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Remains found at Kamloops residential school 'not an isolated incident,' Indigenous experts and leaders warn

For the record, the statement ....
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
to CANADA
(24 - 30 JULY 2022)

MEETING WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: FIRST NATIONS, MÉTIS AND INUIT

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS

Maskwacis
Monday, 25 July2022


[Multimedia]

___________________________________


Madam Governor General,
Mr Prime Minister,
Dear indigenous peoples of Maskwacis and of this land of Canada,
Dear brothers and sisters!


I have been waiting to come here and be with you! Here, from this place associated with painful memories, I would like to begin what I consider a pilgrimage, a penitential pilgrimage. I have come to your native lands to tell you in person of my sorrow, to implore God’s forgiveness, healing and reconciliation, to express my closeness and to pray with you and for you.

I recall the meetings we had in Rome four months ago. At that time, I was given two pairs of moccasins as a sign of the suffering endured by indigenous children, particularly those who, unfortunately, never came back from the residential schools. I was asked to return the moccasins when I came to Canada; I brought them, and I will return them at the end of these few words, in which I would like to reflect on this symbol, which over the past few months has kept alive my sense of sorrow, indignation and shame. The memory of those children is indeed painful; it urges us to work to ensure that every child is treated with love, honour and respect. At the same time, those moccasins also speak to us of a path to follow, a journey that we desire to make together. We want to walk together, to pray together and to work together, so that the sufferings of the past can lead to a future of justice, healing and reconciliation.

That is why the first part of my pilgrimage among you takes place in this region, which from time immemorial has seen the presence of indigenous peoples. These are lands that speak to us; they enable us to remember.

To remember: brothers and sisters, you have lived on these lands for thousands of years, following ways of life that respect the earth which you received as a legacy from past generations and are keeping for those yet to come. You have treated it as a gift of the Creator to be shared with others and to be cherished in harmony with all that exists, in profound fellowship with all living beings. In this way, you learned to foster a sense of family and community, and to build solid bonds between generations, honouring your elders and caring for your little ones. A treasury of sound customs and teachings, centred on concern for others, truthfulness, courage and respect, humility, honesty and practical wisdom!

Yet if those were the first steps taken in these lands, the path of remembrance leads us, sadly, to those that followed. The place where we are gathered renews within me the deep sense of pain and remorse that I have felt in these past months. I think back on the tragic situations that so many of you, your families and your communities have known; of what you shared with me about the suffering you endured in the residential schools. These are traumas that are in some way reawakened whenever the subject comes up; I realize too that our meeting today can bring back old memories and hurts, and that many of you may feel uncomfortable even as I speak. Yet it is right to remember, because forgetfulness leads to indifference and, as has been said, “the opposite of love is not hatred, it’s indifference… and the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference” (E. WIESEL). To remember the devastating experiences that took place in the residential schools hurts, angers, causes pain, and yet it is necessary.

It is necessary to remember how the policies of assimilation and enfranchisement, which also included the residential school system, were devastating for the people of these lands. When the European colonists first arrived here, there was a great opportunity to bring about a fruitful encounter between cultures, traditions and forms of spirituality. Yet for the most part that did not happen. Again, I think back on the stories you told: how the policies of assimilation ended up systematically marginalizing the indigenous peoples; how also through the system of residential schools your languages and cultures were denigrated and suppressed; how children suffered physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse; how they were taken away from their homes at a young age, and how that indelibly affected relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren.

I thank you for making me appreciate this, for telling me about the heavy burdens that you still bear, for sharing with me these bitter memories. Today I am here, in this land that, along with its ancient memories, preserves the scars of still open wounds. I am here because the first step of my penitential pilgrimage among you is that of again asking forgiveness, of telling you once more that I am deeply sorry. Sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the indigenous peoples. I am sorry. I ask forgiveness, in particular, for the ways in which many members of the Church and of religious communities cooperated, not least through their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time, which culminated in the system of residential schools.

Although Christian charity was not absent, and there were many outstanding instances of devotion and care for children, the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic. What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is painful to think of how the firm soil of values, language and culture that made up the authentic identity of your peoples was eroded, and that you have continued to pay the price of this. In the face of this deplorable evil, the Church kneels before God and implores his forgiveness for the sins of her children (cf. JOHN PAUL II, Bull Incarnationis Mysterium [29 November 1998), 11: AAS 91 [1999], 140). I myself wish to reaffirm this, with shame and unambiguously. I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the indigenous peoples.

Dear brothers and sisters, many of you and your representatives have stated that begging pardon is not the end of the matter. I fully agree: that is only the first step, the starting point. I also recognize that, “looking to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient” and that, “looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening” (Letter to the People of God, 20 August 2018). An important part of this process will be to conduct a serious investigation into the facts of what took place in the past and to assist the survivors of the residential schools to experience healing from the traumas they suffered.

I trust and pray that Christians and civil society in this land may grow in the ability to accept and respect the identity and the experience of the indigenous peoples. It is my hope that concrete ways can be found to make those peoples better known and esteemed, so that all may learn to walk together. For my part, I will continue to encourage the efforts of all Catholics to support the indigenous peoples. I have done so on other occasions and in various places, through meetings, appeals and also through the writing of an Apostolic Exhortation. I realize that all this will require time and patience. We are speaking of processes that must penetrate hearts. My presence here and the commitment of the Canadian Bishops are a testimony to our will to persevere on this path.

Dear friends, this pilgrimage is taking place over several days and in places far distant from one another; even so, it will not allow me to accept the many invitations I have received to visit centres like Kamloops, Winnipeg and various places in Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Although it is not possible, please know that all of you are in my thoughts and in my prayer. Know that I am aware of the sufferings and traumas, the difficulties and challenges, experienced by the indigenous peoples in every region of this country. The words that I speak throughout this penitential journey are meant for every native community and person. I embrace all of you with affection.

On this first step of my journey, I have wanted to make space for memory. Here, today, I am with you to recall the past, to grieve with you, to bow our heads together in silence and to pray before the graves. Let us allow these moments of silence to help us interiorize our pain. Silence. And prayer. In the face of evil, we pray to the Lord of goodness; in the face of death, we pray to the God of life. Our Lord Jesus Christ took a grave, which seemed the burial place of every hope and dream, leaving behind only sorrow, pain and resignation, and made it a place of rebirth and resurrection, the beginning of a history of new life and universal reconciliation. Our own efforts are not enough to achieve healing and reconciliation: we need God’s grace. We need the quiet and powerful wisdom of the Spirit, the tender love of the Comforter. May he bring to fulfilment the deepest expectations of our hearts. May he take us by the hand and enable us to advance together on our journey.
Also attached.
 

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Double shot from The Beaverton :)
 
Phuquing people are more and more mentally challenged these days...

Speaking of mentally challenged...

According to the report, Gazan is proposing legislation that would make Indian Residential School denialism a hate crime.

Still waiting on that proof...

Not one has yet to be conclusive of genocide, never mind confirmed to be kids or people.
 
Still waiting on that proof...

Not one has yet to be conclusive of genocide, never mind confirmed to be kids or people.
The claims are that these are unmarked graves. That does not automatically equate to genocide. These are residential facilities that ran for many decades in a period where the childhood mortality rate was much higher than it is today. It is only natural that there would have been deaths at these facilities and that those that passed away would have been buried. There have also been suggestions that some of these unmarked cemeteries served the local communities as well.

It only seems to be people on both radical ends of the issue that have been making the leap from burial sites that are simply unmarked and some type of nefarious mass grave situation with the inference that those in the graves were the victims of intentional violence.

Franky I'd be highly surprised if there were not cemeteries near these residential schools. And if there are people interred there then the site deserves to be respected regardless whether you consider the people buried there to have simply passed from the normal causes of death in that age/place or to have been victims of a system that forced attendance in a poorly supported institution where disease was allowed to fester and harsh punishments would result in physical/emotional damage (or worse).

To me both those that suggest that these are mass graves of murdered children and those that deny the very possibility that people are buried near these facilities are equally off base.
 
This whole thing of children in unmarked graves, really bothers me to a great extent.

I am sure the government at the time had good intentions and saw a need for the Native children to have an education. Then the plan went sideways and have no real over site or controls. Afterall we were raised to trust that churches would do not evil and all leaders in the church were good people. But without real controls and real leadership all plans go to ruin. We all have seen or witnessed a power trip.

