It was about time. This was the response of a Winnipeg school survivor to Pope Francis’ unqualified use of the word genocide to describe what happened to indigenous people forced to attend Canada’s schools. “It’s time for them to use these kinds of words to describe what happened to our people. It’s time to say words that have meaning and truth,” said Jennifer Wood, who works with the Winnipeg-based National Truth Center. and Reconciliation. “And for it to come from the highest point of the Vatican, saying it in our country, it’s going to have a lot of weight on the governments, the agencies, the churches,” said Wood, who is from the Neyaashiinigmiig First Nation in Ontario. . He was forced to attend a residential school in Portage la Prairie, Man. The pope used the word on the papal flight from Iqaluit to Rome late Friday after spending six days in Canada on a “repentant pilgrimage” of reconciliation in which he apologized for the role of the Catholic Church in the operation of many of the schools. WATCHES | Pope says Canada’s residential school system was tantamount to genocide:
Pope says Canada’s residential school system was tantamount to genocide
Pope Francis has called Canada’s residential school system and the forced assimilation of Indigenous children a genocide. Brock Pitawanakwat, the coordinator of the Indigenous Studies program at York University, called the Pope’s comments “overdue” but said it was a “significant development”. The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg, which holds the records compiled by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has so far documented 4,118 children who died in residential schools. In his multiple speeches during the week, Pope Francis described the home school system as a policy of assimilation and entitlement, and that it harmed families by undermining their language, culture and worldview. “Yes, it’s a technical word, genocide. I didn’t use it because it didn’t occur to me. But yes, I described it. Yes, it is genocide,” the pontiff told reporters on the departing flight. Wood and his colleagues from NCTR attended the Pope’s first appearance and apology in Maskwacis, Alta., wearing T-shirts with the names of the dead children. She said she was happy to be able to represent their memory at the event. He remembers these children when he thinks of the Pope’s use of the term genocide. “It’s a deliberate destruction of our family, our identity and our culture. It’s forced assimilation,” Wood said. “You’re taking your lifestyle from an entire people in our country, Canada. So I’m very happy that he’s coming out and saying things that are true.” Wood holds up a T-shirt with the names of some of the children who died in residential schools in Canada. She and her colleagues from the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation wore them to the pope’s first outing in Alberta on his six-day Canadian “pilgrimage of repentance” last week. (Justin Fraser/CBC)
“I was looking for words that were important, meaningful”: former AFN leader
The Pope’s comments caught a longtime indigenous leader off guard. “It clearly represents a dramatic change, from my perspective. It was completely unexpected,” said Phil Fontaine, a former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations and a school survivor. Fontaine said he hoped the pope’s use of the word genocide would not spark an endless debate between the differences in meaning of the words “genocide” and “cultural genocide” when it comes to describing what the school survivors experienced. “I myself, personally, wasn’t looking for perfection. But I was looking for words that were important, meaningful, honest,” Fontaine said in an interview Saturday. “What I heard convinced me that we should go ahead and start other important work and not be drawn into an endless debate, for example, between cultural genocide and genocide.” The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which released its final report in 2015, concluded that the school system amounted to cultural genocide. Pope Francis’ use of the word should not distract from addressing the unresolved issues between Indigenous Peoples and the Catholic Church, Fontaine said. These issues include the return of lands where residential schools used to exist and access to objects and records that remain under church control. WATCHES | How the Pope’s visit to Canada unfolded in 11 minutes:
How the Pope’s visit to Canada unfolded in 11 minutes
Pope Francis recently completed a six-day “pilgrimage of repentance” in Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut. First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities viewed his apology and visit with hope, disappointment and calls for action. Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University, said the development was significant, if not a little late. “The Catholic Church has been noted for always being, I guess, crooked when it comes to apologies to school survivors. All the other churches are moving faster in terms of providing documents, acknowledging the harms of the past. And so for the Pope to. .. recognize that genocide is an appropriate term, I think that is an important development,” Pitawanakwat said. The pope’s experiences in Canada and the time he spent with survivors appear to have left an imprint on him, said Darren Dias, professor of theology at the College of St. Michael in Toronto. The use of the word genocide is indicative of that, Dias said. “This is an 85-year-old Argentine with a lot on his plate — he doesn’t know the whole story. He hasn’t read all the scientific literature. But he’s learning about it,” Diaz said. “I think coming to Canada was a real learning experience,” he added. “So I think if he didn’t think to use it beforehand, he certainly knows what it was now and has used the word clearly.” Wood, who works with survivors from schools across Canada to help them cope with trauma, says she hopes the Pope’s comments will mark a turning point in their path to healing. “To use that word, I think the survivors will feel … a level of trust,” he said. “They’re going to trust the visit, that he has remorse, that he had deep regret. So, to me, that’s going to say that he got it, he saw it — he saw genocide.” Support is available for anyone affected by their residential school experience or recent reports. A national crisis line for residential schools in India has been set up to provide support to ex-students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419. Mental health counseling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.
title: " A Dramatic Change Homeschool Survivor Indigenous Leader Responds To Pope S Use Of Genocide " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-14” author: “Clint Baillie”
It was about time. This was the response of a Winnipeg school survivor to Pope Francis’ unqualified use of the word genocide to describe what happened to indigenous people forced to attend Canada’s schools. “It’s time for them to use these kinds of words to describe what happened to our people. It’s time to say words that have meaning and truth,” said Jennifer Wood, who works with the Winnipeg-based National Truth Center. and Reconciliation. “And for it to come from the highest point of the Vatican, saying it in our country, it’s going to have a lot of weight on the governments, the agencies, the churches,” said Wood, who is from the Neyaashiinigmiig First Nation in Ontario. . He was forced to attend a residential school in Portage la Prairie, Man. The pope used the word on the papal flight from Iqaluit to Rome late Friday after spending six days in Canada on a “repentant pilgrimage” of reconciliation in which he apologized for the role of the Catholic Church in the operation of many of the schools. WATCHES | Pope says Canada’s residential school system was tantamount to genocide:
Pope says Canada’s residential school system was tantamount to genocide
Pope Francis has called Canada’s residential school system and the forced assimilation of Indigenous children a genocide. Brock Pitawanakwat, the coordinator of the Indigenous Studies program at York University, called the Pope’s comments “overdue” but said it was a “significant development”. The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg, which holds the records compiled by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has so far documented 4,118 children who died in residential schools. In his multiple speeches during the week, Pope Francis described the home school system as a policy of assimilation and entitlement, and that it harmed families by undermining their language, culture and worldview. “Yes, it’s a technical word, genocide. I didn’t use it because it didn’t occur to me. But yes, I described it. Yes, it is genocide,” the pontiff told reporters on the departing flight. Wood and his colleagues from NCTR attended the Pope’s first appearance and apology in Maskwacis, Alta., wearing T-shirts with the names of the dead children. She said she was happy to be able to represent their memory at the event. He remembers these children when he thinks of the Pope’s use of the term genocide. “It’s a deliberate destruction of our family, our identity and our culture. It’s forced assimilation,” Wood said. “You’re taking your lifestyle from an entire people in our country, Canada. So I’m very happy that he’s coming out and saying things that are true.” Wood holds up a T-shirt with the names of some of the children who died in residential schools in Canada. She and her colleagues from the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation wore them to the pope’s first outing in Alberta on his six-day Canadian “pilgrimage of repentance” last week. (Justin Fraser/CBC)
“I was looking for words that were important, meaningful”: former AFN leader
The Pope’s comments caught a longtime indigenous leader off guard. “It clearly represents a dramatic change, from my perspective. It was completely unexpected,” said Phil Fontaine, a former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations and a school survivor. Fontaine said he hoped the pope’s use of the word genocide would not spark an endless debate between the differences in meaning of the words “genocide” and “cultural genocide” when it comes to describing what the school survivors experienced. “I myself, personally, wasn’t looking for perfection. But I was looking for words that were important, meaningful, honest,” Fontaine said in an interview Saturday. WATCHES | Phil Fontaine talks to Neil Herland on the CBC News Network:
Former Assembly of First Nations National Chief Responds to Pope’s Use of Genocide
Phil Fontaine says Francis using the word highlights the issue and hopes it will spur further action. “What I heard convinced me that we should go ahead and start other important work and not be drawn into an endless debate, for example, between cultural genocide and genocide.” The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which released its final report in 2015, concluded that the school system amounted to cultural genocide. Pope Francis’ use of the word should not distract from addressing the unresolved issues between Indigenous Peoples and the Catholic Church, Fontaine said. These issues include the return of lands where residential schools used to exist and access to objects and records that remain under church control. WATCHES | How the Pope’s visit to Canada unfolded in 11 minutes:
How the Pope’s visit to Canada unfolded in 11 minutes
Pope Francis recently completed a six-day “pilgrimage of repentance” in Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut. First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities viewed his apology and visit with hope, disappointment and calls for action. Brock Pitawanakwat, associate professor of Indigenous Studies at York University, said the development was significant, if not a little late. “The Catholic Church has been noted for always being, I guess, crooked when it comes to apologies to school survivors. All the other churches are moving faster in terms of providing documents, acknowledging the harms of the past. And so for the Pope to. .. recognize that genocide is an appropriate term, I think that is an important development,” Pitawanakwat said. The pope’s experiences in Canada and the time he spent with survivors appear to have left an imprint on him, said Darren Dias, professor of theology at the College of St. Michael in Toronto. The use of the word genocide is indicative of that, Dias said. “This is an 85-year-old Argentine with a lot on his plate — he doesn’t know the whole story. He hasn’t read all the scientific literature. But he’s learning about it,” Diaz said. WATCHES | CBC’s Sam Samson reports on the response to the Pope’s use of the word genocide:
Homeschool survivor, indigenous leader responds to Pope’s use of genocide
The pope used the word on the papal flight from Iqaluit to Rome late Friday after spending six days in Canada. “I think coming to Canada was a real learning experience,” he added. “So I think if he didn’t think to use it beforehand, he certainly knows what it was now and has used the word clearly.” Wood, who works with survivors from schools across Canada to help them cope with trauma, says she hopes the Pope’s comments will mark a turning point in their path to healing. “To use that word, I think the survivors will feel … a level of trust,” he said. “They’re going to trust the visit, that he has remorse, that he had deep regret. So, to me, that’s going to say that he got it, he saw it — he saw genocide.” Support is available for anyone affected by their residential school experience or recent reports. A national crisis line for residential schools in India has been set up to provide support to ex-students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419. Mental health counseling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.
