 Thank you so much for coming to this fourth session of the Kairos gathering 20 years of spirited action for justice. My name is Shannon new felt I am on part of the Cairo stuff and I'd like to introduce Ed Bianchi, who was for many years the indigenous rights program coordinator now the Cairo's program manager. And so Ed take it away. Well, thank you very much, Shannon. Yes, as Shannon mentioned I'm the currently the program manager at Cairo's but for many years. I was the indigenous rights program coordinator and actually was the first indigenous rights program coordinator, coming from the Aboriginal rights coalition which is one of the predecessor coalitions of Cairo's. And I'm really, really honored that you chosen to sort of spend some time with myself and members of the Cairo's indigenous rights cycle for this workshop this afternoon. I'm going to keep my comments very short. So what I would like to do then is just start with the territorial acknowledgement and, as I was saying some of you might be aware that in New Brunswick recently the government of New Brunswick ordered not to use territorial acknowledgments at public events, or at least not to use them and include the words unseated or unsurrendered in part due to legal actions that are before the government of New Brunswick from the first nations in that jurisdiction so let's keep that in mind as we acknowledge that we're meeting today on the traditional territories of the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island, and that we are grateful for them allowing us to gather and meet and learn together on their territories. We acknowledge that I am the unseated and unsurrendered traditional territories of the Algonquin peoples, and that we honor the struggles and the lives of all those who gave themselves for the land and for all our relations. For those here today, we acknowledge the ancestors beneath our feet and we acknowledge the land. We acknowledge the traditional territories of all the nations, the Cree, the Denei, the Soto, Yanishinaabe, the Dakota and Lakota, the Blackfoot, the Inuit and the Métis, and all the nations that came before us and those yet to come. We affirm our relationship to each other and to the land and we acknowledge and pay respect to the indigenous nations and ancestors of this land. So I want to briefly introduce the members of the Kairos Indigenous Rights Circle who will be participating in the workshop today, and then ask them to sort of say a few words about themselves, and then we'll get into the program. First of all, I'd like to introduce Yvonne Verbal. Yvonne is the Executive Director of the Canora Fellowship Center. She's a member of the Bird Tail Dakota First Nation, and she served on the Nations Ban Council for 14 years. And before joining the Fellowship Center, she was Director of the Edmonton Urban Native Ministry. I'm Yvonne Verbal. It is a good day. And with a good heart, I shake all of your hands. I join you here from the traditional territory of Treaty 3, homeland of the Inishinaabe. I acknowledge any residential school survivors and knowledge keepers that are here with us today. My name is Yvonne Berble. I am Dakota from the Bertel Dakota Nation in Manitoba. We are non-signatory to treaty. I am the executive director of the Anima Way among Kenara Fellowship Centre in Kenara, Ontario. I'm also with the Presbyterian Church in Canada and it has been my privilege to be part of the Indigenous Rights Circle for the last three years or so and I've enjoyed meeting the members, staff and being part of the collective, ever-revolving and more inclusive and engaging work. Congratulations to Kairos on your 20th year anniversary. Thank you. Thank you very much Yvonne. Next I'd like to introduce Gisit Danamuk. Gisit Danamuk is Wampanoag from the community of Marsh B located on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Gisit Danamuk is a long-time Indigenous rights activist and advocate especially on things like cross-border issues, the Wabanaki Confederacy, building cross-culture relationships and treaties and I can safely say I think that Gisit Danamuk is one of the longest serving members of the Kairos Indigenous Rights Circle so it's great to have his perspective and long view on this panel today. I'm really grateful to be here. I have, for the past 20 years or so, I've been really privileged to be with the Kairos Indigenous Rights Circle. I feel very connected, if you will, to Kairos and I have a very deep love for the organization and for the people past and present and future and I'm very honored to be called upon to come and share some thoughts with you. I'm probably one of the few Kairos members or Indigenous rights members that are not affiliated with any religious organization but I do come from a natural spirituality with the Kairos and just so deeply appreciative of life and existence so thank you for this opportunity. Thank you, Gisit Danamuk. Another way to describe Gisit Danamuk's affiliation is member-at-large so let's keep that in mind and finally not large member but member-at-large Finally we'll turn to Jose Zarate who is the Canadian Indigenous Communities and Latin America Caribbean Development Program Coordinator for the Plymouth World Relief and Development Fund of the Anglican Church of Canada. I would love to see your name tagged there, Jose. Jose is a Quechua from Peru, moved to Canada in 1984, earned his PhD in Education and International Development from the University of Toronto and has worked at the Plymouth World Relief and Development Fund since 1996 which is about the time that we met around that time that we met so we don't call him Doctor Zarate but you know if you feel like the need then that's okay. Thank you for that lovely