Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not reveal his beliefs about whether Canada is on stolen indigenous land.
A journalist asked him the direct question on Monday and he replied that “Canada’s history” is a story of people coming together to build a better present and future for future generations.
“Canada is a country made up of indigenous people who have been here for millennia, who welcomed settlers and in some cases were invaded by settlers and others,” Trudeau told a news conference in Kamloops. BC.
“But we are a country that exists today with a commitment to always learn from the past and always do better.”
2:00 Trudeau wonders if Canada “exists on stolen indigenous land” Trudeau wonders if Canada “exists on stolen indigenous land”
Read more: Trudeau faces chants, playing drums as he walks through the crowd at the Kamloops Memorial
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Trudeau made the comments after the one-year memorial for Le Estcwicwéy̓: the 215 missing children believed to be buried near the former Indian residential school in Kamloops.
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir and many others welcomed him to the ceremonies, shaking his hand, hugging and taking pictures, while some questioned him. They played and sang, “Canada is all Indian land,” as they asked the Prime Minister to take his “disrespect” to another place.
At the press conference that followed, Trudeau said he understood the “anger and frustration that exists,” based on “many layers of trauma,” and promised that the federal government would continue to be a partner in reconciliation.
Pressed again at the end of the press conference to give a “yes or no” answer to the question about the stolen land, Trudeau smiled, thanked reporters, and left.
2:24 Tk’emlups te Secwemc ask Justin Trudeau to do more to advance reconciliation Tk’emlups te Secwemc ask Justin Trudeau to do more to advance reconciliation
In an interview, Neskonlith Kúkpi7 Judy Wilson said that the Prime Minister was asked a “valid question”.
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Indigenous reserves are “forced oppression” on land, he said, while the rest of Canada is on non-ceded indigenous lands, lands for which no treaties have been signed.
“The lands were taken through the Doctrine of the Discovery and terra nullius, which is fictitious, because they have no documents to show that we gave up or renounced the title to our land. At Secwepemc, we can prove it, and many other nations could probably prove it too. “
Read more: Recovering, Rebuilding: Kamloops School Survivors Share Tribute to Missing Children
The Doctrine of Discovery and the concept of ‘terra nullius’ were legal frameworks for early Christian explorers who gave them permission to conquer, displace, and enslave the first non-Christian peoples of the earth. They derived from a series of papal orders given in the 15th century.
During a historic delegation to the Vatican in March, indigenous leaders, young people, the elderly, survivors and conservatives of knowledge called on Pope Francis to revoke these orders. Casimir repeated that call during the memorial on Monday, while expressing his disappointment that the pontiff did not visit Kamloops on a reconciliation pilgrimage to Canada in July.
In October 2021, when Marc Miller took on a new role as Federal Minister for Crown-Indigenous Relations, he made headlines for saying, “It’s time to return the land” to Indigenous peoples. He attended Monday’s briefing but did not address the participants directly.
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Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller speaks with BC Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister Murray Rankin in Kamloops, BC on Monday. May 23, 2022, during the one-year commemoration of Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc for the 215 missing children. Elizabeth McSheffrey / Global News
Read more: Tribute to Le Estcwicwéy̓ – BC First Nation celebrates 1 year since 215 unmarked tombs
Robert Phillips, a political executive at the First Nations Summit, described Trudeau’s response to the stolen land issue as a “missed opportunity.” It was a “loaded question,” he added, but that could have been answered in more depth and clarity.
“It’s so important that we understand this history of the land, the indigenous land we have had since time immemorial,” he explained. “If the Prime Minister says, ‘This is indigenous land,’ he acknowledges.”
When settlers arrived on Turtle Island, now known as North America, they encountered nations with rich, diverse systems of government, cultures, and languages, Phillips said. This was removed through colonization, “stolen” through racist policies, he added.
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2:19 Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc marks one year since unmarked graves were rediscovered Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc marks one year since unmarked graves were rediscovered
However, Phillips said he acknowledged Trudeau’s “difficult position” and the unknown legal consequences if he had answered “yes.” Casimir echoed the call for unity as indigenous peoples and governments work toward reconciliation and focused on the positive and healing steps taken on Monday.
“I think the Prime Minister, of course, went there with all good intentions and certainly appeared, by surprise, and in most cases for the happiness, of the participants, of the survivors who were there from the residential schools, of many people with heavy hearts. ”
Trudeau traveled to Vancouver on Tuesday, where he discussed housing and food bank issues with residents and then held a press conference.
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