Page 9 - Presbyterian Connection

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FALL 2024
The Apology of the PCC for its Complicity in Colonization and the Residential School System
Connection
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
PRESBYTERIAN
9
The Presbyterian Church in Can- ada originally made a Confession in 1994 for the church’s role in operating residential schools and colonization but have realized the inadequacy of that Confes- sion. The Presbyterian Church in Canada humbly offers this apol- ogy to the generations of Indig- enous people and communities harmed by the residential schools and day schools we operated. Resources to help the church study and reflect on the apology are being prepared and will be posted to the Social Action Hub at presbyterian.ca/social-action.
Introduction
We, The Presbyterian Church in Canada, humbly offer this apol- ogy to the generations of Indig- enous people and communities harmed by the residential schools and day schools we operated.
We originally made a Confes- sion in 1994 for our role in operat- ing residential schools and colo- nization but we have realized the inadequacy of that Confession. We apologize for our slowness and the apathy of our response. We are deeply sorry.
We acknowledge the families whose children were taken to schools without telling their fami- lies where the children were be- ing taken and who never returned, who remain lost today. We ac- knowledge with grief the many unmarked graves that have been found and will be found, includ- ing at schools that we ran. We remember the children who never made it home.
We apologize for the impact of the genocide of colonization, forced assimilation and racism to which we actively contributed.
Many Survivors and intergen- erational Survivors have shared very personal and traumatic expe- riencesinthecontextofTruthand Reconciliation Commission hear- ings and within the congregations, committees and governing bodies of the church. We acknowledge the strength and courage of Survivors for sharing your experiences in the schools and the heavy burdens you, your families and commu- nities still bear. We acknowledge the pain and difficulty of sharing and reliving the truth of your lived
experience.
We acknowledge that the
church’s apology itself, as well as the presence of church represent- atives making the apology, may be triggering, evoking trauma for some by surfacing memories of devastating experiences in resi- dential schools.
Apology
We acknowledge that Indigenous children suffered at residential schools. The Presbyterian Church in Canada ran Ahousaht Residen- tial School in British Columbia, Alberni Residential School in Brit- ish Columbia, Birtle Residential School in Manitoba, Cecilia Jef- frey Residential School in Shoal Lake, Ontario, Cecilia Jeffrey Res- idential School in Kenora, Ontario, Crowstand Residential School in Saskatchewan, File Hills Resi- dential School in Saskatchewan, Muscowpetung (later known as “Lakesend”) Residential School in Saskatchewan, Por tage la Prairie Residential School in Manitoba, Regina Industrial School in Sas- katchewan, Round Lake Residen- tial School in Saskatchewan and Stoney Plain Residential School in Alber ta.
We apologize for taking chil- dren from their homes, parents, grandparents and communities.
We apologize for traumatizing parents and communities and taking away their rights to protect their children.
We honour and respect the languages of the land and apolo- gize for punishing Indigenous students for speaking their tradi- tional languages.
We apologize for attempting to eliminate Indigenous identity and Cultural and Spiritual traditions.
We apologize for the abuse Indigenous children suffered, in- cluding physical, sexual, psycho- logical, emotional and Spiritual abuses.
We apologize for the weaponi- zation of food that happened in the schools and for non-consen- sual experiments with food, nutri- tion and medical procedures that were conducted on children.
We apologize for the lost lives, for children who died while at res- idential schools—from disease, neglect, suicide, attempts to run
away and from violence by teach- ers, staff and volunteers.
We apologize that the schools created an isolated and unsafe environment where violence was condoned and students learned violence. We regret, and are deeply sorry, that we provided conditions where students could abuse other students.
We acknowledge and apologize for the resulting loss of blood- lines, of ancestors and of people who would not grow to become Elders, the huge loss of culture and future for nations this meant.
We apologize that when chil- dren died their parents were not always informed, they were not always returned to their com- munities and their burial sites were sometimes unmarked or the markers were not maintained and the record of names was not kept.
We apologize for the church’s attitude of white superiority, for its assimilating policies and prac- tices, for the racism of treating Indigenous people as less than hu- man and for the ongoing intergen- erational effects of our complicity with colonization and the schools that continue to negatively impact families and communities.
We acknowledge that this systemic racism continues to impact Indigenous people, includ- ing through: insecure housing;
poverty; forced dependence on social assistance; experiencing lateral and domestic violence, in particular toward Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQ peo- ple as named in the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We acknowledge this has led to hopelessness, men- tal health crises and the tragedy of suicide, barriers to complet- ing education and to accessing health care. We acknowledge this has led to the breakdown of family bonds that results in chil- dren taken into foster care, gang involvement, exploitation, addic- tions and incarceration.
We are sorry for how long it has taken for The Presbyterian Church in Canada to begin to un- derstand the depth of harm we have caused, and we still have much to learn.
For our complicity in coloniza-
tion and the residential school sys- tem, we are deeply, deeply sorry.
We therefore offer five funda- mental commitments:
We will continue to listen and learn from Indigenous people, leaders, Elders and Knowledge Keepers, welcoming and engag- ing voices from both within and beyond The Presbyterian Church in Canada.
We will continue the work of reconciliation, responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Com- mission’s 94 Calls to Action and the work of reparation that we have begun.
We will respect traditional In- digenous spiritual practices.
We will listen to and tell the truth about the past.
We will work to support Indig- enous-led healing and wellness initiatives and be in solidar- ity with Indigenous people and communities.
The Rev. Mary Fontaine, former moderator, presenting the National Indigenous Ministries Council report to the 2024 General Assembly.