Now going back to my childhood in grade 5, my parents ( meaning my mom) decided that public school was evil, and I would get a better education at RC School just up the street from my home. 3 minute walk if you could not walk a straight line.

It was a school with a completely paved over school yard. There was this big puddle on the school yard and it always smelled, ( rotten leaves, trash, rain water etc always smells) . The school yard story was that that part of the school yard was over an Indian grave yard. We were too young to know about residential schools and the issues surrounding the school, ( late 70s, maybe 79 or 80,) but someone came up with the idea it was a grave yard and that story has stuck to me like glue. Ever since reading about unmarked graves at schools, and Native children buried at some schools. I have always wondered how that story of the puddle got started. I still live near that school and it is now abandoned and as I walk by where the puddle was, ( grassed over as pavement was removed years ago) I wonder how kids got the story, or how it started , or if there is any truth to the story. 40 plus years later I swear I can still smell the puddle and there is no puddle now.
 
Another thing to consider is just because there isn’t a tombstone today doesn’t mean there wasn’t one in the past. Many graves were marked with wooden crosses, without constant maintenance of those crosses they will rot away within several decades.
 
most small towns have a Pioneer Cemetery with of couple of barely legible stones often located on a concrete slab in the centre of the area. Very few are actually in position over what could be the actual grave. Many of the stones indicate that a child was buried there. For the time frame of the cemetery there are very few stones remaining; most graves are now unmarked. Old photographs sometimes show that there were a number of wooden markers. Over the years as well I imagine that the stones were damaged, weathered or otherwise rendered unreadable and eventually trucked away since they interfered with maintenance.. These chilcren weren't abused, at least not likely, and they weren't thrown into an unmarked hole. From what I have seen the people buried at the schools weren't dumped into an unmarked hole either but neither were stones placed as markers; probably due to cost and availability. The bodies seem to have been laid out in proper rows and you can't know where to put the next one if the previous isn't marked. There would have been people at each school who truly cared. The ones who should be castigated are those who kept the schools running into the 1970's. People like Ryerson were trying to ensure the survival of the tribes in their society. The schools were never intended to be mandatory.
 
To me both those that suggest that these are mass graves of murdered children and those that deny the very possibility that people are buried near these facilities are equally off base.

The possibility is definitely there, just like there is a possibility that god might exist. It will likely be impossible to prove anything at this point in time and calling someone a 'denialist' is far-fetched when nothing has been proven yet.

From the article above:

"[We need to] pressure the government and the churches to do the right thing so our survivors can find peace."

They have yet to say what the 'right thing' is, much like the entire reconciliation movement, and what their survivors need to find peace.
 
Not uncommon (in Ontario anyway) to see a cemetery on the side of the road where the headstones are strangely close together. It's a sign that the headstones have been moved from the original burial site as the original cemetery site has otherwise been re-purposed.

As has been mentioned above, unmarked doesn't mean some sort of secret burial site. These sites are often lost to history and not necessarily due to some hidden evil intent. That being said, for families that in many cases lost touch with their loved ones and never learned of their fate these sites will obviously evoke strong emotional feelings and should be respected.
 
How do you define residential school denialism? I think making it a hate crime will be a slippery slope. Where do you draw the line. Is debating the cause of death for some of these children denialism? Is legitimately questioning some of the unfounded numbers that some far-left groups have claimed as to how many unmarked graves have actually been found? I once heard someone say to an audience (this was a musician), that there had been 10, 000 unmarked graves found in Ontario alone. At this point, the grand total in Ontario was zero.
 
So . . . taking a viewpoint that is contrary to another viewpoint should be a 'hate crime'? Interesting concept in a democracy.

I'm unclear what is actually alleged to have happened. It seems "they" entered onto the site, with shovels. Did someone shoo them away? Did they dig? Some kind of actual evidence would be helpful.

I'm also curious about "cultural protocols" about taking photos and videos. Of what? Are said cultural protocols published anywhere or are they, like other bits of oral history, plucked from the air when convenient? Do these ancient beliefs somehow speak to digital images? Have they gone after Google Earth and anybody else who runs a satellite imaging system?
 
