WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.
For Evelyn Korkmaz, a survivor of the Fort Albany First Nation residential school on the west coast of James Bay, an apology from the leader of the Catholic church has been a long time coming.
“I’ve waited 50 years for this apology and I finally heard it today,” said Evelyn Korkmaz.
Korkmaz attended the residential school St. Anne’s between 1969 and 1972, and is a founding member of Advocates for Clergy Trauma Survivors in Canada. He traveled from Ottawa to hear the apology and said it brought mixed emotions.
Evelyn Korkmaz, a survivor of the former residential school at St. Anne, has repeatedly called on the Roman Catholic Church to release all residential school records. (Brian Morris/CBC)
“Unfortunately, many of my family, friends, classmates, and community members who went to residential school were unable to hear it because they went through suicide, alcohol addiction, and abuse. of other substances because they couldn’t live with the trauma they had. suffered in these residential schools,” he said.
In his first public address Monday since arriving in Canada, Pope Francis expressed his deep sorrow for the damage done to residential schools and asked for forgiveness for church members’ cooperation with government policies of assimilation .
Speaking in Spanish, with English translation, he said he regrets “deeply” “the ways in which, unfortunately, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed indigenous peoples.”
“I apologize, in particular, for the way in which many members of the Church and religious communities collaborated, especially with their indifference, in projects of cultural destruction and forced assimilation promoted by the governments of that time era, which culminated. in the residential school system,” he said.
“Although Christian charity was not absent, and there were many outstanding examples of devotion and care for children, the overall effects of the policies linked to residential schools were catastrophic.
“I humbly ask for forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against indigenous peoples.”
LOOK | Pope Francis’ speech to the survivors in Maskwacis:
The Pope “deeply deplores” the “colonizing mentality” of many Christians
During his visit to Maskwacis, Alta., Pope Francis apologized to residential school survivors for the way members of the Catholic Church cooperated in the cultural destruction of indigenous life.
The apology was made at the Maskwacis powwow grounds in south Edmonton. Hundreds of First Nations, Métis and Inuit residential school survivors and their families attended.
Visit to the old school
The Pope’s visit to Maskwacis is part of a six-day “penitential pilgrimage” the head of the Catholic Church is undertaking to express “pain…healing and reconciliation” between the Catholic Church and indigenous peoples. The pontiff arrived in Canada on Sunday and will also visit Quebec City and Iqaluit.
Before delivering his address, the Pope briefly visited Ermineskin Cemetery and the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School. Five teepees now stand where the school once stood.
Pope Francis travels in a wheelchair from Ermineskin Cemetery to the site of a former residential school before giving his first public address in Canada. (Ka’nhehsí:io Deer/CBC)
“When I was waiting for the Pope at the old residential school, I imagined my first year at school,” said Chief Randy Ermineskin of the Ermineskin First Nation.
“In the middle of the year, in the winter, we had to move to a new school and they demolished that place. The summer before school started, they took out the electric fence.”
Tipis at the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School in Maskwacis, Alta., Monday. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)
On April 1, after meetings at the Vatican with First Nations, Métis and Inuit delegations, the Pope apologized for the deplorable behavior of some church members involved in residential schools and pledged to visit the canada
For many, this apology did not go far enough.
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission asked the Pope to issue an apology to Canada to survivors, their families and communities for the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse of the First Nations, Inuit. , and Métis children in Catholic residential centers.
The apologies have referred to actions by many members of the Church and religious communities, but not to the role of the institution itself, nor have they mentioned sexual abuse.
The Catholic Church ran more than half of the residential schools in Canada. More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend government-funded schools between 1870 and 1997.
School of ermine skin one of the largest
The Ermineskin Indian Residential School began as a Catholic mission in 1895 and operated as one of Canada’s largest residential schools until 1975. The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, which is a repository for history of residential school archives, has so far documented 15 deaths of children attending the school.
“I was a student here at Ermineskin Residential School, which, because of your visit among us today, represents every residential school in our country,” Ermineskin First Nation Honorary Chief Wilton Littlechild said Monday. in welcoming the pontiff.
Hundreds of First Nations, Métis and Inuit residential school survivors and their families attended the powwow grounds in Maskwacis, Alta. (Ka’nhehsí:io Deer/CBC)
As a former commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Littlechild heard thousands of testimonies from former residential school students.
“During our time with you, it was clear to all of us that you listened deeply and with great compassion to the testimonies of how our language was suppressed, our culture was taken from us, and our spirituality was denigrated” , Littlechild said.
“The words you spoke to us in response clearly came from the depths of your heart, and were to those who heard them a source of deep comfort and great encouragement.”
The Pope gave him a war cap
Littlechild placed a war cap on the Pope before a motorcade escorted him back to St. Joseph of Edmonton, where he is staying during the Alberta leg of the visit.
Pope Francis receives a traditional headdress after addressing residential school survivors in Maskwacis, Alta., on Monday. (Jason Franson/Canadian Press)
“I see Pope Francis’ apology today as just a first step for the Church to make amends with our people,” said Treaty 6 Grand Chief George Arcand Jr.
“After meeting with the Pope and hearing his words, I think there is a way forward together. There is a lot of work to be done”
During Monday’s speech, the Pope did acknowledge that apologizing is only the first step. He said an important process will be to conduct a “serious investigation into the facts of what happened in the past and help residential school survivors experience healing from the traumas they suffered.” However, he did not fail to name any specific action.
Several survivors of residential schools have called for the annulment of papal bulls reinforcing the doctrine of discovery, the repatriation of indigenous artifacts held by the Vatican, and for the Catholic Church to release all documents related to residential schools.
It’s something Korkmaz hopes will be addressed in Quebec City later this week.
“There was no mention in his apology of releasing the documents that we desperately need across Canada. These documents contain our history … they belong here in Canada, they belong to us,” he said.
“I’m glad I lived long enough to witness his apology, but I want more because 50 years is too long to wait for an apology.”
A National Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to support residential school survivors and others affected. People can access crisis and emotional referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
Assistance is also available for anyone affected by their experience in Indian or federal day schools. People can immediately access mental health counseling and crisis intervention services at the Hope for Wellness Helpline by calling 1-855-242-3310 or online at www.hopeforwellness.ca.