Rights for the citizens of the sovereign First Nations it represents. The MKO First Nations are signatory to Treaties 4, 5, 6 and 10.
Lisa Lewis, a member of the Animakee Wa Zhing #37 First Nation in Treaty 3 territory, expressed the commonality between indigenous people in Canada and the Jewish people. As she told the Winnipeg Jewish Review "First Nations, Métis and Inuit people are of course Indigenous to Canada as are the Jewish people to Israel. Both connections have been fully established through spiritual, cultural, linguistic and religious traditions which connect them to the land. Our status as Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the status of Jewish people as indigenous people to Israel is further confirmed by archaeological, genetic and historical evidence of their continuous presence in each of their respective homelands." Lewis lives in Winnipeg, volunteers in the community and is the owner of Beyond Excellence Creative Consulting offering management consulting and customized training programs.
Grand Chief Emeritus Harper spoke warmly of his trip to Israel in 2012 and recalled how his people "were the last ones in Manitoba to have running water" but that when he prayed at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, "the blessings came so fast." He spoke of how both the Jewish people had overcome a history of trauma, and First Nations have also suffered from extensive trauma.
An indigenous performer who was from Hawaii said he remembered the stories told to him when he went to Israel. "I loved the culture, and the people," he said, noting that both Indigenous and Jewish people "are spiritual people who believe there is one Creator." He and others performed the Hula Kahiko, a traditional Hawaiian dance performed to chants and percussions, and predate Western influence.
Roger Armbruster, founder and director of Canada Awakening Ministries chaired the program and spoke of how the nation of Israel "came out of slavery into freedom." Armbruster is dedicated to a ministry of reconciliation, and of building bridges between cultures, nations, denominations and generations. He believes that the freedom that dance allows is a means of breaking dividing walls between cultures and nations, including greater and stronger connection and oneness between Jews and Indigenous People.
Referring to a Polynesian dance Armbuster noted, " Like the Jewish people, the Polynesians have also had to overcome centuries of colonization, paternalism and attempts at assimilation but they still have their song and their dance.”
The event also featured Winnipeg's Chai Folk Ensemble who performed a series of dances to Hebrew songs safter the indigenous dancers All of the indigenous and Jewish dancers and those who attended the program from cultures joined hands in dancing in a circle to Hebrew songs at the end of the evening. Hebrew is an indigenous language, which historically has been used by Jews in prayer before it became a modern language. The indigenous dancers and singers who attended the international conference of Island Breeze also toured the small Holocaust museum in Winnipeg's Asper Campus.
Those in attendance (approx 150 people) appreciated the fact that the indigenous dancers and leaders identified with the plight of the Jewish people. It was a welcome reprieve from the hostility to the Jewish people that has been expressed in Canada by many in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks and the war in Gaza. The program was a much needed counter balance to the growing chorus of voices in this country, especially in academia, who have been promoting the false narrative that Israel is a settler colonialist state. As the program demonstrated, Jews, like other Indigenous People, will continue to dance.
