BishopAccountability.org
	Putting the Pain behind Barrie Examiner June 16, 2008 http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1074553 CANADA — The treatment of Canadian aboriginals at residential schools is a black mark on our history that we all have to bear. The concept of the schools was wrong, the placement of native children in the schools was wrong and the treatment of the students was reprehensible. It is something we can't hide from. But Prime Minister Stephen Harper, showing uncharacteristic humility last week, at least did something in this sad saga right when he delivered a sincere and heartfelt apology to the people who endured years of physical, mental, emotional and sexual torture and abuse — and to the memory of those children killed while at tending the schools. "The government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly," Harper told an extraordinary gathering of the House of Commons, its numbers bolstered by the presence of survivors of the residential schools. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion was equally contrite in his apology: "As the leader of the party that was in government for more than 70 years of the last century, I acknowledge our role and our shared responsibility in this tragedy. I am deeply sorry." There were 130 of these church-run, government-funded schools across the country, in all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Between 1870 and 1996, about 150,000 native children were ripped from their families, communities and culture, and placed in the care of the schools. The idea behind residential schools was to assimilate Canada's native people, to have them abandon their traditional way of life in favour of a white, Anglo-Saxon, Christian culture. It was, as Harper said, "To kill the Indian in the child." How antiquated that thinking is today. "We recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm and has no place in our country," Harper said. In making the apology, Harper took upon himself the burden of blame for something that happened under the watch of every prime minister this country has had save two — Harper and former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin. But that is what leaders are supposed to do, and in taking the burden, Harper performed admirably. Sean Vanderklis, an Ojibwe living in St. Catharines and president of the Niagara Region Native Centre, praised Harper for appearing sincere and honest. "It wasn't just that he said the government was sorry. It's that he asked for forgiveness," Vanderklis said. It is encouraging to hear natives speak of the official apology as a milestone in relations between the government and the natives. Nobody can understand the horrors of the residential schools better than they, particularly the estimated 80,000 survivors. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, himself the victim of physical and sexual abuse at a residential school in Manitoba, said the apology "will help us to put that pain behind us." We sincerely hope that it does. Canada has committed a great wrong, and we are sorry. * Osprey News - - - Canada has committed a great wrong, and we are sorry. Have Your Say
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.