Historic moment for the entire Catholic community. A pivotal step in the healing process of Aboriginal peoples. For the fourth time in its history, Canada will welcome a pope on its territory on Sunday. A visit that is part of the process of reconciliation of the Catholic Church with indigenous communities. But some fear that Pope Francis’ apology to residential school survivors is not at the heart of the papal visit, which they believe would be a mistake.
“The apologies, they have been made [au Vatican]remarked in an interview with To have to Mgr Raymond Poisson, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). We will allude to it, of course, but we are not starting from scratch. You need to go forward. »
At the Vatican in April, Pope Francis acknowledged the Catholic Church’s responsibility “for abuses and disrespect” of Indigenous identity, culture and spiritual values. These apologies came after a week-long visit by a Canadian delegation, made up of representatives of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit, who had told their pain to the sovereign pontiff.
“Our perspective and that of the Holy Father is that we did not make the delegation to Rome for nothing, continues Ms.gr Fish. It was the stage where the pope could listen with intimacy, humility and human warmth to the testimonies of survivors. The journey is another step. »
Beyond apologies, we must build reconciliation, he insists. “What we want to do in the Pope’s trip are gestures and actions of reconciliation. Perhaps as much, if not more, reconciliation than apologies. »
But for Ghislain Picard, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL), the Indigenous delegation in Rome has always been clear on this aspect: the Pope must issue an official apology on the ancestral territories of the Canadian Indigenous peoples. for the wrongs caused by the residential school system.
“This is really what is sought through the papal visit,” he said. calls out. “This is a moment that must be completely dedicated to them. »
Collective and individual healing
It will then be up to these former students to decide on the response they will offer to the Holy Father’s request for forgiveness, underlines Ghislain Picard. Alongside collective healing, there are thousands of individual healings that must flourish. “It belongs to them alone [les personnes survivantes] to accept apologies and grant their forgiveness and to continue their journey of healing. »
The AFNQL also deplores the “insensitivity” of the Catholic authorities in the logistical organization of the event. Travel to attend mass inside or outside the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré on July 28 will be done very early in the morning, by bus or shuttle. However, the survivors are often elderly people, sometimes sick or who have reduced mobility, notes Ghislain Picard. “It should have been taken into consideration. »
Especially since these excuses come very late. The Catholic Church—which was responsible for 70% of the country’s residential schools—is the last institution involved in the management of these schools to show contrition. The Canadian government, the Anglican Church, the Presbyterian Church and the United Church have all issued official apologies.
For Chief Mandy Gull-Masty, it is the “duty” of the Catholic Church to make this visit a success. “All residential school survivors deserve the long-awaited apology. »
Opening of archives
Subsequently, one of the major steps in moving forward on the road to reconciliation will be the much-requested opening of the archives, which could provide an opportunity to better understand what happened in the residential schools. “It’s on. The cupboards are open, assures Mgr Fish. But it’s a bit tricky. There is always a question of privacy. We walk on eggshells. »
Pierre Trudel, professor of law at the University of Montreal, indicates, however, that these considerations related to the respect of private life only concern individuals – Aboriginal or religious – who are still alive. “It is a right that disappears when the person dies. When you die, you no longer have the right to privacy,” he explains.
Ditto for the right to reputation. “There is no such thing as a right that ensures that when a person dies, since he can no longer defend himself, we can never talk about him again,” says the professor.
The Church will therefore not be able to hide information concerning its deceased members on the pretext that their right to privacy or reputation would be tainted. “Especially since there are issues of public interest,” analyzes Pierre Trudel. Personal information, such as a person’s name, may, however, be redacted.
Currently, the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, based at the University of Manitoba, is busy centralize the archives of the federal government and religious congregations relating to residential schools.
Unmarked graves
Pope Francis’ visit to Canadian soil comes a year after the discovery of more than a thousand unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools for aboriginal people. A news that had gone around the world, and which had prompted the Canadian bishops to invite the pope to visit Canada. But very little information has since filtered on this discovery.
It has been established that these are not mass graves, but graves. But have there ever been crosses or tombstones at these locations, which would have disappeared over the years? “Over time, if it was wooden crosses, that’s understandable [qu’elles n’y soient plus]emphasizes M.gr Fish. I do not know [si c’était le cas] everywhere. But in general, it’s the tradition when someone dies, to put a cross on their grave. »
University of Alberta anthropology professor Kisha Supernant — who collaborated as a researcher on excavations around the residential schools of Muscowequan in Saskatchewan and St. Bernard in Alberta — agrees that graves may have been marked . “We can assume that some of them potentially already had small wooden crosses,” she said in an interview. Research is currently underway to try to find archival photos of the cemeteries.
In the specific case of the Marieval boarding school in Saskatchewan, where 751 graves anonymous were discoveredit was determined that several headstones were mowed down by a bulldozer in the 1960s.
Doesn’t this information change the discourse that originally accompanied this discovery? “To have a marker [comme une croix en bois ou une pierre tombale], it’s better than not having one, admits Kisha Supernant, also director of the Institute of Indigenous and Prairie Archeology (IPIA). But that doesn’t take away the fact that these children died far from home. And that their parents and families sometimes didn’t know they were dead and where they were buried. »
It is still impossible to know exactly how many graves, among the hundreds found, contain the bones of former residents. Some cemeteries also received deceased from neighboring communities.
“With ground-penetrating radar, you can’t tell if it’s an adult’s grave or a child’s grave,” says Kisha Supernant. Some communities plan to proceed with the exhumation of the bodies, others have closed the door to this eventuality. But all want to know the truth about what happened.
According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, at least 4,134 Indigenous children died in residential schools, the last of which in operation, in Saskatchewan, closed in 1996. The living conditions in these establishments were very difficult, several children died illness, others suffered from malnutrition or ill-treatment. Depending on the era, the death rate in Indian residential schools — where “cultural genocide” took place — was two to five times higher than that of Canadian school children in general.
“As humanity, we become aware that [le système des pensionnats] was unacceptable and we want to fix it,” concludes Mr.gr Fish.