The Chair of Christian Thought: Swanson Lecture in Christian Spirituality

The Department of Classics and Religion, in partnership with Calgary Public Library, presents Dr. Chantal Fiola, of the University of Winnipeg.

Dr. Chantal Fiola shares her research on Métis spirituality, highlighting traditional ceremonies alongside Christianity, community voices, and the resurgence of practices like sweat lodge and Sundance, offering a fuller picture of Métis spiritual life across their homeland.

Abstract: The Chair of Christian Thought Swanson Lecture in Christian Spirituality

Join Dr. Chantal Fiola as she shares insights from her research into Métis spirituality over the last 15 years from individual experiences, to spirituality in Manitoba Métis communities, to the spiritual landscape of Métis across their homeland. Contrary to the persistent stereotype that “all Métis are Catholic,” her research indicates that Métis spirituality has always included traditional ceremonies and that these are presently enjoying a resurgence among many Métis.

Over the years, Dr Fiola has evolved a collaborative Métis community-centered methodology which has employed archival research, oral history, literature, interviews, questionnaires, talking circles, community gatherings, and symposia engaging over 250 Métis. Excerpts from Métis participant voices illuminate the long and nuanced relationships between the Métis and Christianity and traditional ceremonies like sweat lodge, Sundance, and Midewiwin, as well as factors that help and hinder these relationships. Intergenerational colonial impacts on these relationships and present-day spiritual resurgence are also discussed to provide a more accurate and fulsome understanding of place-based Métis spirituality grounded in local knoweldges.

About the Speaker

Chantal Fiola is Michif (Red River Métis) with family from St. Laurent, MB and is a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF). Dr Fiola is Associate Vice-President, Indigenous Engagement at the University of Winnipeg, where she held the Distinguished Indigenous Scholar’s Chair (2021-2024), and maintains an appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Inner-City Studies. She is an award-winning author, including for her book, Returning to Ceremony: Spirituality in Manitoba Métis Communities. Currently, with SSHRC funding, she is Project Director on a three-year study titled, “Expressions of Métis Spirituality and Religion Across the Homeland.” She is co-founder of the Two-Spirit Michif Local (of the MMF), and Pawaatamihk: Journal of Métis Thinkers. She lives in Winnipeg with her wife and their daughter.

About the Series

For further information about the Chair of Christian Thought, or if you would like to be added to the Chair of Christian Thought mailing list, please contact Dr. Carolyn Muessig, Chair of Christian Thought, Department of Classics and Religion, University of Calgary (Y2Fyb2x5biAhIG11ZXNzaWcgfCB1Y2FsZ2FyeSAhIGNh).

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