introduction. Yes we know each other for many many many years doing the work that we were called to do. Very honoured, humble to be invited to this event. In addition to what you mentioned about who I am I would like to add that I was adopted by the Nishkan Nation into the killer work plan and also I was given the Eagle Feather by the MiKMAC people from Nova Scotia. Yes again very happy to be here thank you. Thank you very much Jose. So we're going to get into the program now. I'm going to ask the three members of the Kairos Indigenous Rights Circle to answer three questions. The first question is clear please share one highlight from your Indigenous rights work with Kairos. The second question is what is the most pressing issue facing Indigenous peoples today and the third question is what change do you hope for going forward and how can Kairos contribute to bringing that change about in the next 20 years in the next 20 years. And then you know before that we're going to show some pictures which highlight a few of those special moments over the last two decades but before that we would like to ask that you join us in a moment of silence for the children and the discoveries, recent discoveries across the country at the former residential schools, a moment of silence to honour and respect them and knowing that there will be many more discoveries so please join us in a moment of silence. Thank you very much. Like I said we'll get to the questions right after I share my screen and this slideshow that has been prepared. I'm going to there's about 25 slides here. I'm going to go through them quickly because I think what we want to do is hear from our Kirk members but this will bring back some memories. What I've tried to do here is again highlight some of the events over the past 20 years related to the Indigenous rights work with Kairos. So in 2001 Kairos launched a campaign called Land Rights Right Relations as part of the Jubilee campaign and there was a petition on Aboriginal land rights that garnered over 50,000 signatures. So you know it wasn't very long after that that over a thousand blankets arrived in Ottawa and were spread out on the lawn of the Supreme Court of Canada. These blankets were part of workshops that were held across the country that you know were to raise awareness and understanding the Aboriginal Indigenous rights and included the petition in the workshop. So a lot of the signatures gathered were from those workshops. There's one of our panelists sitting on the blankets in front of the Supreme Court of Canada on that National Aboriginal Day 2001. In 2003-2004 Kairos and at that time it was called the Aboriginal Rights Committee worked with the Native Women's Association of Canada and also some of the member churches the United Church and the Anglican Church to help the Native Women's Association of Canada gather get funding from the federal government for what was then called the Stola and Sisters campaign which then became Sisters in Spirit. In 2004 Kairos and the Indigenous Rights Circle hosted the Indigenous Water Rights Forum in Manitoba. In 2006 Kairos hosted the Tucho International Indigenous Water Rights Conference and there is Chief Fred Sangri on the shores of the Great Slade Lake. 2007 we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Anu Covenant towards the constitutional recognition and protection of Aboriginal self-government in Canada. In 2010 and this was mentioned this morning at the plenary there was an ecumenical delegation to the Tarsans that included Ray Jones who you'll see on the left hand side there. In 2010-11 Kairos released the land rights the land our life Indigenous Rights and Our Common Future Education and Action died. In 2011 the Role with Declaration campaign which involved asking people from the networks across the country to design banners related to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and we gathered I think it was close to 300 banners and here's just a very small sample size. I think somebody said it took nine minutes to walk all the banners past one point. For those of you who know Ottawa all the banners were gathered at Victoria Island and then marched across Parliament Hills to the Human Rights Monument and some of the people who participated with us were from Sofremont in BC and this was taken just before they got to Ottawa. In 2012 Kairos sponsored a youth delegation to the United Nations. These youth met with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child talk about some of the human rights challenges facing Indigenous youth in Canada. A third from the right there is Helen Knott who was presented on Sunday at the unstoppable workshop. Priscilla Solomon this morning at the plenary Priscilla used to be a member of the Indigenous Rights Circle mentioned how Kairos and the Indigenous Rights Circle in order to further its Indigenous Rights work started meeting in communities or in different regions of the country and here we are in the Githubanamooks neck of the woods in 2012 at the Kirk follow meeting. So the next year Kairos participated in the national TRC education event in BC and presented a gift to the Bentwood box and there again is Kirk co-chair Ray Jones the Redditary Chief. The next year we traveled to Cree Territory, Mysticini in particular to hold our meeting there and that was one of the last meetings that Warren Almond attended. Warren's in the background there he passed away a few years ago. Our other co-chair the other co-chair of the Kairos Indigenous Rights Circle Joanne Jefferson in the yellow jacket there attended the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York and then in 2015 to mark the release of the calls to action and executive summary of the tooth and