The issue of the thousands of Indigenous 聽children who suffered abuse and later died in residential schools have been hogging the headlines the last two months. A dark part in the country鈥檚 more than 100 years of history where Indigenous 聽children, most of the time, were forcibly taken from their families in order to be educated in church-run boarding schools.
The residential school system was a program by the Canadian government dubbed as a form of 鈥渃ultural genocide鈥� where they are trying to erase the culture and language of the Indigenous 聽people to gradually assimilate them to western norms. An estimated 150,000 Indigenous 聽children were placed in residential schools since they first opened their doors in the 1830s. It was later exposed that many of the kids suffered physical and sexual abuses with some also dying while attending the schools.
Marked and unmarked grave sites are now being discovered at these residential schools with the remains of 215 children discovered at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia and an estimated 751 at the Marieval Cowessess Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. The Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs are also in the process of examining two of five possible sites starting this mid July.
And locating the remains of those kids who were declared missing and bringing closure to their families is what the elders and chiefs of various First Nations wanted to accomplish. Federation of Sovereign Indigenous 聽Nations First Vice Chief Morley Watson emphasized this even if the Catholic church again announced a plan to raise $25 million dollars to pay as compensation to the survivors and victims of residential schools.
鈥淚t is a good gesture [fundraising], but no amount of money will ever replace what, as First Nation people, we have lost and that is our children. Although it is something that the church wants to do, as others have mentioned, we wanted to make sure that we find our children. It should have never happened [abuses],鈥� Watson told Glacier Media Monday.
鈥淚t will help [church鈥檚 promise], like I said, there鈥檚 no amount of money will ever replace what we as First Nation people lost. It is irreplaceable. I think the church should never allowed this to happen to begin with. So, if they feel this is important to them [compensating the victims], then so be it. But, like I said, we鈥檝e lost something that it can never be replaced.鈥�
He added that church officials, not only the Catholic church, should continue building bridges on the path to reconciliation with the Indigenous 聽peoples of Canada.
鈥淭hat depends, because we are so diverse in Canada. I think the church has to talk to our people, province to province and territory to territory. At the end of the day, it鈥檚 only our parents, our families, and our leaders can identify what can be [done] right.鈥�
鈥淎gain, it is a long way to go, but I think we are on that road. It鈥檚 good if our leaders want the pope to get involved and have the queen involved. All of those things, I think we have to come together and we鈥檒l leave it up to each province and territory how best they can the reach out and deal with their local governments, their local churches, their local organizations that operated these schools. It鈥檚 territory to territory, province to province, community to community.鈥�
Watson said the path to reconciliation must also involve the queen, the pope, and First Nation leaders in Canada.
鈥淪he [Queen Elizabeth II] always talks about [Queen Victoria鈥檚] little red children. She didn鈥檛 protect her little red children when this happened. I think the queen has to be involved. The pope has to be involved. Our First Nation leaders across Canada have to be involved. When we do that, then we鈥檒l get the true feeling and representation of all of our people across this great country.鈥�
Watson said that they are looking forward on the scheduled meeting between the delegation of Indigenous 聽peoples and the pope in December but added that it鈥檚 hard to say what would be the result of that papal audience.
鈥淚 think our leaders are happy to just have an audience with the pope.鈥�
鈥淪o, whatever message they bring, they will be from our people. It will be a message that should be heard. It鈥檚 a message that should have been heard already. Our leaders will be there in December and I鈥檓 hoping that there鈥檒l be some very positive outcome from that meeting.鈥�
