Catholic Indian League of Canada (Alberta Division)

in June of 1954, the Catholic Indian League of Canada was founded at Cap-de-la Madeleine. The primary aim of the League was to "unite and coordinate the efforts of local Catholic Action groups giving them a wider scope of influence for the protection of religious and social rights of our Indian population."The Alberta Division of the League was a mechanism for presenting concerns, mainly on issues of integration and education, to government officials, as it did to a joint committee of the Senate and House of Commons in 1960. The League created an avenue for bringing native communities in Alberta together to deliberate on issues facing the community. The movement needs to be further studied as a precursor for future organization in native communities and as the conduct of a fuller analysis of the situation by First Nations peoples. The work of Catholic Action is predicated on the need to transform unfriendly environments into those where it was possible to live in Christian faith. While the Cursillo movement is not precisely about this social transformation, it is a more recent presence which has an intent of forming Christian leaders within indigenous communities to build such an atmosphere. For more information see http://oblatesinthewest.library.ualberta.ca/eng/media/f-5-oblatesjustice.html