reconciliation of Canada's report Kairos worked with the Assembly of Seven Generations a youth led group here in Ottawa to host the first mass Kairos blanket exercise on Parliament Hill there's a shot from that. Kairos was also very much involved with trying to get the provinces and territories to comply with call to action 62.1 which was all about education and mandatory curriculum from kindergarten to grade 12 and so here's like one of the memes that was created for that campaign and there is an example of one of the petitions that was signed. Another time that Kirk traveled was to Edmonton in 2016 for its fall meeting and we met at the but we met in Edmonton at the Edmonton made of Healing Center but one of the visits that we made was the Homemakers Lodge Treatment Center. In 2016 the churches Kairos and other churches responded to the call to action and did so with the press conference on Parliament Hill. In 2017 again to celebrate the anniversary of the TRC we held what is called the kitschy blanket exercise kitschy is means really big in the Algonquin language and here you can see at following the exercise all the participants basically created a circle linked arms and hands and created a circle which went all around the lawn in front of the Parliament building so all of you who are familiar with that lawn know how big it is and how many people that represents. In 2018 we continued with the call to action and campaign on 62.1 and here is some of our BC network members presenting petitions to the BC legislation. Kairos did a lot of work around Bill Seats 262 and here's one of the means that was associated with that. 2020 the year of prayer and the traveling sacred bundle this was an initiative of the steering committee which was marked or at least launched with a ceremony at the Toronto office in at the office in Toronto at the Kairos office in Toronto and so you know this was one of the last public events that Kairos held before the pandemic shut everything down. I think this was March 11th or 12th in Toronto in the Toronto offices and then you know the programs got shut down March 16th the bundle was meant to travel across the country but you know made it far as far as Winnipeg before the restrictions took place so that's something we're looking to get back to at some and of course Bill C-15 an act respecting the UN Declaration was advocated for and which was passed. So that's a trip down memory lane. I hope I didn't go too fast and cause anybody to get dizzy or anything like that but like I said I just wanted to make sure that we gave our panelists as much time as possible to answer their questions and so I'm going to start with the first question which is once again please share one highlight from your Indigenous rights work with Kairos and we're going to start with you. Thank you Ed. I want to say thank you to all of you for holding the moment of silence in memory of all of the children. This afternoon I hold that silence for a teen from my home community who died this morning as a result of trauma. Prayers for her family who are faced with such stifling grief and for our youth who are facing such trauma. It has been my privilege to share grassroots perspective working with the homeless population and the impacts of the Indian residential school intergenerational trauma. We witness daily the level of devastation that is happening on the streets and in First Nation communities. It has been important to bring that voice to the circle and how crucial the work is to bring about change. It has been encouraging seeing more Indigenous people involved with Kairos throughout the years and the solidarity that has resulted as we face difficult issues. The work of reconciliation involves creating spaces for sharing our truths, promoting healing and seeking justice. We must continuously stand strong to make sure that every child does matter. Lives truly are at stake. I am thankful for all of the support and the advocacy. Thank you. Thank you very much Yvonne. Next I'd like to go and give a dynamic. Thanks. I know that I was supposed to respond to one memory but I'm going to give you two. Both were really deeply impactful for me. One was, I guess the first one, I had my suspicions early when the Aboriginal Rights Coalition was moving into Kairos. I followed Ed into that great unknown wanting to check this new entity out. I think it was that first initial meeting. Somewhere in that meeting I was invited to do a stomp dance or a snake dance. I can't recall what the population at the time but that picture of that great circle around Parliament kind of reminded me that had to be 100 people in that snake dance. It was really impressive. I've never been dancing with so many people in that particular one. One of the aspects of that snake dance is that at one point it coils around. It was a really tight circle of bodies. It was really left me with a great impression. The other one was a meeting, one of our current meetings. It was the time when we were poised with a question to comment on a statement that Kairos was coming through, I think in support of the TRC work. Very generally, the question seemed to be okay but there were some things that were left out and I was kind of concerned about that. I raised the issue of treaties and the issue of section 35 and 25 and that. I didn't want to cause a damper on our meeting. I just can't think of his name right now. But the moment I said that, he also supported that statement. Somebody jogged my mind. Ed, he was just featured in that picture and I can't. I just so loved that man. Part of it was because he was very part of the governance of Canada and served many different ministries. But it was so interesting for his perspective on government policy