Today marks the 54th anniversary of the tragic death of Chanie Wenjack, an Anishinaabe boy, who at the tender age of 12, ran away from the PCC-run Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School to return home, only to be found dead by hunger and exposure to harsh weather. It is said that the story of Chanie along with the painful legacy of residential schools is being taught in at least 40,000 classrooms across the country.
Dr. Allyson Carr, Associate Secretary of Justice Ministries, has written on the death of Joyce Echaquan, an Indigenous woman in a hospital in Quebec, and the racist words that were spoken to her by the hospital workers she was in the care of—words which illuminate the unacceptable and condemnable behaviour that is often permitted in our society as a result of systemic racism.
This reflection by the moderator speaks to the importance of participating in Orange Shirt Day on September 30 to remember and honour the Indigenous children who attended Indian Residential Schools, and reflects on the PCC’s involvement in the Residential School System and its inter-generational impacts on Indigenous children today.
Why Work To Decolonize? is a study resource produced in collaboration between the PCC’s National Indigenous Ministries Council and the Life and Mission Agency (Justice Ministries) that engages the overall themes of the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Following the recent deaths of Indigenous people during encounters with law enforcement, the PCC calls for an immediate end to violence against Indigenous Peoples.
The PCC has released a brief study on systemic racism and hatred in Canada as a conversation starter for people and congregations to dig deeper into responding to racial injustices.
