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Jump to "Honor Poem" by Michelle Nieviadomy
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Many paths to reconciliation
By Rev. Curtis Korver
I want to get rid of the Indian problem?Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill.
—Duncan Campbell Scott, Deputy Superintendent, federal Department of Indian Affairs, 1913-1932; reported in the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples of 1991
"The Indian problem": spoken by a federal official in the early 1900s.
How far we have come.
I have recently returned from a reflective series of lectures, prayers, songs and stories, carefully put together as "Truth and Reconciliation: Healing the Legacy of the Indian Residential Schools," a conference by the King's University College in Edmonton in January 2009. In many ways it takes a sustained, focused event like this to truly begin understanding what the Schools have meant to our aboriginal neighbours.
Presented as part of the Remembering the Children tour, the conference was designed to raise awareness of the legacy of the Schools. In fact, it achieved much more.
Indian Residential Schools were modeled on the Carlisle School in Pennsylvania, whose founder, Richard Pratt, believed in the principle "Kill the Indian, save the man." It was the first off-reservation boarding school in North America, one where native languages could not be spoken and European religion and values were forced on children. The school achieved at best mixed results; it closed after less than 40 years of operation, amid accusations that graduates were trained for only lower-class jobs, and amid widespread allegations of abuse and of tuberculosis-related epidemics. Though it closed in 1919, it remained the model for many Canadian residential schools.
Today, such a project could earn charges of cultural genocide. The intentional context of deracination created conditions under which abuse of children became more likely—and it did. Many students—including those from the Carlisle school and its template schools across North America—suffered emotional, physical and sexual abuse. They carry the legacy with them today. Many who were not raised by their own parents lack parenting skills themselves. Survivors of abuse carry shame and a damaged understanding of their own sexuality.
After the corporate apology by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008, few Canadians could remain entirely ignorant of the Resident Schools legacy. This King's conference was not breaking new ground in raising awareness of the tragedy. Instead, the beauty of the event's design was in presenting such awareness not as a burden to Canadians today, but as opportunity.
I already knew that though I am not directly responsible, I am a part of a society that made the Schools possible. Now that our society has acknowledged this legacy, those with eyes to see can find a stunning willingness among First Nations people to reconcile—to be honest about what has happened, and to find a way for First Nations people to live together with other Canadians in healthy relationship.
What a privilege it was to be invited into the lives and ceremonies of First Nations people! Each day of the conference began with a smudging ceremony. Frequently through the two days, we heard songs of honour and blessing. Survivors thanked us for attending and listening and learning. A highlight of the whole event was an evening at the Edmonton Native Healing Center, where stories were told and anger expressed and apologies offered and accepted.
I believe that the Canadian government and involved churches owe apologies and some form of compensation. But this conference helped me realize these are just the beginning. We must move in many concurrent ways toward healing and reconciliation.
Stories need to be told. The experiences of abuse survivors must be shared. And others must listen. Scholars must record the history of the residential schools, sparing none of the failures—or successes. Apologies must be offered and accepted. Racist attitudes must be confronted and eliminated—by anyone who holds them. Ceremonies must be shared together. Through this exchange, we will come to understand one another, and we will come to see ourselves as humans needing relationships of respect and truth.
How far we must yet go.
Duncan Campbell Scott and many of his contemporaries believed there was an "Indian problem." There is no such thing. Instead, there is rich opportunity as cultures reconcile, finding common ground and delighting in the different ways that we reflect God.
Rev. Curtis Korver has been pastor of Covenant Millrise CRC in Calgary since 2001. He is a member of CCG, and blogs ("In Other Words") at www.covenantmillrise.org.| |
Honor Poem
Michelle Nieviadomy
January 2009
To my ancestors who have gone before me, oh what you have endured
A loss so profound, I believe your stories must be heard
Silence no more, speak the wrong that's been done
I hope this is the season where true healing has begun
It is more than just the stories you have walked thru
Stolen was the childhood, the one you never quite knew
Taken from your own home with no understanding
Lost in a moment, your sense of belonging
Your braids were cut off, your clothes were taken
Everything you believed in was now completely shaken
From the language you spoke to the food you ate
Your very culture was stripped, just to assimilate
Forget the lullabies, the childish dream, the birthday wishes
Now began your nightmares, instead of butterfly kisses
In the darkest of dark, your long nights full of fears
Not having your mother to wipe away your young tears
For at the hands of another, broken bones and crushed spirits
The kind of names you were called, no child should ever have to hear it
I dare to imagine the life you didn't choose
The things that had happened when you walked in your little shoes
But I want you to know, I've listened with all my heart
I will remember the children the years their lives fell apart
To the men who have wept for the first time in years
To the women who are starting to look at their fears
To the ones whose stories have yet to be shared
To the lives lost for their burden was too hard to bare
I honor your journey, though long and hard
I acknowledge the memories that have left your soul scarred
Now I hope and I pray I will live to see
This hurting generation finally free
Free from the shame, the guilt and the sorrow
Out of the ashes can rise a better tomorrow
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