(Montreal) A group of Aboriginals will undertake a walk of nearly 275 km in seven days between Lac-Saint-Jean and Quebec in solidarity with the survivors of federal residential schools as part of the visit of Pope Francis.
Posted yesterday at 1:13 p.m.
The journey is due to begin Thursday with the former boarding school for Aboriginals in Pointe-Bleue as its starting point, in the Innu community of Mashteuiatsh, located north of Roberval. It was the last of these federally funded, church-run schools to close in Quebec, in 1991.
The walkers must arrive in the community of Wendake on July 26, the day before the arrival of the Holy Father in Quebec. The next day, the group is scheduled to go to the Plains of Abraham, a route during which non-Natives can join them.
The organization Puamun Meshkenu (Path of a Thousand Dreams), whose walking is part of its DNA, is the instigator of the project.
“This is an event to unite nations and indigenous communities around survivors. It is a very emotional time right now for those who went to residential school and also for their families. For us, it is important to show them that we are there with them”, explains the general manager, Jay Launière-Mathias, who specifies that this is a non-religious initiative.
The activity designed by and for the Aboriginals also aims to recall the reason behind the trip of Pope Francis, who must come to present the official apologies of the Church to the Aboriginals for past abuses.
It is an opportunity to come together and also refocus on the main subject of this visit; they are our survivors in the communities, those who disappeared in our residential schools. They are the ones who must be at the center of the visit.
Jay Launière-Mathias, Executive Director of Puamun Meshkenu
The latter also deplores that the voice of the First Nations seems to be little taken into account in the preparations surrounding the visit of the sovereign pontiff.
For the first stage of the “Great Puamun Meshkenu Walk for Healing”, the organization wishes to have a core of around 20 walkers who will be divided into two groups so that they can take turns. On average, each person will walk between 20 and 25 km per day, summarizes Mr. Launière-Mathias.
The participants will rest in different targeted places where they can set up their camps during the journey, specifies the latter.
Involve youth
The first walkers registered to complete the entire route have a diverse profile with almost as many men as women of all ages, describes the general manager of Puamun Meshkenu.
The organizers want to see young people join the movement, because young people also suffer the impact of the abuses that have occurred in these establishments imposed on Aboriginal peoples, recalls Mr. Launière-Mathias.
“There is intergenerational trauma that stems from residential schools. […] In the aboriginal community, we often speak of the seven generations. It may take seven generations to heal these wounds,” he says.
Aged 28, he himself intends to take part in the march in solidarity with his maternal grandmother who attended the Pointe-Bleue boarding school.
“You shouldn’t have the reflex to compare yourself, but I think in a way I consider myself lucky. I don’t think I was exposed to a lot of trauma compared to others, but I know that for some people it wasn’t easy,” testifies Mr. Launière-Mathias, of Innu and Anishinaabe origin.
Puamun Meshkenu, founded in 2016 by Dr.r Stanley Vollant, undertakes projects to support Aboriginal peoples in the development of their full potential in terms of school perseverance, healthy lifestyles and identity. The non-profit organization was born following the Innu Meshkenu project, started in 2010, a large walk undertaken by Dr.r Vollant across Quebec to promote healthy lifestyles among young Aboriginal people.
This dispatch was produced with the financial assistance of Meta and The Canadian Press News Exchanges