and working within ministry and so forth. But when he agreed with me, when he joined in that and talked about it from his lens, I was just so deeply moved by that. 20 years of this experience, I can think of so many, many more but those two particular were highlighted in thinking about our experiences in Kirk and with Kairos. Over to you, Ed. Thank you very much. I forgot about that snake dance. Thank you for bringing that active mind. Jose, you're up next. Thank you. First of all, the work that we do at the Climate Sovereign Relief and Development Fund since 1996. We were quite close in the work that used to do at that time art, the original right coalition that we can't be part of what is today, the Indigenous Rights Circle. So we are, it's difficult the question that you ask because it is more than just one issue that really impacted me. Personal level institutionally speaking too. As an Indigenous person coming from Latin American country, which has been oppressed by regimes, military regimes, and violent human rights, I was shocked when I hear for the first time the initiative that at the beginning was carried out by the Canadians, Indigenous, Canadian, national, Aboriginal, what is the name, the Native Women Association, I believe, in Ottawa. They were working around the issue of the disappearance of women. That began to be today assisted in spirit. So it was an evolution of years and little by little for me to be as, you know, by doses, by the media, how the media control that information that people weren't aware of what is happening through the history of Native women to be killed. That's the term kill. And then finally the RCMP produced this report, you know, recognizing that effectively there was a killing of women, Indigenous women, you know. And this bring me also impact, thinking about my Indigenous roots in the Andes where women who have the gift, the miracle of life bring a response for future generations to be also annihilated, you know, annihilated. It's a real genocide that happens through the years in Latin American countries. So for me, that was an issue that really woke me up that that this is not only what happened in Peru or Mexico, but also happening in Canada. Another issue was, again, I said that it's impossible for me to say just one. It was the invitation that to, with Cairo's care, the Indigenous Rights Circle, to this International Indigenous Water Rights Conference in Northwest Territories. This was organized by the, I don't know if I pronounced correctly, Ataichou Territory, you know, by the nation there in Northwest Territories. It was unique because it was a grassroots level conversation. There were then a leadership at that event. But also it was the, there was a flavor of international perspective because there raised issues from other nations in the world. For me, it was an opportunity to talk about Bolivia. Bolivia at that time elected Indigenous President Evo Morales. Evo Morales in Bolivia was able to stop the privatization of the water and keep the water for the people. So that was also, that conference also struck me as, how can I say, that's a motivation for me to be continuing working with care in this area of water. Yeah, those are the two areas I will say. Thank you, Ed. Well, thank you very much, all three of you for answering those questions. As I mentioned at the beginning, the current Cairo Indigenous Rights Circle co-chair Ray Jones was hoping to be on the panel as well, but due to a conflict wasn't able to join us. But he did give us answers to these questions. So I'm going to read out his answer to question number one. He said that one highlight of his work with Indigenous Rights at Cairo was getting to visit so many First Nations communities. He said this was very important to sit down with the respective leaders and hear their concerns. And that Cairo through Kirk being able to address these concerns as much as possible, especially with the federal government. And Ray said he particularly remembers his first Kirk meeting, which was in Edmonton and hosted by Harold Roche at the Native Healing Center. And that was in 2004. So a little bit of history there. Okay, on to question number two, what is the most pressing issue facing Indigenous peoples today? And once again, we'll go to Yvonne to start. Thank you again, Ed. So I think it is important to not only view all of the pressing issues that directly impact Indigenous people, but to view it as a national crisis. Continued awareness about the doctrine of discovery, colonial systems and the trauma and discrimination which continues to prevail and continue to devastate Indigenous nations. Further to this is how do we decolonize as Indigenous people, as settlers? What does that mean? It's something that I struggle with and many of my Indigenous brothers and sisters also struggle with. How do we decolonize taking into consideration the impact of colonization and somehow coming to terms with that? It's been very challenging at the different tables that we've sat around. How do we look through the lens of decolonization in our workplaces, in our ministries, with our behaviors, our allyship and our attitudes and even how we treat each other and righting the wrongs in so many instances that we have so many opportunities to do that on a daily basis. One way has been through the blanket exercise. Often we have heard that it was a blanket exercise run directly through kairos or indirectly that first helped them understand they needed to upend their whole worldview or to some extent and commit to reconciliation. The blanket exercise has helped to deal with all of the complexities and guided conversations which are crucial to the work of reconciliation. One of the hardest or the most difficult