Personally, I think the government was just trying to wipe First Nations out by whitewashing them. I bet a lot of deceased children were just discarded like garbage. Terrible.

The elephant in the room with this series of unmarked graves stories is that there is no beneficial reason to the various FN reservations/tribes to have these children found, buried, and that chapter put in the past. The money, for lack of a better way to phrase it, is in the continued victim label staying on top of the news stack.

Between the government and FN leadership, FN's will be victims for the next 200 years.
 
The claims are that these are unmarked graves. That does not automatically equate to genocide. These are residential facilities that ran for many decades in a period where the childhood mortality rate was much higher than it is today. It is only natural that there would have been deaths at these facilities and that those that passed away would have been buried. There have also been suggestions that some of these unmarked cemeteries served the local communities as well.

It only seems to be people on both radical ends of the issue that have been making the leap from burial sites that are simply unmarked and some type of nefarious mass grave situation with the inference that those in the graves were the victims of intentional violence.

Franky I'd be highly surprised if there were not cemeteries near these residential schools. And if there are people interred there then the site deserves to be respected regardless whether you consider the people buried there to have simply passed from the normal causes of death in that age/place or to have been victims of a system that forced attendance in a poorly supported institution where disease was allowed to fester and harsh punishments would result in physical/emotional damage (or worse).

To me both those that suggest that these are mass graves of murdered children and those that deny the very possibility that people are buried near these facilities are equally off base.
At the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia there was lots and lots of stuff going on back in the day, including a whole building for pregnancies. What ever happened to those babies I wonder?

The ground penetrating radar discovered something. Unless someone went around and dug a bunch of trenches and filled them in for the fun of it just so we had something to comment on, something happened or was going on. Or the ground penetrating radar is completely unreliable but that is not what I have been told in the past in conversations with geologists and archaeologists doing surveys
 
Personally, I think the government was just trying to wipe First Nations out by whitewashing them. I bet a lot of deceased children were just discarded like garbage. Terrible.

The elephant in the room with this series of unmarked graves stories is that there is no beneficial reason to the various FN reservations/tribes to have these children found, buried, and that chapter put in the past. The money, for lack of a better way to phrase it, is in the continued victim label staying on top of the news stack.

Between the government and FN leadership, FN's will be victims for the next 200 years.
Eugenics was very popular at the beginning of the 20th century and I suspect a lot of the senior civil service bought into that load of crap. The 1922 report about the poor conditions leading to a higher than average mortality rate that was buried by the senior management is in my mind indicative of thinking that Eugenics encouraged. Also the Canadian Government putting a massive project in place, mismanaging it and penny pinching itself into a crisis is just so Canadian. For me I can see why the residential school made sense in the 1870, where slave raiding was still taking place on the westcoast. However by 1910, there was no excuse for seizing peoples children and the goal of "integration" was being hampered mainly by racist attitudes of the whites and by the Indian Act that prevented free movement and the abilty to succeed.
 
At the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia there was lots and lots of stuff going on back in the day, including a whole building for pregnancies. What ever happened to those babies I wonder?

The ground penetrating radar discovered something. Unless someone went around and dug a bunch of trenches and filled them in for the fun of it just so we had something to comment on, something happened or was going on. Or the ground penetrating radar is completely unreliable but that is not what I have been told in the past in conversations with geologists and archaeologists doing surveys

Ground penetrating radar only tells you there's an anomaly. It doesn't tell you what, if anything, is there.

The Camsell Hospital was rumoured to have graves on the site, and several spots were identified. When it was dug up, nothing was found.

 
Ground penetrating radar only tells you there's an anomaly. It doesn't tell you what, if anything, is there.

The Camsell Hospital was rumoured to have graves on the site, and several spots were identified. When it was dug up, nothing was found.

At the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia there was lots and lots of stuff going on back in the day, including a whole building for pregnancies. What ever happened to those babies I wonder?

The ground penetrating radar discovered something. Unless someone went around and dug a bunch of trenches and filled them in for the fun of it just so we had something to comment on, something happened or was going on. Or the ground penetrating radar is completely unreliable but that is not what I have been told in the past in conversations with geologists and archaeologists doing surveys
yeah thats what i said
 
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