An extended review of a 2025 book by Jodi Spargur
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New Leaf Network Press, 2025. 208 pages. $19 (ebook $10)
“I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“It would be impossible to give the land back – other people own it now.”
If these responses have crossed your mind or your lips when confronted with the issue of colonial injustices to Indigenous people and the call for land reparations, this is a great book for you to read. It offers both a clear challenge and a helpful field guide for Christian readers, encouraging us to become involved in the process of healing and reconciliation between the Christian church in Canada and Indigenous communities.
Jodi Spargur describes herself as a “Settler of Nordic/German Heritage who lives as a guest” on unceded land on the west coast. An ordained Baptist minister, she has extensive experience working with Indigenous groups. Mend grew out of her PhD work in Indigenous theology and Christian ethics with NAIITS, an Indigenous theological school. Thus, Spargur writes in a way that is spiritually driven, experientially grounded and academically rigorous.
The book begins with an overabundance of preamble material. Before even getting to the Prologue, the reader is confronted with Acknowledgements; an Artist Statement by the creator of the beautiful cover artwork; a Foreword; a User’s Manual; and an Introduction. But don’t yield to the temptation to skip over these. Each one helps establish context, and the Indigenous voices of pastor Danny Zacharias and artist Randall Bear Barnetson underline the author’s emphasis on collaborative partnership.
The Prologue is an imaginative first-person retelling of the account of Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus. This story becomes the guiding metaphor for the following seven chapters. Spargur invites the Christian church in Canada to identify with Zacchaeus, and follow the path he took through confession, repentance, repair, restoration, salvation, and reciprocity, to get to shalom. Circling back to the story in each chapter, Spargur shows how Zacchaeus’ journey provides valuable lessons for the Church in mending the relationship with Indigenous people.
To confess and repent, we must understand the history of the injustices suffered by Indigenous people in Canada. Spargur provides this information in scholarly yet clear, easy-to-follow prose. It is disturbing to learn how colonial injustices were rooted in 15th century historical church doctrines such as terra nullius (empty land) and the Doctrine of Discovery. These theological assumptions underpinned unjust laws and land appropriation in the centuries following, including in the U.S. and Canada. Ancient history, we might think, but not so. The 2015 Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission report called upon the Pope, the Canadian government, and all churches and faith organizations to repudiate these doctrines that justified European superiority. Pope Francis did so in a visit to Canada in 2022, but readers may not know that many churches, especially evangelical denominations, have not made any public acknowledgement.
Christians who contend that they or their church have no direct culpability in these injustices are confronted again with Zacchaeus. Not only did he determine to repay four-fold any people he had personally cheated, he also pledged 50% of his resources to helping the poor in his community. He wanted to make amends not just for his personal wrongdoing but also for his participation in systemic inequities, Spargur argues. Not all readers may agree that they need to take responsibility for the past or the ongoing injustices that Indigenous communities in Canada suffer, but the author uses the Zacchaeus story to remind us that repair follows repentance.
The book includes hopeful examples from around the globe of church leaders and Indigenous people working together to mend the past and achieve reconciliation through land initiatives. For instance, a Pentecostal church in New Zealand has made a landback agreement with its Maori neighbours, signing over its property. Spargur goes on to talk about creative possibilities for repair and reparation here in Canada. Churches could consider paying the equivalent of their property taxes to Indigenous people. Denominations could return the land where closed churches sit to Indigenous communities. Some readers may find these examples idealistic or impractical, but Spargur believes they lead in the direction of healing and repair.
Whether or not you agree with all of the author’s opinions, this is a thought-provoking, informative book. It challenges Christian readers to come down from the sycamore tree, and reexamine their attitudes and responsibilities toward land reparations.
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