New National Indigenous Council a “big step” towards independence within the United Church

A new National Indigenous Council has been appointed for The United Church of Canada, one of the big developments to come out of this past weekend’s National Indigenous Spiritual Gathering.

“I believe that the National Indigenous Council carries a sacred responsibility to listen deeply, to discern faithfully and to walk alongside our Indigenous communities across this Turtle Island,” said Rev. Shane Goldie, a newly appointed member of the new NIC.

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The National Indigenous Spiritual Gathering (NISG), which serves as the top authority in the Indigenous Church and meets triennially, was held July 15 to 19 on traditional Algonquin Territory at Carleton University in Ottawa, under the theme “Our New Day.” Opening with the lighting of a Sacred Fire, the event was packed with presentations, breakout rooms and celebrations.

The National Indigenous Council (NIC) is an elected governing body in the Indigenous Church that meets regularly between NISGs to make decisions. The NIC that was elected at the August 2023 NISG met regularly, but struggled to make decisions under a new and untested leadership structure.

In April 2024, a church-wide vote to establish an autonomous Indigenous organization within the United Church was passed. But that same month, the NIC voted to remove the existing chair and elect two new co-chairs — both of whom then resigned over the following months. In August 2024, United Church general secretary Rev. Michael Blair dissolved that NIC, calling it “non-functional” — a decision that NIC members and other Indigenous church members protested. At a General Council meeting in October 2024, commissioner Elder Janet Root said Blair was dismissive and treated NIC members as “insubordinate school children.” Blair’s decision also left the Indigenous Church without an elected leadership body.

The NISG convened in Winnipeg, in November 2024, to develop a framework for moving forward.

Since then, the National Indigenous Elders Council (NIEC) — who are nominated by Indigenous communities to provide wise counsel — took on an increased leadership role and helped the Indigenous Church to heal. Last November, the NIEC launched a process to discern candidates for a new NIC.

Nominations came from the Circles of the Indigenous Church: Keewatin, Ontario-Quebec, Plains and Pacific Mountain, as well as the Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre, an Indigenous theology school in Manitoba. Members of the former NIC were not permitted to be nominated.

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Following their approval at the NISG, the new NIC members are Elda Anderson, Rosalind Antone, Rev. Craig Bartlett, Sandra Campbell, Rev. Shane Goldie, Rev. Bruce Kakakaway, Samantha Miller, Rev. Morgan Ryder, Teresa Snow, Jordan Spence, Rev. Elenor Thompson and Julia Walker.

The installation of the new NIC — which included expressions of gratitude in the form of gifts, and a round of applause to the NIEC Elders for their guidance — took place on Friday, as did presentations on the Indigenous Church’s finances and future.

“To be called to the National Indigenous Council as the youngest serving ordained minister within the United Church in the Indigenous Church, shows the youth that they have a place at the table,” said Goldie, minister at St. Andrew’s United in Spruce Grove, Alta., and the Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre’s nominee.

For Rev. Deb Anderson Pratt of George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan, the NISG was a chance to be heard. “Our voices need to be heard, and we need the larger church to listen to our voices, to our words, to what we say, what we ask, what we should not have to ask.”

Both Blair and United Church moderator Rt. Rev. Kimberly Heath were in attendance.

In a statement emailed after the event, Heath said: “The National Indigenous Spiritual Gathering gives me tremendous hope, with the creation of the National Indigenous Council, and with the Elders and wise young people who want to build the church here and now. Forming the NIC is a big next step. There is a sense that there is a huge amount of work to be done, but cautious optimism that it can be done together.”

Blair was not available for comment.

Despite the recent struggles of the Indigenous Church, most people at the NISG expressed a readiness and willingness to look to the future, on their own terms. The 2026 Gathering was, in many ways, an expression of the independence and self-determination that the Indigenous Church is hoping to embody.

“A generation from now,” Goldie mused, “I hope that we are fully sustainable, fully independent, that we have Indigenous spirituality that is alive, well and thriving.”

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James Adair is a Broadview intern. Broadview thanks the Elders for allowing us to attend this gathering.

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