Graves of First Nations children at residential schools found

cco wrote:

jerrym wrote:

The Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, together with the Catholic Church, are going to investigate what happened in a North Vancouver residential school called St. Paul’s Indian Residential School.

I'm sure working with the perpetrators to investigate the crime will result in a full and just accounting.

I am surprised that they are doing this. Maybe there is a decent relationship between the local church and these First Nations. Maybe there's not. Maybe the First Nations feel it's the only way they can get some of the information they want. Whatever it is, that's their choice. There has been too much telling First Nations what to do in the past to keep on telling them what to do or knocking them for doing things their way. 

Now that the election is over, despite all Trudeau's 'noble' gesture of kneeling at a residential school grave, he had no problem filing a third appeal to overturn a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling of "an ongoing, 14-year-old complaint about the systemic underfunding of First Nations child welfare." So much for the Trudeau Liberals caring for First Nations children. "Trudeau stated incorrectly during the federal leaders’ debate the Liberals aren’t fighting First Nation kids in court."

The federal government wants to overturn another Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling in an ongoing, 14-year-old complaint about the systemic underfunding of First Nations child welfare. On Friday afternoon, the Justice Department filed what is now its third application for judicial review before the Federal Court. The application asks a judge to quash an Aug. 26 ruling ordering Canada to fund First Nations child welfare agencies so they can build or buy property, buildings, vehicles and other infrastructure required to deliver services. The justice department called the order “broad and vague and beyond the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.”

Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, partnered with the Assembly of First Nations in 2007 to lodge the original human rights complaint.

She pointed out on Twitter the application comes only days before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30 — a new statutory holiday created by the federal government to honour victims of residential schools. She also noted the appeal comes on the heels of a federal election campaign during which opposing parties criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for fighting First Nations kids in court.

“It is beyond disappointing that just days after hearing reconciliation election pledges, that the first action the federal government takes is filing yet another appeal to overturn an order that ensures First Nations’ children and families have proper buildings to receive services to keep families together and ensure children get the help they need,” Blackstock said in an email. Their litigation against the [Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s] top Call to Action on child welfare seems endless.”

The Canadian government noted the tribunal hasn’t issued its final reasons yet but said it filed the appeal because a 30-day limitation period will expire in two days on Sept. 26.

Trudeau stated incorrectly during the federal leaders’ debate the Liberals aren’t fighting First Nation kids in court.

One of the Justice Department’s top lawyers spent a week in court in mid-June arguing the two other judicial reviews.

The first ruling ordered Canada to pay $40,000 — the maximum amount under federal human rights law — to kids unnecessarily taken from their homes or denied access to essential services that ought to have been available under Jordan’s Principle.

Trudeau said Canada will compensate these kids, but prefers to do it through a negotiated class-action settlement rather than through the tribunal.

The second ruling ordered Canada to expand Jordan’s Principle to non-status kids if they meet certain criteria.

Jordan’s Principle is a program Ottawa is legally required to implement to ensure all First Nations kids have access to essential health and social services without delay.

It states that the level of government first contacted must pay for the essential services in question and seek reimbursement later.

All decisions made by quasi-judicial administrative tribunals like the human rights tribunal are subject to appeal in the form of review by a judge. Justice Paul Favel presided over the two previous reviews. He reserved his decision on both. They have not yet been released.

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/canada-files-3rd-judicial-review-c...

Today Trudeau attended a ceremony to remember those First Nations children that died at the Kamloops Residential School, to make up for the one that he missed on the Truth and Reconiliation Day that he had created but then skipped to go on vaction. National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations RoseAnne Archibald, while sitting right beside Trudeau, summed it up best when she said "Enough of empty rhetoric".

On CBC's Power and Politics, Mary Ellen Turpen-Lafond, indigenous judge, British Columbia's first Representative for Children and Youth from 2011 to 2016 where "she was known for her eviscerating reports into the child welfare system", and head of the investigation into racism in BC's health care system, commented on Trudeau's performance during his attendance at the Kamloops Residential School ceremony today. Once again it was all words and no concrete action:

Trudeau attended because of the Tofino vacation debacle. I lost count of the number of times he apologized. Some people were pleased that he came. Many others were skeptical  about this. From a political viewpoint, this was damage control and repair.

From a substantive point, I didn't think he was particularly well briefed and up on the file and he didn't say a lot.  In fact, some of it was not accurate. From a truth standpoint, he's quite off-base. He said Canada's handed over all of its records to the National Centre for Reconciliation. Not true. They have not done so. He was asked questions about the 2015 agreement where Canada let 50+ Catholic churches off the hook when they cried poverty  and said they couldn't pay their share of the compensation. He was basically of the view that that's been settled when in fact all summer the Globe and Mail and the CBC have examined the secrecy around that and that the evidence did not support the idea that the Catholic Church could not pay. Nice words - you're missing action. He's going to have to show more than that. When he then talked about how important the Catholic Church was to him, I felt squeamish. 

The Assembly of First Nations also says that Trudeau was not telling the truth when he said in Kamloops that all documents on residential schools have been turned over to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and that this needs to happen quickly. 

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Kamloops on Monday, finally meeting with the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nations after his fiasco over skipping the opportunity on Truth and Reconciliation Day, Sept. 30, he told media that all requested documentation Ottawa has on residential schools had been turned over to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) in Winnipeg. The centre aims to be the First Nations’ archive for the history and memories of residential school survivors.

“All the records in possession of the federal government have already been turned over to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg,” Trudeau said Monday in response to a journalist’s question. ...

The centre disputes that claim, Global News has reported. “At present, we are still waiting for Canada to provide the final versions of school narratives and supporting documents used in the Independent Assessment Process to the NCTR,” the centre said on its website . “The NCTR has various school narratives on its website, but some are out of date. For other schools, no narrative has ever been provided.”

Trudeau said that attendance records for the Kamloops Indian Residential School dating back to the 1800s were just some of the documents transferred over.

The NCTR, however, noted that “at present, we are also still unable to access Indian Hospital records, federal health records, and day school records. All of these records are crucial, not only to support missing children research, but to fully and truthfully document the residential school system, the children who died in the schools, and the ongoing legacy.”

The centre ended its statement by saying “If the Prime Minister is telling all Canadians and Indigenous Peoples that the NCTR holds all records, it is time for that to be true.”

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/not-accurate-truth-and-reconciliati...

Today "Researchers say they have uncovered the names of 102 Native American students who died at a federally operated boarding school in Nebraska", with the actual total expected to be much higher. 

Researchers say they have uncovered the names of 102 Native American students who died at a federally operated boarding school in Nebraska.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the discovery comes as ground-penetrating radar has been used in recent weeks to search for a cemetery once used by the school that operated in Genoa from 1884 to 1934. So far, no graves have been found.

The Genoa school was one of the largest in a system of 25 federally run boarding schools for Native Americans. The dark history of abuses at the schools is now the subject of a nationwide investigation.

Margaret Jacobs, co-director of the Genoa Indian School Digital Reconciliation Project, said some of the names identified so far might be duplicates, but the true death toll is likely much higher.

Jacobs said that many of the children died of diseases including tuberculosis. Some other deaths such as a drowning were reported by newspapers at the time.

When the school closed, documents were either destroyed or scattered across the country. Locating them has proved challenging for both the Genoa project and others working to gather information on the schools.

Many of the names linked to Genoa were found in newspaper archives, including the school’s student newspapers, said Jacobs, who also is a history professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

https://www.newschannelnebraska.com/story/45189661/102-died-at-native-am...

Williams Lake First Nation in BC is about to release the findings of its residential school unmarked graves investigation. 

Officials at a B.C. First Nation plan to release the preliminary results of a search of the grounds of a former residential school on Tuesday.  

The chief and council from the Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN), in the central Interior, launched their search of the area around St. Joseph's Mission Residential School after last spring's discovery of unmarked burial sites next to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. 

Many of WLFN's members were forced to attend St. Joseph's between 1886 and 1981. It was later torn down. 

"We're grateful that we were able to complete the first phase of our geophysical research and will be in a position to have greater clarity about the results of the ground-penetrating radar and other technical investigations," WLFN Chief Willie Sellars said in a statement.

The nation has scheduled a press conference for 1 p.m. PT Tuesday to present its findings. ...

Physical, emotional and sexual abuse of St. Joseph's students has been documented by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

The school has been torn down, but it left a painful legacy for survivors and their families. Bev Sellars, who comes from a neighbouring community, was a student there from 1962 to 1967, after both her mother and grandmother were also forced to attend.  She says those five years, during which her language, culture and family were all torn away from her, were traumatizing. "They took me there and tried to retrain me into being somebody that I was not," said Sellars. She says whatever the findings reveal, it is important to bring to light what darkness happened at St. Joseph's. "We need to make sure that Canada knows about these atrocities that happened at these schools," said Sellars.

