Truth and Reconciliation

“Truth is paradoxical. It is “both/and,” painful and life-giving; it remains the only path to reconciliation for the church.” The Reverend Maggie McLeod in the United Church of Canada’s Statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

“We know that many within our church will still not understand why each of us must bear the scar, the blame for this horrendous period in Canadian history. But the truth is, we are the bearers of many blessings from our ancestors, and therefore, we must also bear their burdens.” The Right Rev. Bill Phipps in the 1998 Apology on Residential Schools

Reconciliation with our indigenous siblings will be a journey and a process that cannot fully start until we come to know and understand the truth which will require us to listen and learn and understand. This page will provide some background, links to other resources and a summary of the United Church of Canada’s journey towards reconciliation. One document that is useful for youth ten years and older is the very short book “Sorry. Why Our Church Apologized”

Doctrine of Discovery

Underlying our relationship with the indigenous is understanding the “doctrine of discovery” and its role in colonization. It had its origins in a series of papal bulls in the fifteenth century that gave Catholic kingdoms of Spain and Portugal the right to claim the lands they “discovered” in North and South America. In return, these kingdom were to “Christianize” the indigenous people. The other states in Europe disputed the Pope’s right to “give away” nearly half the world but they accepted the reasoning underlying it and in some cases developed similar concepts such as Terra Nullis. Fundamentally, lands not occupied by “civilized society”, read Christians, were viewed as empty; therefore were “discovered” by European explorers and could be claimed by an European power. These countries could claim the land and subjugate and assimilate its people. In their minds, Christianity was intertwined with civilization and the Europeans were bringing the benefits of both to the “heathen”. To be Christian was to be considered human and not to be Christian was to be less than human; this doctrine rested on the belief of racial and cultural superiority. Some felt that the civilizing process could raise people up to the European level but in the nineteen century, racism started to have the view that people of the world had differing abilities and there was a limit of the ability of less-developed people to improve.

The legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery and its offshoots remain with us. Time may have lessened religious affiliation but unfortunately the concepts of race and racism that these views helped form have remained remarkably persistent. The Doctrine of Discovery has been cited in Supreme Court of Canada decisions as late as the 1990s.

The view that the colonizers were bringing civilization to a savage people underlaid government’s and society’s interactions with Indigenous peoples and allowed law, policies and institutions that have damaged our Indigenous siblings. We need to understand the truth of this before we can walk in right relationships together. We have to be aware of the past, we have to acknowledge the harms that has been done, we have to atone for our actions and we have to take action to change our behaviours.

Summary of Canada’s Aboriginal Policy intent for our first century

The following paragraphs are selected passages from the Introduction of Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

“For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada. The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as “cultural genocide.””

“Cultural genocide is the destruction of those structures and practices that allow the group to continue as a group. States that engage in cultural genocide set out to destroy the political and social institutions of the targeted group. Land is seized, and populations are forcibly transferred and their movement is restricted. Languages are banned. Spiritual leaders are persecuted, spiritual practices are forbidden, and objects of spiritual value are confiscated and destroyed. And, most significantly to the issue at hand, families are disrupted to prevent the transmission of cultural values and identity from one generation to the next.

In its dealing with Aboriginal people, Canada did all these things.”

“And, Canada separated children from their parents, sending them to residential schools. This was done not to educate them, but primarily to break their link to their culture and identity. In justifying the government’s residential school policy, Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, told the House of Commons in 1883:

When the school is on the reserve the child lives with its parents, who are savages; he is surrounded by savages, and though he may learn to read and write his habits, and training and mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage
who can read and write. It has been strongly pressed on myself, as the head of
the Department, that Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible
from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in
central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes
of thought of white men.

These measures were part of a coherent policy to eliminate Aboriginal people as distinct peoples and to assimilate them into the Canadian mainstream against their will. Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs Duncan Campbell Scott outlined the goals of that policy in 1920, when he told a parliamentary committee that “our object is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic.” These goals were reiterated in 1969 in the federal government’s Statement on Indian Policy (more often referred to as the “White Paper”), which sought to end Indian status and terminate the Treaties that the federal government
had negotiated with First Nations.””

Residential Schools

In Canada the history of residential schools began in the early 1600s as the first boarding school for Aboriginal people was established by Roman Catholic missionaries in the area of what is now Quebec City. The missionaries hoped to “civilize” and “Christianize” young Aboriginal boys. It was a failure. There were further attempts by both Roman Catholic and Protestant groups in the following decades so that there were several boarding schools in place by Confederation in 1867. With the westward expansion in the 1870s, more missions and small boarding schools were established in the Prairies, British Columbia and the North. The federal government provided a small per student grants to many of the church-run boarding schools but the federal government involvement in residential schooling really started in the 1880s.

