Miles Morrisseau
ICT
KETTLE AND STONEY POINT FIRST NATION — The historic apology by President Joe Biden has Indigenous peoples in Canada reflecting on similar events on this side of the border.
Jennifer Wood, Neyaashiinigmiing First Nation Ojibway, is a residential school survivor who travelled to Maskwacis Cree Nation in Alberta, Canada, to hear Pope Francis apologize in July 2022.
“An apology is very personal to every individual survivor, so we have to consider that, and we have to understand that an apology to me could be very different from an apology to you. So that’s what I felt in Maskwacis,” Wood told ICT. “That it was very personal and some take it in their own private time how they wish to absorb the apology…I could feel the tremendous weight, the weight that was lifted off of some shoulders, but then again, a lot of a lot of them were also embracing and remembering and it was a painful time for them as well.”
Wood is the Intergovernmental and Community Relations Liaison for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, she believes that apologies play a significant role in healing and reconciliation.
“The President of the United States of America apologizing, that speaks volumes and I’m certain that they’re going to take it as much as we took it up here in Canada that it was a solemn moment,” Wood said. “People were reflecting and some people were accepting the apologies and some had to go and take time too. I heard that more than once, that it took some people a week to absorb what just happened, and they had to work with themselves to let it sink in and to know that after all this time, they did feel validation for the harms that were done to them in the boarding schools in Canada.”
Related: Historic Apology: Boarding school history ‘a sin on our soul’
Previous to the Pope’s apology in 2022, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized in the House of Commons on June 11, 2008.
“While no apology can erase the pain, these acknowledgements are critical in bringing truth to light. We know firsthand how vital it is to face the past with honesty to build a future grounded in healing and justice,” said Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Acting Grand Chief Betsy Kennedy in a press release. “Canada’s 2008 apology was a catalyst for significant advocacy efforts, such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which allowed residential school survivors to share their stories, document the atrocities, and outline Calls to Action for all Canadians.”
Harper apologized on behalf of Canada for their role in operating the residential school system.
“The government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation. Therefore, on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians, I stand before you, in this Chamber so central to our life as a country, to apologize to Aboriginal peoples for Canada’s role in the Indian Residential Schools system,” Harper said. “We now recognize that, far too often, these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled, and we apologize for failing to protect you. Not only did you suffer these abuses as children, but as you became parents, you were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience, and for this we are sorry.”
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada revealed the widespread abuse, neglect, and cultural destruction experienced by more than 150,000 Indigenous children who were forcibly removed from their families and sent to federally-funded Christian residential schools. Many of these children never returned home, with thousands dying in the institutions that sought to erase their identities.
Similarly, the U.S. Department of Interior’s investigation into the Indian boarding schools, led by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, has unveiled the systemic harm inflicted on Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children shedding light on the common struggles of First Peoples on both sides of the border.
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Publish date : 2024-10-25 13:06:00
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