Church of Sweden raises reconciliation issues at indigenous peoples’ conference

Today marks the start of an international indigenous peoples’ conference in Trondheim on the theme of “Reconciliation Processes and Indigenous Peoples: Truth, Healing and Transformation”. The purpose of the conference is to spread knowledge and experiences from the reconciliation processes currently in progress between indigenous peoples and majority populations and about the role of the church in these processes.

The Church of Sweden, which is co-organising the conference, is represented by the Sami Council in the Church of Sweden. Council Chair Sylvia Sparrock comments:

“Respect for indigenous rights is something that indigenous peoples are struggling with every day. An important part of this is that governments recognise the abuse of indigenous peoples that has historically taken place and that continues to take place today, and that this recognition leads to a change in approach. Governments need to deal with the implications of their colonial pasts to be able to move forward, and the experiences of indigenous peoples need to be recognised.

Sylvia Sparrock thinks that the awareness and willingness to deal with these issues has been at a low level thus far in Sweden, despite people being willing to talk about respect for human rights.

“The conference is an important forum for bringing indigenous peoples together to discuss reconciliation issues and models that take the work forward. It’s pleasing that we from the Sami Council in the Church of Sweden are able to contribute to the discussion by talking about what the Church of Sweden works with. The actual work on achieving redress starts now.”

In the spring the Church of Sweden published a white paper on the historical relationship between the church and the Sami. In a joint polemical article Archbishop Antje Jackelén and Sylvia Sparrock have also supported the demand to institute a truth and reconciliation commission in Sweden.

The conference, co-organised with the Lutheran sister churches in Norway and Finland and the World Council of Churches, brings together around 150 people from all over the world, with many indigenous peoples being represented. Participants include the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and representatives from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Where Sweden is concerned, the Sami Council in the Church of Sweden, the Bishop of Härnösand Eva Nordung Byström and representatives of the Central Church Office and Luleå diocese are among those taking part. The conference was preceded on Sunday by a youth conference whose participants included four young Sami delegates from the Church of Sweden.

About the indigenous peoples’ conference:
https://kirken.no/nb-NO/om-kirken/slik-styres-kirken/samisk-kirkeliv/internasjonalt/indigenous_reconciliation_conference/