Before releasing the results to the public, WLFN said earlier its representatives would meet with chiefs from neighbouring communities also affected by operations at the school — providing an opportunity to ask questions of the technical experts. ...

It is estimated that more than 150,000 children attended residential schools in Canada from the 1830s until the last school closed in 1997. ... The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) estimates about 4,100 children died at the schools, based on death records, but has said the true total is likely much higher. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission said large numbers of Indigenous children who were forcibly sent to residential schools never returned home.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/williams-lake-findings-1...

Below is more  on finding graves at Fort Pelly and St. Phillips residential school sites. 

The discovery of unmarked graves at the sites of two former residential schools opens the door to more questions, said the chief of a Saskatchewan First Nation.

Keeseekoose First Nation said 54 hits from ground-penetrating radar were made on the grounds of the former Fort Pelly and St. Philips residential schools near Kamsack.

“The locations we’re scanning were identified by survivors and knowledge keepers from oral history,” said Ted Quewezance, the former chief of the First Nation and a residential school survivor.

“Ground-penetrating radar simply validated our oral history.” Chief Lee Kitchemonia says it is a very solemn day.  “It’s going to be a very tough time for our community knowing that we have unmarked graves in our community,” Kitchemonia said during a press conference Tuesday. “Somebody has to be held accountable for it.”

Fort Pelly Residential School operated from 1905 until it closed in 1913. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation says the principal was fired in 1911 after it was reported he was drunk and threatening everyone at the school. St. Philips Residential School opened in 1928 and closed in 1969. The commission found the school had a widespread problem with sexual and physical abuse, which led to the dismissal of a school supervisor during the school’s final decade. Both institutions were run by the Catholic Church.

The commission, which documented stories from survivors and issued a final report in 2015, has a record of two student deaths at St. Philip’s and two at Fort Pelly.

Kitchemonia said he has heard the stories and the community deserves to know what happened at the schools. “That’s what it really boils down to, is seeing your kid leave your house in the morning time, not realizing that you’ll never, ever see your child again for as long as you live, not knowing any answers to where those children are gone,” he said. “All you know is that they’ve gone to school and they’ve never returned.”

Quewezance said there were 42 hits at Fort Pelly and 12 hits at St. Philips. He said there could be more graves, but searches were put on hold due to snow.

https://globalnews.ca/news/8621287/unmarked-graves-former-residential-sc...

The Tseshaht First Nation announced last week that "has begun has begun the 'foundational work' to locate unmarked graves are the Alberni Indian Residential School site."

https://globalnews.ca/news/8607894/port-alberni-vancouver-island-first-n...

The Cross Lake Band/Pimicikamak Cree Nation has started investigating the St. Joseph’s Residential School for unmarked graves. 

One Manitoba First Nation is searching the grounds of a former residential school to locate potential unmarked graves.

In a Tuesday news release, the Cross Lake Band/Pimicikamak Cree Nation said it started an investigation into the St. Joseph’s Residential School, which was managed by the Roman Catholic Church. The residential school located in Cross Lake operated from 1912 to 1969 and was the main residential school for northern Manitoba.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation noted other First Nations across the country have discovered unmarked graves at the sites of residential schools, with Chief David Monias saying it is their to duty find as many of the missing and murdered children as they can.

Monias added they have identified 85 names of children who died while attending residential schools in Cross Lake. However, the First Nation is unsure where the children are buried or if this list is an actual record of the number of children who died. ...

Pimicikamak also plans to collect information to develop a database with the names of the student who attended the school and where they came from. Professional consultants will review the reported deaths of the children.

Pimicikamak said it is also going to create a memorial monument to honour the students, including all the Cross Lake students who attended other residential schools.

“When you lose an Elder, you lose a part of your history and similarly, when you lose a child, you lose a part of your future. This was the intent of the Canadian government and the religious institutions that were part of the residential school era,” said Chief Monias. “It is called genocide!”

The First Nation is asking all levels of government, as well as the Roman Catholic Church Authority in Manitoba and the Vatican in Rome to collaborate on this investigation. It said it does not want to encounter any obstacles or hindrances as it conducts the investigation.

Pimicikamak said it is hoping to bring healing to residential school survivors and their children.

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/manitoba-first-nation-to-search-grounds-of-f...

