Returning to Ceremony

Returning to Ceremony is the follow-up to Chantal Fiolas award-winning Rekindling the Sacred Fire and continues her ground-breaking examination of Mtis spirituality, debunking stereotypes such as all Mtis people are Catholic, and Mtis people do not go to ceremonies. Fiola finds that, among the Mtis, spirituality exists on a continuum of Indigenous and Christian traditions, and that Mtis spirituality includes ceremonies. For some Mtis, it is a historical continuation of the relationships their ancestral communities have had with ceremonies since time immemorial, and for others, it is a homecoming a return to ceremony after some time away. Fiola employs a Mtis-specific and community-centred methodology to gather evidence from archives, priests correspondence, oral history, storytelling, and literature. With assistance from six Mtis community researchers, Fiola listened to stories and experiences shared by thirty-two Mtis from six Manitoba Mtis communities that are at the heart of this book. They offer insight into their families relationships with land, community, culture, and religion, including factors that inhibit or nurture connection to ceremonies such as sweat lodge, Sundance, and the Midewiwin. Valuable profiles emerge for six historic Red River Mtis communities (Duck Bay, Camperville, St Laurent, St Franois-Xavier, Ste Anne, and Lorette), providing a clearer understanding of identity, culture, and spirituality that uphold Mtis Nation sovereignty.