‘Hope for change’: First Nations delegates meet with Pope Francis

Editor’s note: This article contains details some readers may find distressing

Emotional support or assistance for those who are affected by the residential school system can be found at Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll-free at 1 (800) 721-0066 or 24-hr Crisis Line 1 (866) 925-4419.

Chief Gerald Antoine says he hopes the meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican can forge the beginning of an important relationship.

“Despite our collective grief and pain, there comes hope for change,” the Assembly of First Nations delegation lead said Thursday following the meeting with the Pontiff.

“This change will bring dignity, equality, trust and an opportunity for this change to happen.”

The delegates were emotional as they walked out of the meeting surrounded by the drumming of family and community members who waited in St. Peter’s Square.

The meeting with the head of the Roman Catholic Church lasted for two hours, although the encounter had only been scheduled to take place for one.

The delegates said they shared stories of residential schools and requested the doctrine of discovery be rescinded and Indigenous lands be returned.

The First Nations delegates spoke following the meeting, and repeated the need for an official apology from the Catholic Church.

Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir, the chief of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation where the first discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves was made public, says the church needs to support the path of healing.

Shoes line the edge of the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill in memory of the 215 children whose remains were found at the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School at Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation in Kamloops, B.C., on May 30, 2021, THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

“It is vital that the Catholic Church and First Nations peoples have the opportunity to share the truth of the past and for the church to apologize for the wrongs that have been committed and to commemorate the strength and resilience of First Nations peoples who have suffered because of the residential school system,” Casimir said.

She again called for the church to release all records in order to assist in identification and give families closure as the search continues at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Assembly of First Nations delegates speak in Rome following their meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. They are joined by representatives from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. (Credit: CPAC)

“There is a significant role the Catholic Church can play in assisting in the return of our children by supporting the disclosure of records and documents in its possession. Access to all of the records and documents will help to identify our children, and may bring closure and healing to the many families and communities who for so long, have grieved the loss of their loved ones without knowing the truth of what happened,” she said, adding that more mental health support is needed in the community as a result of this trauma.

Still frame of footage showing the Kamloops Indian Residential School, circa 1937. (Courtesy: YouTube/Royal BC Museum)

“We respectfully ask that the Catholic churches support the path to healing by providing the appropriate regress and reparations to First Nations peoples. Every child matters,” she said.

It marks the second time former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine has met a pope and requested an apology. He says circumstances are much different now than when he asked former pope Benedict to apologize in 2009.

Fontaine said he was optimistic about the progress achieved at Thursday’s meeting.

“This was a special moment for us. A profound moment,” he said.

Fontaine put abuses at the schools in the national spotlight in 1990 when he spoke about his own experiences as a child at the Fort Alexander Residential School in Manitoba.

He said the recent discoveries of unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools has put an incredible pressure on the Catholic Church.

Former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, outside St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on March 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

While Pope Francis did not commit to an apology or even a trip to Canada, Fontaine said it has been suggested the Holy Father could travel this summer.

Fontaine said he expects the Pope to make that clear during a meeting Friday with First Nations, Metis and Inuit delegates.

“The whole world is watching,” Fontaine said. “And that’s quite a bit of pressure on the church.”

Métis and Inuit delegates meet with Pope

Métis and Inuit residential school survivors and leaders met with Francis on Monday.

Delegates spoke about wanting him to truly hear their stories and understand how they’ve been shaped by the legacy left by the Catholic Church and colonialism.

An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools. More than 60 per cent of the schools were run by the Catholic Church.

Kukpi7 Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia thanked her community for supporting her as she brought the truth of their history to the highest level of the Catholic Church.

She said everyone, especially non-Indigenous Canadians, has responsibility to build a better future.

“This is our collective history.”