In July 2021, the Cowessess First Nation in Canada found 751 unmarked graves at the site of a former Roman Catholic residential school in the western province of Saskatchewan.
When he heard the news, Imam Irshad Osman of Toronto knew it was a moment of reckoning and reflection for all Canadians.
Regardless of religion, Osman knew the discovery confronted Canadians with the stark realities of colonialism and the mistreatment of indigenous peoples then and now.
Recognising that Muslims had “an obligation to build relationships with the owners of this land,” Osman decided to launch a first-of-its-kind interreligious dialogue initiative between Muslims and indigenous peoples in Canada. Through that initiative, both Muslim and indigenous partners have learned not only more about one another, but also the important, and complicated, role interreligious dialogue plays in indigenous communities in Canada and around the world.
This story follows three KAICIID Fellows and their work with, and alongside, indigenous communities in Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia.