Pope visit should include release of Residential School records

10/28/2021

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) wishes to comment on the announcement that Pope Francis will be making an official visit to Canada to meet with Indigenous dignitaries to address the issue of Residential Schools.

The MCK is hopeful that the Pope’s visit will be guided with intentions of true healing and reconciliation. It is no secret that the various churches – most notably the Catholic Church – worked with Canada to implement this tool of assimilation. While most of those responsible for this assault on Indigenous people are no longer with us, Pope Francis must not only apologize for the actions taken by his predecessors but also commit to compensation and the release of records of the Residential Schools that they administered.

While many survivors have grappled with the idea of claiming compensation (let alone deciding what to do with it), many more were concerned with the need for full disclosure of the roles churches and the federal government played and ensuring there is a national record of this established, and accessible to all Canadians

“In order for an apology to be meaningful, it must come accompanied with actions to promote healing and restitution,” said Ohén:ton I:iente ne Ratitsénhaienhs (Grand Chief) Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer. “This includes the full disclosure of all records and efforts that support healing processes for survivors and the generations that followed.”