blanket exercises I've been part of as an Indigenous person was conducting them with other Indigenous people in circles where there have been residential school survivors and a lot of our young people or people in general who do not know our own history, the impact of the residential schools and some of the terms of doctrine of discovery, terranolias and all those terms that really don't mean anything but have had such a huge impact on our lives. Those complexities and those guided conversations are so necessary and very thankful for the blanket exercise, how it's evolved. I think one of the most pressing things is how do we reconcile within even our own selves as we try to stand with everything that's coming towards us. Thank you very much Yvonne. It's really a big question. If we can be encouraged, I think about Kyros and Kyros is kind of a mini-cosm of what both Canada and the world needs to be doing and reaching out and being supportive. There's just so many things that come to my mind. I really appreciate what Yvonne was just saying. And particularly around the issues about decolonization. I take it one step further. I'm known to be pushing the envelope a lot. I'm thinking about more like deconstructing what was brought here. Canada has yet to you know it sounds kind of strange but you know Canada does this thing with Indian country quite often says one thing but doesn't do anything kind of thing and you know that in this particular case Canada has constitutional mandates to recognize the treaties and the validity of the importance of treaties and United Nations is just starting to catch up with Indian country on matters of treaties like that. It's hard to believe that Canada is still in a very quiet way and through its Indian policies and legislations still involved with genocide. Genocide is not just the fact of going out and killing people. It's creating the conditions that will lead to the end of a people. And Canadian Indian policy is very much like that. Reconciliation is yet to begin. It's a big question and it kind of follows through with this idea about decolonization. You know and so I'm really big on the idea that Kyros is one of those few organizations that have made a purposeful and intentional journey into of embracing that huge gap between Indigenous peoples in Canada and in Western countries, United States and Canada very much in the same pot. And I think that we needed to celebrate you know those kinds of initiatives and those in that kind of strength and conviction and persistence because that's what's going to get us all through this. We have yet to establish a relationship. You know and so that's why I'm so fully embracing the work of Kyros in this because they're doing it and it makes me really persistent in being part of this organization on many levels. Thank you. Thanks. Thanks very much. Give the dynamic. Jose? Yeah thank you for my colleagues Yvonne and Mr. Kanamu. So much in terms of priorities you know. We had pressing issues. We have the Royal Commission of Indigenous Peoples report 1996 I believe. Then we have the all these process consultations through the United Nations. What is today? The UN DRIP. We have the recent report from TRC called to Action 48. We have visited communities since 1996. Indigenous communities, First Nations across Canada and a common denominator, a common concern. I will say a common interest from those communities is whatever we do we have to think about the 7th generation, about the future generations. So any activity that communities want to start implementing with involvement, collaboration, partnership with the Primus Water Relief and Development Fund has that key ingredient, future generations. For instance the SISICA people near to Calgary in Alberta. After the unmarked grapes that finally the entire world was informed about these genocides. The SISICA people has been working lucky to convert to transform a local residential school into a virtual museum. A virtual museum that will always be there to remind people the audience about the history. The history that the SISICA people has had until today. And for the only generation to remember where they're coming from and where they're going from there to the future. The Moja communities in Kanawaki remind us how important it is to preserve the language, Indigenous language. And this is just my opinion. I think it's the only one. I'm not sure about it. Through the years, it's the only case that I know that the Kanawaki Mojon community has this local law, language law, that they have as a ultimatum goal to reverse the disappearance of the language in the community. And this law applies in the entire community, Kanawaki, that everybody has to speak the language, particularly those who have frontline service to the community. All those bank consoles, social services, all of them is the priority that they should speak the Moja language. They just this past December, they just celebrated 20 years. And you cannot believe amazing work that this institution, KOR, LCC is doing in Kanawaki. And they're using one of the tools that they're using. It's fantastic. It's so creative. So creative people. They're using the key balance, what the kids in the mainstream society has the Sesame Street. So they have the puppet show representing by the three sisters, the con, the beans, and the squash. And they have the grandmother and the grandchild. And they have this conversation about current urgent issues that the community goes through, like health issues, like a COVID, for instance, you know, and so on. All those issues that people in the community has to be aware of beyond their communities. So that's quite great. Another important issue is water. Water. Water is life, you know. Water is all mother earth blood, you know. Water give us nourish us, give us food. Because thanks to water, we can feed our lands and produce our crops. So we're working with Pican Chican community in Northern Ontario. And they initially tell they can collect water, safe water that they can drink, you know. So water is also another important issue that I have seen here from communities to have access to safe water. