Our library in Hewett Centre is open every Sunday after service during Coffee Hour in Hewett Centre, and our Library Team offers related reading lists based on the topic of the Sunday service. Here is their list for the upcoming service featuring Rev. Shawn Gauthier and Laureen Stokes on Sunday, September 28, 2025 at 11 a.m. All are welcome in Hewett Centre after the Sunday service to check out some books and to have coffee and conversation.
VanU library books related to this Sunday’s sermon:
1. Tiná7 Cht Ti Temíxw: We Come From This Land: A Walk Through the History of the Squamish People, by the Squamish Nation, 2024, 971 TIN [From LibraryThing: “A story of the Sk_wx_wu´7mesh U´xwumixw (Squamish Nation): past, present, and future. One hundred years after Sk_wx_wu´7mesh (Squamish) leadership signed an amalgamation agreement that declared several communities in Squamish territory as one nation, this accessible history of the Sk_wx_wu´7mesh people traces our stories from ancient times to the present. … offers the culmination of generations of knowledge about the Squamish People and S?wx_wú7meshulh Temíx_w (Squamish People’s Territory). Today, we are over 4,100 people and growing, living within S?wx_wú7meshulh Temíx_w and beyond. Our 6,732-square-kilometre territory includes the watersheds of the Squamish River, Mamquam River, and Howe Sound in the north, and English Bay, False Creek, and Burrard Inlet in the south. It encompasses saltwater and rushing rivers, old-growth forests at valley bottoms, and alpine forests high above the ocean. Oral histories and archaeological sites demonstrate our relationship with the lands and waters going back over twelve thousand years. Here, we introduce ancient Squamish stories and ways, as well as describe relationships with our neighbours from time immemorial. We discuss early contact with Europeans and the disastrous effects of racism and colonialism, the Indian Act, reserves, and residential schools. We detail our engagement with the imperfect tool of the Canadian judicial system in several significant court cases that have advanced Indigenous rights. And we show how the Squamish Nation is taking back ownership and stewardship within our homelands. …”].
2. Standoff: Why Reconciliation Fails Indigenous People and How to Fix It, by Bruce McIvor, 2022, 342 McI [Author is a VanU member. From LibraryThing: “… In this series of concise and thoughtful essays, lawyer and historian Bruce McIvor explains why reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is failing and what needs to be done to fix it. … From Wet’suwet’en opposition to a pipeline in northern British Columbia, to Mi’kmaw exercising their fishing rights in Nova Scotia, McIvor has been actively involved in advising First Nation clients, fielding industry and non-Indigenous opposition to true reconciliation, and explaining to government officials why their policies are failing. … His writing covers many of the most important issues that have become part of a national dialogue, including systemic racism, treaty rights, violence against Indigenous people, Me tis identity, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and the duty to consult. McIvor’s message is consistent and powerful: if Canadians are brave enough to confront the reality of the country’s colonialist past and present and insist that politicians replace empty promises with concrete, meaningful change, there is a realistic path forward based on respect, recognition and the implementation of Indigenous rights.”].
3. Indigenous Rights in One Minute: What You Need to Know to Talk Reconciliation, by Bruce McIvor, 2025, 341.4852 [Gift of the author. From LibraryThing: “… provides concise, plain answers to 100 essential questions being asked by Canadians across the country. … Why do Indigenous people have special rights? What is the Doctrine of Discovery? Who are the Métis? Why was the Calder decision important? What is reconciliation? … scrapping the technical language that confuses the issues, and speaks directly to everyone looking for straight answers. Throughout, McIvor shares his perspective on why reconciliation as envisioned by the courts and Canadian governments frustrates Indigenous people and what needs to change to overcome the impasse. … To ensure the country’s reconciliation project progresses from rhetoric to reality, ordinary Canadians need straightforward answers to fundamental questions. …”].
4. Making Native Space: Colonialism, Resistance, and Reserves in British Columbia, by R. Cole Harris, 2002, 971.1 HAR [Written by a VanU member. From LibraryThing: “… a geographical history of the Indian reserve in British Columbia. Cole Harris analyzes the impact of reserves on Native lives and livelihoods and considers how, in light of this, the Native land question might begin to be resolved. The account begins in the early nineteenth-century British Empire and then follows Native land policy – and Native resistance to it – in British Columbia from the Douglas treaties in the early 1850s to the formal transfer of reserves to the Dominion in 1938.”].
