There were tears, hugs, loud voices, but most of all a great moment of unity. For the fifth time, indigenous peoples from across Canada gathered in Montreal on Thursday to discuss anonymous burials.
It was an opportunity to take stock of the situation of the children whose traces have been lost and to get in touch with the survivors, but also an opportunity to show determination and remember that despite colonial policies towards the Aboriginal people are still there waiting for answers.
The words “truth” and “justice” were on everyone’s lips at this large gathering, whose aim was to listen to the testimony of survivors of Aboriginal residential schools and to find out where the search for missing children is leading.
It’s time, indigenous peoples believe, for the truth to come out, for their truth to come out. So they keep telling it.
Four survivors shared their stories at the Sheraton Center in Montreal on Thursday morning, and it wasn’t the first time. One of them, Norman Kistabish, explained that although it still hurts a little to talk about it, sharing what he experienced was part of his journey to healing.
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Norman Kistabish came to make his statement and remind people not to forget to say “I love you” to their children.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Delphine Jung
The Anishnabe of Pikogan attended Saint-Marc de Figuery boarding school. There were three children who died in the boarding school, but I don’t know when. It was my brother who told me about it, he said.
Angie Crerar, a Métis woman from Alberta, closed this first panel dedicated to the survivors. We have seen Canada’s darkest hours. [Au pensionnat,] Life began to leave us, she said.
Even during the time usually reserved for questions, people took to the microphone to open their hearts and free themselves, like Marie-Louise Chakapash, who told of her arrival at the boarding school. My mother told me, “You’re not coming home tonight.” I didn’t have lunch either. “I told myself my mother didn’t love me,” she said, before breaking down in tears.
The need for love and being cared for was palpable. The words “I love you” were spoken often, as if to make up for all the moments when these adults, once children, would have liked to hear them.
Rosanne Casimir, the boss of Kamloops, was there, in the back of the room. She believes these gatherings also serve to give Indigenous peoples an opportunity to redefine history, change the discourse and support change.
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Rosanne Casimir believes that denial speeches put extra strain on survivors’ shoulders.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Delphine Jung
Kimberly Murray, the independent special interlocutor, said this allows Indigenous peoples across the country to discuss issues such as the legal framework and logistics surrounding the excavation.
Some came to all these meetings. There is a real need for this type of event. “We see that survivors want to continue the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” she said.
Confronting the deniers
But a shadow lay over the event.
They were only mentioned in passing: the Holocaust deniers. Those who don’t believe that children died in boarding schools.
Innu Senator Michèle Audette stressed that the walls of racism and denial are difficult to break through. Even Canada’s new justice minister, Arif Virani, made this clear in his speech.
We cannot and must not deny what has happened in residential schools or the results that have emerged over several generations.
Senator Audette brought it up again. We were taught that the Word is the truth.
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Michèle Audette has been a senator since 2021 and continues to support residential school survivors in their search for the truth. (archive photo)
Photo: Senate of Canada
The problem is that non-Indigenous people have difficulty with this concept. Norman Kistabish understood this well. Words are sacred and have meaning, and when a survivor says they saw what they saw, their testimony should be taken seriously. Staring unblinkingly, Norman Kistabish said, “You can feel it when someone is lying, you can see it, you can see it in their eyes.”
About the meaning of words
The importance of a consistent, precise vocabulary is crucial given those who refuse to believe that children could be buried near former residential schools.
Marie Wilson, former commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, spoke of the sensitivity of the issue, which sometimes pushes people to speak emotionally about bodies and remains. But above all, one must listen to the opinion of experts and scientists, who for their part always talk about irregularities in the ground that could indicate the presence of graves, she reminded.
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Marie Wilson moderated one of the discussions at the meeting. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Noémie Moukanda
Additionally, Kimberly Murray spoke about this confusion, which is sometimes related to media misinformation. We must understand that we cannot find remains with ground-penetrating radar. But you should also know that there were cemeteries in certain boarding schools and that was proven, it was a fact, she said.
Rosanne Casimir explained that communities work with scientists – archaeologists, anthropologists, forensic experts – and the police and that these people must be sensitive to indigenous culture and its values for the partnership to be effective.
Holocaust deniers sometimes cite the length of the trial to question the credibility of survivors’ testimony. According to the Kamloops leader, they simply don’t realize the magnitude of the task and all the different levels it requires.
Kimberly Murray illustrates: If the site is in the community, it’s easier. But when it’s private, municipal or Crown land, it’s more complicated because there are no laws allowing Indigenous people to conduct research on these sites.
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Kimberly Murray reminds us that it is important that the media choose the right vocabulary to avoid fueling the theories of Holocaust deniers.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Delphine Jung
She estimates it will take at least a decade to continue this long work, the intricacies of which some citizens appear not to understand, according to several Aboriginal people who met at the site.
His mandate, which ends in summer 2024, is already raising questions. Some Aboriginal people fear abandonment and wonder what will happen to this problem. Ms. Murray wanted to be reassuring. She assured that she had already raised the issue with the government and urged that the work be continued in one way or another.
She advocated that the sites of hospitals and cemeteries also be excavated, regardless of where the government placed Indigenous children, since Canada currently only funds excavations near former residential schools.
roadmap ideas
But today we also want to talk about action, and many communities are wondering where to start.
Ken Watts, chief councilor of Tseshahat, British Columbia, gave a number of hints as his community is quite advanced in the process. He mentioned the case of the Port Albertini boarding school, which accommodates members from 90 communities and is located in the Tseshahat area.
From the outset, he emphasized the challenge of reaching all potentially affected families, as they are scattered throughout the western part of the country.
But the community dealt with the situation and formed a group of survivors tasked with providing the framework for research and data collection. This group meets once a month to coordinate efforts.
It is imperative that survivors and elders be the ones to guide community action. Only then are professionals hired to conduct investigations, particularly on-site with penetrating radar, drones and dogs.
We have initially swept away 11% of the 100 hectares on which the boarding school was located. Ultimately, this research determined that there are potentially 17 anonymous graves on the site. But Mr Watts states that, according to witness accounts, 67 children have disappeared.
Ken Watts advises anyone embarking on this investigation to take time to pay attention to others, themselves and the team working on these files.
Garrison Settee, Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, spoke about the legislative aspect of the act, calling for a law to protect all sites where the existence of remains is suspected or proven.
The Grand Chief of the Cree Nation, Mandy Gull-Masty, recalled that the federal government did not provide resources for the search for bodies.
The government has apologized but has not responded further. I’m sorry, but I will be critical: There are funding gaps, she said. She emphasizes that the Crees of Quebec face an additional problem: that of language, since English is their second language.
And the Crees aren’t the only ones.
Enough to add another obstacle for all these people looking for answers.
Photography was not permitted during the round tables and discussions of the event.