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Again, Jose. And again, just to sort of bring Ray into the circle for a minute. When I asked this question, he said that for him, the biggest issue involves the young people, the children in Indigenous communities across the country and he specifically mentioned the opioid crisis and also, you know, the whole issue of foster care and, you know, children being taken from communities. So this brings us to the third and final question for the panel and this one asks us to look at, look forward, going forward. How, what do you see as hopeful and how do you see Kairos contributing to that chain, that hopeful positive change going forward? And Yvonne, we'll start with you again. I'm at work right now. So it's kind of lively around here right now. So I hope you can hear. I was just looking through some of the names that are on this Zoom call and it's so good to see you. I'm glad that you're all doing well. And just, you know, just thinking about all of the work that we've all been involved with. It's been so encouraging and I just want to say congratulations to all of you for, you know, putting in the time and, you know, giving it your best effort and so congratulations to all of you. So my response to moving forward, I thought that Kairos has always been modeling change and that has been a huge gift that they have given to all of us, given to me, you know, the opportunities that I have experienced being part of Kairos in my little community, which is deemed isolated, that I could feel that I was part of this big moving organization and, you know, doing my part to help make life better for everybody. I think that Kairos has also built capacity at local levels. I witnessed that. I'm part of that. You've built capacity within me. So I'm very hopeful about that. But I always try to encourage other Indigenous people, not just Indigenous people, but for people to get involved with Kairos. And a lot of people are very interested. So I'm encouraged about that too. I'm excited for new campaigns, the new strategic plan, and a stronger force, challenging the norms at so many levels. We need to keep pushing those boxes, pushing them open. With all of the global challenges is with all of the global challenges, it is such a critical time that we are living in, and we all have to do our part. It is certainly one in the forefront of our minds. As to how do we continue fanning the fire for change, both for Kairos and I'm speaking about all of the respective churches that are represented here nationally and locally. Sometimes it is the local level where the reconciliation has been difficult to navigate from my personal experience. Promoting Kairos initiatives and to bring about change with the need to create space for original voices and telling our own stories. Kairos can continue utilizing its circle of influence and promoting deeper understanding of the act of the colonizing. No pressure, Ed. As an intergenerational survivor, I look forward to a safe, fulfilling future for the next generation and generations to come to not experience what we did. That they can have a life full of true opportunities, safety and equality. Promoting healing with prayer and standing strong together. We can hope for the TRC calls to action and the calls to justice to be fulfilled. And truly honoring the lives of the thousands of women, girls, men and the LGBTQ2S that have been lost. Let me talk to you all my relations. Thank you very much, Yvonne. You're the junior member on this panel and in the circle, but you bring so much and have so many gifts and I'm grateful that you shared some of them with us today. Is it Danamook? You know, one of the good things, actually one of the profound realities is all of us in the Americas are living in Indian country, North Central, South America. That's all Indian country before Columbus got here. We, you know, as as expansive as the territories are, many of us knew each other. You know, we weren't, we weren't just inhabiting our own, our own sphere of life. You know, in my culture, you know, on Nasset, which is now Cape Cod, but we knew of the Buffalo, you know, and in fact, Buffalo had a great range, but maybe two thirds of the continent of the United States was covered with Buffalo. In fact, you might have heard of Buffalo, New York, that was the most eastern branch of the Buffalo. Putting that aside, the fact is, is that we're all inhabiting the ancestral lands in the current lands of Indian country and maybe put it another way, there's nowhere anybody in this room can go to get away from us. We're going to be here. We're going to be here with the same message that carried our, my ancestors in that, and that is that love of, of all the life around us, you know, I'm Otter, I'm Turtle. You know, my name translates to the, to the owl, you know, we're so much embedded in the land and life around us, you know, and that, you know, I think that, that Kairos has been that model of embracing the unknown and embracing Indian country and that's, at some point we stay with this, this journey together or we're in this journey together. Each of you are here because you want to be here. You're part of a colonial nation state that's still evolving, you know, and Kairos is happening, is, is, is, is helping to shape what that involvement