Students from the Montreal School of Theology, representing Anglican and United Church traditions, took part in an Intercultural Learning Experience (ILE) with Indigenous communities in mid-October. Led by Marc Potvin, Director of Field Education, the program moves beyond academic study toward personal encounter. Its goal is to invite students into the first steps of an intentional journey of reconciliation.

Encounter and Discovery

The week included visits to Kahnawake, a Mohawk territory near Montreal, and to the Abenaki Museum in Odanak, where students encountered both the deep history and living presence of Indigenous communities, including artifacts dating back more than 3,000 years. Many described the experience as “eye-opening” and “deeply moving.”

Nathaniel McMaster reflected on learning how developments like the St. Lawrence Seaway affected Indigenous communities, noting that it revealed

“how much we overlook—things that deeply impact others.”At Odanak, small details, such as evolving family names, pointed to a broader history of “adaptation, exchange, and resistance.”

Confronting Ignorance

For many students, the experience exposed significant gaps in understanding. As Danny Fontaine observed, “Two groups can live close to each other and hardly know each other. That’s where reconciliation has to begin.”  

Others noted how easily assumptions shape misunderstanding, realizing how much they had previously taken for granted.

Listening and Relationship

At the heart of the experience was listening.

Students encountered stories of resilience and rebuilding, discovering through relationship that

“we are not as different as we think.”

Another student, Juyoung Lee, shared, “As an international theology student in Montreal, this was my first time journeying to hear the stories of Indigenous peoples, on their land and through their voices. Being there, walking and listening, made everything real. A sense of kinship grew.”

Toward Reconciliation

The trip deepened awareness of the Church’s history and the need for humility. As students reflected, reconciliation begins with listening and grows through relationships built over time.

Danny Fontaine summarized this insight simply: it comes “through listening, supporting, and restoring relationships.” 

A Continuing Journey

For these students, reconciliation is not an idea but a practice, one that continues beyond the classroom. As Marc Potvin reminds them, the ILE is only a beginning. Their shared experience marks a commitment to a ministry rooted not only in words, but in relationship.