Indigenous leaders still await apology from Pope; visit to Vatican in December set
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a visit Monday, October 18, to the indigenous community of Kamloops where the remains of 215 children were found in May at a former residential school ran by the Catholic Church, apologizing for not coming sooner.
The visit followed strong criticisms directed at Trudeau for ignoring an earlier invitation to the community on the first national day of truth and reconciliation on September 30, and instead going on a family vacation.
“Instead of talking about truth and reconciliation, (everyone has) talked about me and that’s on me. I take responsibility for that,” he told a news conference.
“I am here today to say I wish I had been here a few weeks ago, and I deeply regret it,” he said.
Seated next to him, Tk’emlups te Secwepemc chief Rosanne Casimir said: “It was a long-awaited moment to receive a personal hand of recognition and sympathy regarding this horrific confirmation of unmarked graves from the Canadian head of state.”
She said her community had felt “shock, anger, sorrow and disbelief” over Trudeau’s September 30 snub, but added: “Today is about making some positive steps forward and rectifying a mistake.”
-The Kamloops Indian Residential School-
The Kamloops Indian Residential School, located in Kamloops, British Columbia, was once the largest residential school in Canada, with its enrolment peaking at 500 in the 1950s. It was part of the Canadian Indian residential school system.
According to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), the Kamloops Industrial School was opened, under Roman Catholic administration, in 1890, and became the largest school in the Indian Affairs residential school system.
“Enrolment peaked in the early 1950s at 500. In 1910, the principal said that the government did not provide enough money to properly feed the students. In 1924 a portion of the school was destroyed by fire. In 1969, the federal government took over the administration of the school, which no longer provided any classes and operated it as residence for students attending local day schools until 1978, when the residence was closed,” the center said.
The school building is located on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation.
It was in May 2021 that over 200 unmarked graves were found in the property following a survey using ground-penetrating radar.
Excavations at the site around the former school in Marieval, Saskatchewan began at the end of May. (Photo by Cole Burston / AFP)
-Catholic bishops in Canada pledge $30m support after apology-
Last September, Canada’s Catholic bishops on Monday pledged Can$30 million to support initiatives for survivors of the residential schools for indigenous children the church once ran, after issuing a formal apology.
The funds will be released over five years “to address the suffering experienced in Canada’s residential schools,” said the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) in a statement.
The initiative “will support meaningful projects across Canada and make a significant difference in addressing the historical and ongoing trauma caused by the residential school system,” said Bishop Raymond Poisson, president of the CCCB.
The Catholic Church, on Sept. 24, apologized “unequivocally” to Canada’s indigenous peoples for a century of abuses at church-run residential schools set up by the government to assimilate children into the mainstream.
But indigenous leaders are still awaiting a mea culpa from the pope himself.
“We, the Catholic Bishops of Canada, express our profound remorse and apologize unequivocally,” read a statement, in which they said they were “fully committed” to reconciliation.
The move follows recent discoveries, which convulsed Canada, of some 1,200 unmarked graves at three sites where indigenous children were forced to attend the schools.
In total, some 150,000 Indian, Metis and Inuit children were enrolled from the late 1800s to the 1990s in 139 of the residential schools across Canada, spending months or years isolated from the families.
The revelation once again cast a spotlight on a dark chapter in Canada’s history, and revived calls on the Pope and the Church to apologize for the abuse suffered at the schools, where students were forcibly assimilated into the country’s dominant culture. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)
It also came less than a week before Canadians marked the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30.
The solemn commemoration for the thousands of indigenous children who died or went missing from the schools was set by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said in June that Canadians were “horrified and ashamed of how our country behaved.”
In the statement, the bishops said they “acknowledge the suffering experienced” by indigenous students and the “grave abuses” inflicted upon them, including “physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, cultural, and sexual” mistreatment at the hands of headmasters and teachers.
“Many Catholic religious communities and dioceses participated in this system, which led to the suppression of Indigenous languages, culture and spirituality, failing to respect the rich history, traditions and wisdom of Indigenous Peoples,” they said.
