THUNDER BAY – Matawa Tribal Council president Darius Ferris says bringing people together to discuss the challenges of racism can have a positive impact on the future.
Ferris on Tuesday helped host an inter-denominational faith event and walk designed to do just that.
He said the walk was organized to begin a discussion on how faith-based values can help solve local problems with both society and the system as whole.
“We had this idea about a year ago, to have an awareness of First Nations residing in Thunder Bay,” Ferris said.
“With the concerns that we have with systemic racism and stereotype racism, it was a concern of ours to step up and ask the people of faith within the community to come together.”
The event brought together people of faith in Thunder Bay and First Nations people and leadership from nine Matawa communities.
“We can’t leave different faiths aside when everybody has one God they serve,” Ferris said.
“The whole purpose to why we asked every other denomination to join us is because they are a part of it as much as everyone else.”
Ferris said if different denominations come together it shows that everyone can work together.
Dozens walked in unity from the International Friendship Gardens to the Columbus Centre for a symposium, which included leaders from various denominations and Walid Chahal from Lakehead University’s sociology department.
The symposium also touch on solution-based approaches which will be collected into a consensus documents, which will be shared as a tool to move forward.
“We want to show to the people that we care for our First Nations people here in Thunder Bay, and that we are behind them through prayer, spirituality and every other means to see what we can do to help our people.”
Bahá'í community member Carolyne Dowdell said racism is a challenge, not just in Thunder Bay, but in many communities with different groups, so it’s essential to show support.
“It’s important that we look at some of the issues, look at ways we can really build relationships, you know, that we are one family,” Dowdell said.
“It’s important to respect one another and show that our community is a community where everybody is welcomed, and we appreciate the diversity of everybody, it makes our community so much more beautiful.”
Dowdell said the walk is vital for providing positive support in the community.
“We know there’s lots of positive support here in Thunder Bay, and we want to show people that this is something we really care about.”
