Residential school survivors, advocates keeping their guard up after bishops' apology
Warning – this article alludes to sexual abuse
MONTREAL -- Residential school survivors and advocates say they’re keeping their guard up after a prominent Canadian arm of the Catholic Church apologized Friday for decades of abuse and trauma inflicted at the institutions.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) issued a statement Friday acknowledging what it described as "grave abuses that were committed by some members of our Catholic community" at the schools.
-
To read the full apology, click here
Residential school survivor Kakaionstha Betty Deer, 83, says an apology is just one step in a long road to address the trauma inflicted on children across the country.
“After all these years … they knew what was going on,” said Deer. “To say you’re sorry, it’s just not good enough.”
Deer attended a residential school in Spanish, Ontario. She says her mother was encouraged to send her and her sister there when she was six-years-old.
She says that, during the three years she spent in the institution, she was abused and malnourished.
She alleged one particular event where she was sexually abused by a nun after being accused of name-calling.
She was eventually taken home, she said, after her mother came to visit the institution and found her visibly underfed.
“When my mother came, she saw how skinny I was,” said Deer.
The decades that followed were defined by a long healing process. Deer says she was only able to address her trauma as an adult after years of trying to forget her time at the school.
“I would push it all down,” she said. “It was only when I was in my 50’s when I said: ‘I want to find out what's in there, what's happened to me’. Then, I went on my healing journey, and I use all traditional medicine.”
Deer’s experiences are not unlike those described by Indigenous survivors of residential schools across the country.
There were 139 residential schools in the federally funded program, which operated in Canada between the late 19th century and 1996. Many of them were run by the Catholic Church.
Thousands of the 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children who attended these schools died with some estimates placing the number of deaths as high as 15,000.
Hundreds of unmarked graves were found at the sites of several former residential schools earlier this year; in some cases the number of children buried at the sites is believed to be several times higher than any official death toll.
'I DON'T NEED HIS APOLOGY ... I TURNED TO MY OWN INDIGENOUS CEREMONIES'
While Indigenous advocates have long called for an official apology from high-ranking members of the Catholic Church, Friday’s statement left some with more questions than answers.
When news broke that 215 unmarked graves were discovered at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., Kahnawake resident Jessica Oesterreich organized a demonstration outside the Catholic church in her community.
Residents placed children’s shoes outside the church in memory of the children who died.
“I think it's a gesture that's overdue,” Oesterreich said of the apology. “But at the end of the day, the most we can say about it is that it is a gesture.”
“It does raise a lot of questions about how they really plan to proceed.”
The CCCB pledged to fundraise across the country to support Indigenous initiatives, and referenced an upcoming meeting between Pope Francis, residential school survivors and other Indigenous knowledge keepers in December.
The bishops said that this meeting would be aimed at determining how the Pope "can support our common desire to renew relationships and walk together along the path of hope in the coming years."
Despite calls from Indigenous leaders and lawmakers alike, Pope Francis has not yet apologized for the Church’s role in residential schools.
Deer says the Pope has missed his chance to offer a sincere apology.
“The Pope should have apologized immediately upon hearing about the graves of the children, or else it is not sincere,” she said.
“I do not need his apology to heal,” she said. “I turned to my own Indigenous ceremonies of healing with our mother earth to heal what was done to me by the Catholic Church.”
-- With files from CTV News's Ryan Flanagan and Anthony Vasquez-Peddie
-----------------------------------
If you attended residential school, or have been affected by the residential school system, and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Sask. police seize 1.5M pieces of evidence, lay 60 more charges in child exploitation case
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
'Inappropriate' behaviour shuts down Dublin to New York City portal
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
Bouchard scores late to lift Oilers over Canucks, tie series
After a final frame that saw the visiting Vancouver Canucks claw their way back and tie the game late, a slap shot from the point by Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard with 38 seconds left (until what seemed like certain overtime) iced the 3-2 victory for Edmonton to knot the series.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker rails against Pride month, working women in commencement speech
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.
King Charles III unveils his first official portrait since his coronation
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
Full List Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Alberta announces the 4 health agencies that will replace AHS later this year
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
Biden administration moving ahead on US$1 billion arms package for Israel, AP sources say
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.