By Michael Potestio, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kamloops This Week.
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc has officially invited Pope Francis to come to its reserve and meet survivors of the Kamloops Indian Residential School when he visits Canada next year.
On Oct. 27, the Vatican announced the Pope has accepted an invitation from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to visit the country on a date yet to be determined.
Tk’emlúps Kúkpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir has called for an apology from Pope Francis to survivors of residential schools, and their families, for the church’s role in the abuses First Nations students were subjected to while attending the Catholic-run residential schools — which is recommendation No. 58 of the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report.
“It would be deeply meaningful to welcome the Holy See, Pope Francis, to Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, as our heart-wrenching news was the first of the wave of confirmations of unmarked graves with thousands more lives lost coming to light,” Casimir said in a statement issued the day after the Vatican’s announcement.
“It’d be a historic moment for Kamloops Residential Indian School Survivors and for our community, who continues to navigate the impacts following the horrific confirmation of the missing children.”
Following Tk’emlúps’ announcement in May, Pope Francis expressed sorrow over the “shocking discovery,” but has stopped short of issuing a direct apology for the church’s role in the resident school system.
The band demanded the papal apology in May, after it announced it had discovered signs of 200 probable, unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School using a ground-penetrating radar survey, generating international attention.
The May announcement led to further GPR searches, which yielded more signs of probable graves at other residential school sites in B.C. and Saskatchewan over the summer.
To date, Tk’emlúps has not yet done any excavation at the site to confirm if remains are there.
On June 6, Francis issued an appeal to political and religious authorities of Canada to work together to shed light on the matter and commit to “a path of reconciliation and healing”
In a tweet, he also called “for everyone to turn away from the colonial model and walk side by side in dialogue, mutual respect and recognition of the rights and cultural values of all the daughters and sons of Canada,” but did not mention Indigenous peoples specifically.
In its statement, Tk’emlúps said for the “truth” component of truth and reconciliation, there has to be an acknowledgment of the true role of the Catholic Church in the deaths of children placed in its care.
Tk’emlúps said that while the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate operated the Kamloops Indian Residential School based on policies and legislation of the federal government, the Roman Catholic Church has repeatedly refused to accept responsibility or formally apologize for its direct role in the abuses committed against Indigenous children through the residential school system.
A Canadian delegation of national Indigenous organizations is expected to visit the Pope in mid-December at the Vatican.
The Pope’s visit to Canada is not expected to occur before the end of the year.
The Kamloops Indian Residential School was established in 1890, first as an Industrial School, then as a residential school and, finally, as a residence in 1968.
It was operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate until 1969, after which he federal government assumed operations.
This school falls within the historical boundaries of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
