It was officially a celebration of the ingenuity of Indigenous peoples in coming up with locally produced cleaning kits to help keep communities safe from the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was overshadowed, however, by developments within the movement to identify graves of children who died while in Canadian residential school.
Following the ceremonies marking the offering for sale of n卯kihk cleaning kits at Sobeys Preston Crossing in Saskatoon, Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs executive director Neil Sasakamoose told reporters the tribal council is in the process of examining two of five sites identified as possible gravesites 鈥� an expected emotional and gruelling project they hope to finish before the end of the summer.
Sasakamoose, BATC Senator Jennifer Spyglass, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron, and other chiefs and elders representing the various member First Nations were in attendance during Monday鈥檚 launching at Sobeys Preston Crossing of n卯kihk cleaning kits, a project of BATC鈥檚 Investment Branch that is 100 per cent owned by First Nations in the province. N卯kihk, which means 鈥淢y Home鈥� in the Plains Cree language, cleaning products that are being manufactured locally 鈥� in collaboration with the tribal council, local manufacturers and the Canadian government 鈥� range from hand sanitizers to laundry detergent.
However, more focus was given to moves to locate hundreds of possible unmarked graves of Indigenous children taken from their families and put in residential schools run by the Canadian government and various Christian denomination. The religious congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate ran the Thunderchild (Delmas/St. Henri) Indian Residential School from 1901 until it burned down in 1948 while the Battleford Industrial School was the first residential school operated by the Canadian government but delegated the responsibility of administration to an Anglican minister.
Sasakamoose said they are scheduled to start on July 17, but they dealing with private landowners.
鈥淸It鈥檚] going to be a difficult site because it鈥檚 been on private land. We鈥檙e getting ourselves mentally ready to determine what鈥檚 going to happen there. We don鈥檛 know much. What we did is we started interviewing people, mapping out the entire area.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a large area. There is a site there, but we were told there鈥檚 people around the school and other places, too. We don鈥檛 know how many people are there. We started ground radar there. We built one ground radar and we鈥檙e hoping for results. That鈥檚 going to be a very difficult site for us.鈥�
He added that even Spyglass, who was the first female senator appointed by the Mosquito First Nation to the BATC and FSIN, is looking for some closure on what happened to her then five-year-old brother who died while attending one of the residential schools.
鈥淪he鈥檚 been one of our main leads. She鈥檚 looking for her brother and she doesn鈥檛 know where he is. He鈥檚 in one of the five or six sites that have been identified.鈥�
Sasakamoose said once they are done at the Delmas site they would then move to the Battleford Industrial School. They hope to finish both residential school sites either on Aug. 28 or 31. He added they have yet to determine the number of marked or unmarked graves at the Delmas site.鈥欌�淚 have no idea, we don鈥檛. I don鈥檛 want to say because we鈥檙e doing discovery.鈥�
鈥淚 know the [Catholic] church released records of all the students and registries. So, we鈥檙e just confirming the registries. The information and data [are] off. We don鈥檛 know if deaths were recorded accurately. I don鈥檛 want to say they weren鈥檛, but you [must] assume they weren鈥檛 recorded accurately. There鈥檚 just too many.鈥�
Fulfill promises
The FSIN executive has also called on the Roman Catholic Church to fulfill its promise to give monetary compensation amounting to $25 million to Indigenous survivors of residential schools who were victims of abuse and other crimes committed by priests and nuns. The Catholic church is in the process of raising funds for the money to be given to the victims.
FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron is also asking the pope to issue an apology for the mistreatment received by Indigenous children from the hands of clergymen and other religious.
鈥淩esidential school survivors deserve an apology from Pope Francis and compensation for all the extreme harms that occurred in those torturous institutions. We demand the records of these institutions be released immediately and justice be served to every living priest and nun who committed crimes against our innocent children.鈥�
鈥淎cts of genocide occurred at the hands of Catholic Church clergy men and women. Our children that never made it home are now speaking to us; they are crying 鈥榯hey found us鈥� and we will not stop until they receive the justice that they have been waiting decades for. The Church must also follow through with their vows to raise $25 million as once committed for these survivors and their descendants.鈥�
FSIN said they want Pope Francis be true to the word pontiff, which is pontifex in Latin, which means bridge builder. They said apologizing, would be one step in beginning the healing journey for all the victims. They also demanded justice be served to all priests and nuns still living today, members of the clergy that committed 鈥渉istorical harm鈥� and 鈥渇irst degree murder鈥� of First Nations children.
Later this year, a delegation of Indigenous peoples of Canada 鈥� First Nations, Metis, and Inuit 鈥� is set to meet with Pope Francis in December. The meeting is set for Dec. 17 to 20 where the delegation could foster a meaningful encounter and dialogue with the Holy Father as part of the healing process between the Catholic church and the Indigenous population.
