Rev. Gordon Beardy is the first Anglican Diocesan Bishop of First Nations ancestry in the church’s history.
Beardy, an Oji-Cree from Ontario’s Bearskin Lake region, was selected as the eighth Bishop of Keewatin in October.
The diocese covers more than 50 parishes in Northern Manitoba and Ontario.
The uncle of Tina Keeper, star of the TV series North of 60, Beardy pledged to work to overcome the legacy of the residential schools his church used to run.
Beardy himself attended a residential school in his youth.
“I didn’t want to be a priest when I grew up. I was content to spend my time fishing and hunting,” he told The First Perspective.
“My mother had a dream that some day I would serve the church. Dreams foretell our future and my Mom knew I would become a servant.”