5. The Best of Chief Dan George, by Dan George, 2017, 811.54 [From LibraryThing: “… Included in this edition is the Lament for Confederation by Chief Dan George. Poetic and spiritual, this book has a universal message to all people. Chief Dan George was an accomplished performer, poet, philosopher, champion of Native peoples and loving patriarch of a large family.”].
6. The Reconciliation Manifesto: Recovering the Land, Rebuilding the Economy, by Arthur Manuel, 2017, 305 MAN [From LibraryThing: “… show how governments are attempting to reconcile with Indigenous Peoples without touching the basic colonial structures that dominate and distort the relationship. They review the current state of land claims. They tackle the persistence of racism among non-Indigenous people and institutions. They celebrate Indigenous Rights Movements while decrying the role of government-funded organizations like the Assembly of First Nations. They document the federal government’s disregard for the substance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples while claiming to implement it. These circumstances amount to what they see as a false reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. Instead, Manuel and Derrickson offer an illuminating vision of what Canada and Canadians need for true reconciliation. …”].
7. From Where I Stand: Rebuilding Indigenous Nations for a Stronger Canada, by Jody Wilson-Raybould, 2019, 970 WIL [From LibraryThing: “… Drawn from speeches made over a ten-year period both at home and abroad, Jody Wilson-Raybould reveals why true reconciliation will occur only when Canada moves beyond denial, recognizes Indigenous Rights, and replaces the Indian Act. We have the solutions. Now is the time to end the legacy of colonialism and replace it with a future built on foundations of trust, cooperation, and Indigenous self-government.”].
8. Unitarian Universalism and the Quest for Racial Justice 1967-1982, by Victor Carpenter, 1993, 288 CAR [Gift of Ann Buckmaster].
9. Soul Work: Anti-Racist Theologies in Dialogue, by Unitarian Universalist Association, edited by Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley and Nancy Palmer Jones, 2002, 261.8 BOW [Published by Skinner House Books. From LibraryThing uufnn review: “… an anti-racism consultant and trainer in the UUA Metro New York District and for the Unitarian Universalist Association. … was a founding member of the African American Unitarian Universalist Ministry (AAUUM). In this work nine essays are presented and there are two respondents for each essay, with the exception of the first one, which only has one respondent. Then a dialogue is held and study questions are provided for each essay. …”].
10. Social Action Heroes: Unitarian Universalists Who Are Changing the World, by Michelle Bates Deakin, 2012, 261 DEA [Published by Skinner House Books. From Amazon: “Unitarian Universalists are committed to acting on important issues of social justice throughout the world. Award-winning journalist Michelle Bates Deakin explores the actions of eleven individuals and the impact their actions have had on their communities and their souls. Compelling and inspiring, Social Action Heroes illuminates the potential for deep change inherent in each of us, and in Unitarian Universalism as a whole.”].
11. A Brief History of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver 1909-1979, by Peggy Woods, 1979, 288 WOO [Signed by the author].
12. Unitarianism On The Pacific Coast: The First Sixty Years, by Arnold Crompton, 1957, 289.1 CRO [Published by Beacon Press].
13. The First Nations of British Columbia: An Anthropological Survey, Second Edition, by Robert Muckle, 2004, 971.1 MUC [From LibraryThing: “… familiarizes readers with the history, diversity, and complexity of First Nations to provide a context for contemporary concerns and initiatives. … Explains the current treaty negotiation process – Provides highlights of agreements between First Nations and governments up to the present – Details past and present government policies – Identifies the territories of major groups in the province – Gives information on populations, reserves, bands, and language groups – Summarizes archaeological, ethnographic, historical, legal, and political issues. …”].
14. Who We Are: Four Questions For a Life and a Nation, by Murray Sinclair, 2024, 971.004973 [From LibraryThing: “… As Canada moves forward into the future of reconciliation, one of its greatest leaders guides us to ask the most important and difficult question we can ask of ourselves: Who are we? For decades, Senator Sinclair has fearlessly educated Canadians about the painful truths of our history. He was the first Indigenous judge in Manitoba, and only the second Indigenous judge in Canadian history. He was the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and remains one of the foremost voices on Reconciliation. And now, for the first time, he will share his full story–and his full vision for our nation–with readers across Canada. … will examine the roles of history, resistance, and resilience in the pursuit of finding that path forward, and healing the damaged relationship between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. …”].