“We also sorrowfully acknowledge the historical and ongoing trauma and the legacy of suffering and challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples that continue to this day.”
-Indigenous groups seek apology from Catholic pope-
Indigenous groups and leaders have also called for a papal apology for the Church’s role in the residential schools, with backing from Trudeau who has said he personally implored Pope Francis to “make an apology to indigenous Canadians on Canadian soil.”
Indigenous leaders have said an apology from the church is welcomed, but it would be more meaningful coming from the pope himself.
One of the 94 Calls to Action of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was for the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, to apologize for the role of the Catholic Church in the indigenous school system that saw 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children taken from their families and confined in conditions that constituted cultural genocide.
“We call upon the Pope to issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run residential schools,” read their call to action.
“Every person, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, have a responsibility to fulfill the Calls to Action as we walk the path of Reconciliation together,” said Stephanie Scott, Executive Director of the NCTR. “It cannot be forgotten that the highest number of atrocities and loss of life have been found in residential schools run by the Catholic Church, and it is time for the Pope to issue an apology.”
Call to Action 58 calls upon the Pope to issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run residential schools, the NCTR said.
“People still hesitate to use the word genocide, but for those who lived through it as children, it could not be anything else. The importance of the Pope issuing an apology directly to Survivors on the very land where the atrocities were committed cannot be understated,” said Lila Bruyere of the NCTR’s Survivor Circle. “A genuine commitment towards healing and reconciliation cannot be decided for us, it must begin a dialogue with Survivors.”
A delegation of Canadian indigenous peoples is scheduled to travel to the Vatican in December to meet with the pope.
In the meantime, the bishops said they would work with the Vatican and indigenous leaders to try to schedule a papal visit to Canada “as part of this healing journey.”
– ‘Cultural genocide’ –
A truth and reconciliation commission concluded the failed government policy amounted to “cultural genocide.”
Today, the residential school experiences are blamed for a high incidence of poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, as well as high suicide rates, in Canada’s indigenous communities.
Searches for more possible grave sites using ground penetrating radar continue after discoveries in British Columbia and Saskatchewan provinces.
Meanwhile, tribes are trying to piece together old documents that might help identify the deceased in the unmarked graves and shed light on the fate of others who never returned home.
The bishops committed to “providing documentation or records (requested by tribes) that will assist in the memorialization of those buried in unmarked graves.”
– Forced assimilation –
Trudeau has made fence-mending with Canada’s more than 600 indigenous tribes a priority of his administration, and named the national day of reconciliation meant to pay tribute to victims of the residential schools at the centre of a failed policy of forced assimilation of indigenous peoples.
Since the first discoveries in Kamloops five months ago, more than 1,200 unmarked indigenous graves have been found at other former school sites, and searches have been launched across Canada for more.
Trudeau noted that requests have poured in for federal assistance in identifying graves and recovering remains, and vowed his government “will be there with as much as is necessary (for communities) to be able to get closure, and to move forward.”
“Before we can get into reconciliation, we need to get to truth,” he added. “We need families be able to grieve, to heal. To do that we need to support them in every way we can.”
From the late 19th century to the 1990s, some 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were forcibly enrolled at the schools across Canada.
Students spent months or years isolated from their families, and were physically and sexually abused by headmasters and teachers who stripped them of their culture and language.
Thousands are believed to have died of disease, malnutrition or neglect. Many more became detached or alienated.
Today those experiences are blamed for a high incidence of poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, as well as high suicide rates, in indigenous communities.
“These missing children buried just a short distance from here exemplify (the) Indian residential school system that perpetuated mass human rights violations that might reflect criminal behaviour, including and suggesting violations of humanitarian law and genocide,” Casimir commented.
“Our community continues to navigate the complexities of the impacts,” she said in calling on the prime minister “to commit to the long road ahead to bring healing, peace, and restitution to all affected by Indian residential schools.”
with reports from Agence France-Presse