The October 2003 meeting in Winnipeg between ACIP [Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples] and non-native church members produced a plan of action that calls for the establishment of an eight-member commission to consider how native Anglicans can achieve "self-sufficiency" and "indigenous governance" and an indigenous bishop.
Reports on the discussion at COGS about tensions resulting from ACIP's [Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples] refusal to support the church's agreement with the federal government.
"I was deeply moved by Todd Russell's story ['Russell: True son of the land', March 2014, p. 1] by his dedication, his faith in humanity, his courage and his ability to forgive. I would encourage him to return to politics. He is just the person we need in our government. We need his understanding of the emotional and the intellectual aspects of our lives and his ability to balance them. The present government has slowly and systematically eliminated persons and groups that might object to its law or appointments. This is how a dictator gains power. Todd Russell understands this and we need him". [Text of entire article.]
"Todd Russell is a Labradorian, through and through. He is also a Métis of Inuit lineage, a classical languages grad, past co-chair of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) and a former Liberal MP. Currently, Russell is president of the NunatuKavut ("Our Ancestral Home") Community Council (NCC), representing about 6,000 south Labrador Inuit. Before the decade is out, he may also be an Anglican priest. 'I have felt the calling. It may be serving the church as a priest or in some other formal role', says Russell, who has two more years to go in his presidency of the NCC, which advocates for the rights of people in the unrecognized Inuit territory" (p. 1). "In 1992, [Russell] was elected to the board of the NCC's forerunner, the Labrador Métis Association, becoming its president in 1994. In 2001, he was voted ACIP co-chair and went on to serve as Liberal MP for Labrador riding from 2005 to 2011, until his defeat by Conservative Peter Penashue" (p. 11).