In 1883, the federal government established three large residential schools in Western Canada. In 1920, Duncan Campbell Scott, Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs made residential school attendance compulsory for children between seven and fifteen. By 1930, there were 80 residential schools in operation. The 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement applied to 139 residential schools and residences. There were an additional sixteen residential schools that were not included in the agreement (given that the last closed in 1918, there were no living survivors expected). It is estimated that at least 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit students went to residential schools. The federal government turned to the churches to provide administration to these schools, a partnership that lasted until 1969. Most schools were closed by the 1980s. The last federal supported residential school closed in the late 1997.

These schools were inadequately funded, often poorly built and maintained, staff were not adequately supervised, nutrition was often insufficient and discipline was harsh. Siblings were often separated and speaking native languages was discouraged, often harshly. In many cases, children were forcibly removed from their parents. The inadequate funding often meant the children became a work force to make the schools self-sustaining. For many, the education provided was substandard. Too many children died while they were there. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission summarized it as “Child neglect was institutionalized and the lack of supervision created situations where students were prey to sexual and physical abusers.”

The impact of the abuse was both immediate and long lasting. Many turned to self-destructive behaviours. Children lost their mother tongue and returned home often feeling isolated from their families and culture. They did not have the experience of family life or parenting. Layer this with generations of families require to attend and you begin to understand the multi-generation trauma that this has inflicted.

There were people that spoke out against this system but they were not heeded. The Medical Inspector for Indian Affairs, Dr. P.H. Byrce reported that health conditions in residential schools were a “national crime”. In 1958, Indian Affairs regional inspectors recommended the abolition of residential schools.

To learn more about the residential school system, it is recommended that you do so from the perspective of the people who were there. One resource is The Survivors Speak: A Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

The residential school system was just one part of a system that impacted children. There were day schools and what was known as the Sixties Scoop, a child welfare policy that removed aboriginal children from their homes and placed them in non-aboriginal homes.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission

In 1996, the Final Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples called for a public inquiry into the effects of residential schools on generations of Aboriginal peoples. Survivors began coming forward to tell their stories and to hold the federal government and the churches accountable. Court cases ensued and in 2005, the Assembly of First Nations announced a class action lawsuit against the Government of Canada over the legacy of residential schools. Parties were brought together and in 2006 a legal settlement, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was reached among Survivors, the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit representatives and the defendants, the federal government and the churches responsible for the operation of these schools. The agreement had three parts: a public apology from the Government of Canada; financial compensation for survivors; and the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was established in 2008 under the terms of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The Commission was mandated to
• reveal to Canadians the complex truth about the history and the ongoing legacy of the church-run residential schools, in a manner that fully documents the individual and collective harms perpetrated against Aboriginal peoples, and honours the resilience and courage of former students, their families, and communities; and
• guide and inspire a process of truth and healing, leading toward reconciliation within Aboriginal families, and between Aboriginal peoples and non-Aboriginal communities, churches, governments, and Canadians generally.”

The Commission held national events, gathered documents and statements from survivors and other people affected by the residential schools systems. They issued several extensive reports and as part of their mandate the National Centre of Truth and Reconciliation was created to be a living legacy of their work.

Reconciliation

It can be difficult to articulate what is meant by reconciliation. Sometimes it is referred to as living in right relationships. Sorry, Why our Church Apologized said it “means living with respect,wisdom, love, humility, truth, honesty, and courage.” The Truth and Reconciliation Commission defined reconciliation as “as an ongoing process of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships. A critical part of this process involves repairing damaged trust by making apologies, providing individual and collective reparations, and following through with concrete actions that demonstrate real societal change. Establishing respectful relationships also requires the revitalization of Indigenous law and legal traditions.”

Remembering the views that brought us to this stage, we must listen to what the Aboriginal perspective is. Aboriginal witness before the Commission told the Commission that reconciliation needs to include the natural world. “ If human beings resolve problems between themselves but continue to destroy the natural world, then reconciliation remains incomplete. This is a perspective that we as Commissioners have repeatedly heard: that reconciliation will never occur unless we are also reconciled with the earth. Mi’kmaq and other Indigenous laws stress that humans must journey through life in conversation and negotiation with all creation. Reciprocity and mutual respect help sustain our survival. It is this kind of healing and survival that is needed in moving forward from the residential school experience.” (p. 18 Honouring the Truth, Reconciliation for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada)

The United Church’s Journey

When the United Church was formed in 1925, it inherited the residential schools run by the Methodist Church and some of the Presbyterian churches. The United Church ran either 15 or 16 residential schools. The last United Church residential school closed in 1969.

