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| Magpie River, Québec. Image by Nichole Ouellete. |
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A GREETING
O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you.
(Psalm 63:1a)
A READING
Over waves of the sea, over all the earth,
and over every people and nation I have held sway.
Among all these I sought a resting-place;
in whose territory should I abide?
(Sirach 24:6-7)
MUSIC
Today's music includes a spoken introduction by the artist to the song.
Sung in Inuktitut, the explanation helps give it context.
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
(Psalm 32:6)
A POEM
I believe
that prayer is a source of peace
she travels like a friend
because she speaks in silence
the language of the heart.
She doesn't ask
she shares the depth
of the moment.
- from "On the Road Again 2," by Rita Mestokosho
found on lesvoixdelapoesie.ca. Read the whole poem in French on the link.
VERSE OF THE DAY
You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water.
(Psalm 65:9a)
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| Magpie River. Image by Nichole Ouellete. |
Over these Lenten days, we have been travelling by current, noting their names and intersections with other larger water bodies. Now as we journey back into the heart of Canada, we will sometimes travel into the rivers that flow out into those ocean currents. One such river, the Magpie, has such a notorious current that its speed has been the reason why its Indigenous stewards have worked hard to protect it.
The Rights of Nature movement is an ecologically-minded grass roots movement working to protect natural bodies of nature that are subject to harm by human activity. They do this by seeking legal 'personhood' for that which is endangered. One of the key reasons for the movement is to help Indigenous peoples protect their homelands. Harm to nature can therefore become a direct cause for legal action. The Magpie River in Québec became a focal point of this movement in recent years. The Innu people are the primary custodians of the river, which stretches from northern Québec and Labrador to the St. Lawrence. Its fast current has made it a focus of dam project interest. Hydro Québec created a dam there that ran from 2009 - 2017 before it was sold to a private energy company. The dam construction raised the river levels and changed ecosystems and wildlife habitat. Therefore, in 2021, the municipality of Minganie and the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit passed resolutions that granted the status of 'personhood' to the Magpie, the first time a river has been granted such rights in Canada. The river remains one of the most untouched and pristine rivers, not only in Canada, but in the world.
In today’s music, Innu singer-songwriter Elisapie sings a song she wrote for her biological mother, who gave her up to others in the same community to raise her. Born in Salluit, Quebec on the Arctic Ocean, the song expresses Elisapie’s longing for that relationship, especially after she had left the community for Montreal where, out of her context, she realized she longed as much for her biological mother as for her home community.
Salluit and Montreal are at the very top and bottom of the province of Québec. Like the Magpie River, which also runs north and south over hundreds of miles, the relationship to the land becomes the means of connection. As elder Rita Mestokosho says in the video below, the medicine and the ancestors of the lands around the river are as important to talk about as the river itself. ‘All my relations’ includes the organic and earthly mother that each of us longs to be in right relationship with. In her poem, Mestokosho describes ‘prayer’ as being like a female friend who “speaks in the language of the heart.” How does your relationship to the earth, your mother, live in your everyday life? How much can we all do to help restore right relationships with her and with those who steward and care for her?
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THE STORY OF A RIVER
This short feature, published by The Globe and Mail in 2021, gives an overview of the significance of the legal action taken to protect the Magpie River.
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Resources in today's devotion:
Scripture passages are taken from the New Revised Standard Version.
Full lyrics for Elisapie's song Una are available only in Inuktitut.
A rough translation can be found here.
To learn more about Elisapie and her unique blend of musical styles,
read here and also here.
Rita Mestokosho is an Innu French poet and activist who also appears in the Magpie video as the elder by the river. You can read more about her here.
To learn more about the Magpie River, watch a free CBC Gem documentary,
I Am the Magpie River.
Find out more about the Indigenous perspectives that helped shape the legal milestone in this article from Candian Geographic, in which the river has a voice, and notices the women on the shore chanting for its healing.
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LC† Streams of Living Justice is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!