is and that's the references I make about deconstructing the, the false narratives that we sort of built our, our society of values on, you know, we need to check those, you know, we need to find that way that we embrace all life as, as my colleagues have been talking about, you know, and just in reference to what Jose was saying, you know, we're very, each of us in our bodies are very much part of the world, part of the water as we are a part of the land, you know, and it's amazing that we have ceremonies that honor water and honor the earth, you know, and that, that has a reverberation back to us, you know, and I believe that that is what awaits the work of Kairos. That's what awaits the, the, the evolution of the Canadian settler state that will no longer be a settler state that will become part of the earth like we are. I think when we get to that point, then life can be assured for the future generations to come. And of course, there's so much more to talk about and to share in that way, but congratulations Kairos, my family, it's great to be here in Hachayah. Thank you. Get the dynamic. Jose. Thank you. Well, quite inspiring presentations my peers has done so far. I think it's an opportunity to praise the work that Kairos over 20 years has been able to accomplish a very important role promoting awareness, education, advocacy, solidarity for and with Indigenous communities, not only at this national level, but also, as I mentioned before, the International Water Conference also promoting the rights of peoples overseas. Indigenous communities, for instance, just to make a parallel analysis here in Latin America, they are commemorating the 500 years of so-called independence or arrival of the Spaniards. And for Latin American countries, we're lucky that at least three national presidents are very aware of Indigenous history in those countries, Mexico, Bolivia and Peru. And they are, in a way, challenging the status quo in those countries, the privilege of in those countries and exerting, fostering awareness to the new generation. This is what I see here in Canada. This is what I hear from the early presenters, including my good friends Ray, young generations. So that's the hope that new generation, more aware, more knowledgeable with skills and expertise can have this two-way conversation with the government and to be able to sit at the table at the same level, to reach that balance of human rights, equalities on access to all those benefits that the rest of the Canadians have. Yeah, we see, for instance, the role that I see, for instance, kairos. How successful the kairos has been in bringing all those churches, all those ecumenical groups. For instance, the one that I witness and participate very proactively is the 20th anniversary of the 1987 New Covenant, which is the pastoral statement on towards the constitutional recognition and protection of original self-government in Canada. So long, long name, like my job title. But that was, yes, for me, that was a witness and something to really acknowledge and recognize what that work, fantastic work, kairos accomplished 2007, the 20th anniversary of this new covenant. So if we have kairos doing that work, how much more we can join them in the effort for the churches to be more, let's say, inclined to act, not just keep promising. Sometimes I call it lip service. No, we really want actions, action that people are involved, action that resources are available for those frontline workers do their work, like kairos, for instance, and all those communities carry on with a blanket exercise with local indigenous communities, the sister in spirit, the issues of water. I see kairos through irk or kirk. I strong ally to continue doing this advocacy work, this education awareness. And I'll be happy to support for the next 20 years if they're still here. Thank you. Thank you, Jose. And just to keep with the trend, when Ray was asked this question, he said he's going to have to think about it. So we'll get back to you on that one with his answer. But I know we're over time, and I wish we had so much more time to share, because each of you bring so much to the table through your work and through your life experience and through your dedication to indigenous rights, human rights. Yvonne asked us, like, how are we going to decolonize this? It reminds us that reconciliation is just starting and that we need to be patient. And Jose brings us back to remembering the future generations and the children and how important those are to this struggle. So if there's anything that I can do now is just express profound and sincere gratitude to each of you for taking the time today to share with us. At the plenary session this morning, Priscilla Solomon, who used to be a Kirk member, mentioned that when Kyros was formed 20 years ago, there was some concerns about the Aboriginal rights work and if it would continue. And Kyros was formed on July 1st, and the Kyros Aboriginal Rights Committee was held its first meeting on August 31st. So that's where the work began at Kyros. It carried on from the Aboriginal Rights Coalition, from Project North, from the regional groups who were doing indigenous rights work from the network groups, and it's through all of that combined work and effort that we have reached the point now today where we feel, as our panelists have said, encouraged, inspired, and looking forward to a future where we actually can affect some kind of change. So thank you again, Yvonne, Giza Danimog and Jose, and thank you as well to all of you out there. I see we're down to 93. We're at 102 at one point there, but we're taken away. So I just want to thank you all for just taking the time today, your precious time, and sharing it with us. Thank you.