Renewing On Middle Ground

By Cecil Chabot

August 21, 2017

Reflecting on a ceremony he contributed to in Moose Factory, Ontario this summer, Cecil Chabot sees a model for recovering right relations between Indigenous and “Newcomer” Canadians.

Yet Moose Factory, where I was born and where Geraldine is my co-chair on the Heritage Committee of the Moose River Heritage and Hospitality Association and Director of Cree Culture and Language for Moose Cree First Nation, is a deeply significant place in Canadian history Moose Factory was, and remains, not only the site of a long-standing middle ground between Indigenous and European; it has also long been the site of a middle ground between different Cree groups Pointing out that the motto of the Moose River Heritage and Hospitality Association is “Building a Future with our Past,” Geraldine noted that Canada is recognizing Moose Factory’s Hudson’s Bay building during the country’s 150th birthday celebrations precisely because governments, organizations and ordinary citizens are responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for finding new ground on which to re-build reciprocal relationships

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