The residential school deaths in Canada have prompted an investigation into US residential school deaths, thanks in part to the first indigenous Secretary of the Interior, Debra Haaland. Having just started it has already turned up 500 deaths. Like Canada many were buried in unmarked graves. The schools were run directly by the government, Protestant, and Catholic churches. 

A first-of-its-kind federal study of Native American boarding schools that for over a century sought to assimilate Indigenous children into white society has identified more than 400 such schools that were supported by the U.S. government and more than 50 associated burial sites, a figure that could grow exponentially as research continues.

The report released Wednesday by the Interior Department expands the number of schools that were known to have operated for 150 years, starting in the early 19th century and coinciding with the removal of many tribes from their ancestral lands. ...

The dark history of the boarding schools — where children who were taken from their families were prohibited from speaking their Native American languages and often abused — has been felt deeply across Indian Country and through generations.

Many children never returned home. The investigation has so far turned up over 500 deaths at 19 schools, though the Interior Department said that number could climb to the thousands or even tens of thousands.

“Many of those children were buried in unmarked or poorly maintained burial sites far from their Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Villages, the Native Hawaiian Community, and families, often hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away,” the report said.

A second volume of the report will cover the burial sites as well as the federal government’s financial investment in the schools and the impacts of the boarding schools on Indigenous communities, the Interior Department said.

“The consequences of federal Indian boarding school policies — including the intergenerational trauma caused by the family separation and cultural eradication inflicted upon generations of children as young as 4 years old — are heartbreaking and undeniable,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.

Haaland, who is Laguna, announced an initiative last June to investigate the troubled legacy of boarding schools and uncover the truth about the government’s role in them. The 408 schools her agency identified operated in 37 states or territories, many of them in Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico.

The Interior Department acknowledged the number of schools identified could change as more data is gathered. The coronavirus pandemic and budget restrictions hindered some of the research over the last year, said Bryan Newland, the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for Indian Affairs.

The department has so far found at least 53 burial sites at or near the U.S. boarding schools, both marked and unmarked.

The U.S. government directly ran some of the boarding schools. Catholic, Protestant and other churches operated others with federal funding, backed by U.S. laws and policies to “civilize” Native Americans.

The Interior Department report was prompted by the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential school sites in Canada that brought back painful memories for Indigenous communities.

Haaland also announced Wednesday a yearlong tour for Interior Department officials that will allow former boarding school students from Native American tribes, Alaska Native villages and Native Hawaiian communities to share their stories as part of a permanent oral history collection.

“It is my priority to not only give voice to the survivors and descendants of federal Indian boarding school policies, but also to address the lasting legacies of these policies so Indigenous Peoples can continue to grow and heal,” she said.

Retired Roman Catholic priest Arthur Masse, age 92, has been arrested for sexual abuse in residential schools from 1968 to 1970. Without the residential school graves discoveries he would have escaped any punishment as police ignored his and others actions in residential schools across the country. Sadly the Manitoba RCMP said this is the only investigation they are carrying out with regard to residential school sexual abuse. The pressure on the RCMP to do more must increase if nothing more than a token arrest or two is going to happen. It is a sad commentary on the RCMP, supposedly with 80 investigating officers, that it took a decade of investigation to lead to one arrest.

A retired priest has been charged with indecent assault in connection with a decade-long RCMP investigation into a Manitoba residential school.

Retired Father Arthur Masse, 92, was charged in connection with the sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl, who was a student at the Fort Alexander residential school, northeast of Winnipeg.

The alleged assault occurred between 1968 and 1970, police said at a news conference Friday morning.

"The victim in this case has endured a lot throughout the investigative process and has stood firm in speaking out about what happened to her," RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Paul Manaigre said at a news conference on Friday.

Police arrested Masse at his home in Winnipeg on Thursday. He was released with conditions and will appear in court in Powerview on July 20.

This is the only current investigation into residential schools by Manitoba RCMP and with this arrest, the investigation is concluded, police said.

More than 80 investigators worked on the case, contacting more than 700 people across North America to search for witnesses and victims, and obtaining 75 witness and victim statements.

"The question may be asked: Why, with all this work, was there one charge laid and not many?" Manaigre said.

"Unfortunately, due to the passage of time, many of the victims are not able to participate in the investigation, whether that be for mental or physical health reasons, or because the victim is now deceased."..

"This arrest is the culmination of a decade of work by the RCMP investigators, who would not have been able to bring this to a conclusion without the incredible bravery of the victims and witnesses who were willing to relive past trauma and speak about what took place," Manaigre said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/fort-alexander-residential-schoo...