The work of decolonization and restorative solidarity tackles the oldest and deepest injustices on the North American continent. Violations which inhabit every intersection of settler and Indigenous worlds, past and present. Wounds inextricably woven into the fabric of our personal and political lives.

After many different engagements in the restorative justice movement (link to journey article) Elaine is now centering her work around the process outlined in Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization. Co-authored by Ched, they write as, and for, settlers on this journey, exploring the places, peoples and spirits that have formed (and deformed) us. They look at issues of Indigenous justice and settler “response-ability” through the lens of Elaine’s Mennonite family narrative, tracing Landlines, Bloodlines and Songlines like a braided river. From Ukrainian steppes to Canadian prairies to Californian chaparral, they examine her forebears’ immigrant travails and trauma; settler unknowing and complicity; and traditions of resilience and conscience. And they invite readers to do the same.

Part memoir, part social, historical and theological analysis, and part practical workbook, this process invites settler Christians (and other people of faith) into a discipleship of decolonization. How are our histories, landscapes and communities haunted by continuing Indigenous dispossession? How do we transform our colonizing self-perceptions, lifeways and structures? And how might we practice restorative solidarity with Indigenous communities today?

Invite Elaine to lead a study with your group or join a group that BCM is hosting.