In 1986, the Moderator of the United Church The Right Rev. Bob Smith, responded to the request of the Indigenous Peoples that the Church apologized for its part in colonization. The Apology spoke of us not listening to to Indigenous people and and imposing our civilization as a condition of accepting the gospel and as a result we are both poorer for it. In 1988, the Indigenous church acknowledged the apology and expressed its hope that the church would live into its words.

In 1998, The Right Rev. Bill Phipps, Moderator of the United Church, apologized to former students of the United Church Indian residential Schools and their families and communities for our involvement in the Indian Residential School System.

The United Church was a signatory to the the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Approximately 6.7 per cent of the approximately 80,000 residential school survivors alive in 2018 attended United Church residential schools. The United Church took an active part in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and made a statement to the Commission in 2014.

In 2012, the United Church modified its crest to reflect the presence and spirituality of Indigenous people. The background colours of the crest quadrants were changed to reflect the four traditional colours of the medicine wheel as well as adding the phase “All my relations” in the Mohawk language. Mohawk was chosen because it was the first documented ministry between Indigenous people and the founding denominations of the United Church.

When the Commission finished its work in 2015, the United Church along with other parties issued a statement to respond to the Commission. The United Church acknowledged and welcomed the specific Calls to Action in the Commission’s report that pertained to the churches. In 2016, the United Church indicated that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People would provide a framework for reconciliation (Action #48). In June 2021, the United Church provided an updated response on its action to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

Within the discernment taking part in the wider United Church after the Commission’s Calls to Action, was a process of discernment by the Indigenous church. Throughout 2016 and 2017, there were consultations with indigenous communities of faith, overseen by the Caretakers of Our Indigenous Circle (a group of Indigenous leaders from across the United Church) under the guidance of the Aboriginal Ministries Council (now National Indigenous Council). The Calls to the Church document was affirmed by a consensus process at the July 2017 National Aboriginal Spiritual Gathering in Pinawa, Manitoba and then was present to the General Council in 2018 by the Aboriginal Ministry Council was was approved.

The Calls to the Church document lead to two proposals which were approved during the 2022, General Council 44 meetings. These proposal will advance the journey towards an autonomous Indigenous United Church within the larger United Church of Canada. “The first proposal (referred to as NICO1) directs the General Secretary to remove structural barriers toward “developing and sustaining an autonomous Indigenous church” within the larger church while continuing a dialogue on reparations and right relations with the National Indigenous Circle. The Indigenous Church identified this as a clear action to truly move away from the missionary past and toward being “partners in God’s call to all the earth.”

The second proposal (GS10) helps facilitate the first, authorizing approval of a new structure of the Indigenous Church within the United Church, and relationship to the settler church, “as will be determined by the Indigenous Church in its own time and through its own processes.” This will be done through a full church decision-making process, referred to as a Category 3 remit, but with a shortened process.” As of March 30, 2024 What was known as Remit 1: Establishing an Autonomous National Indigenous Organization had passed; receiving approval from the 16 regional councils, the National Indigenous Council and the majority of pastoral charges. Thr final phase in the remit process is that the 44th General Council will be asked to enact the remit when it meets in October 19, 2024. For more information on Remit 1, you can link here to the United Church’s website.

General Council 44 (2022) elected Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne as its first indigenous woman moderator. Rev. Stan McKay was our first indigenous moderator, elected in 1992.

The United Church has two different funds which related to residential school. The Justice and Reconciliation Fund and the Healing Fund

Grace United Church is part of the larger journey of reconciliation. We have hosted two blanket exercises, a participatory and impactful experience of learning about Aboriginal history. In 2016 Elder Billy Lewis spoke at our Anniversary service. At its June 2021, Board meeting the Board voted to donate the symbolic amount of $215 to the United Church’s Healing Fund. For 94 days in the Summer of 2021, we posted daily on Facebook one of the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In preparation for National Truth and Reconciliation Day 2022 we started a book study on Five Little Indians which provides a greater understanding of the impact of residential schools.

A Truth and Reconciliation team was formed in the summer of 2023. In the fall of 2023 they offered a study on Bob Joseph’s book, “21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act” at at two different time and churches. In the winter/spring, the team gathered together books to be put into the Grace library on indigenous themes or by indigenous authors. The team usually meets on the third Monday of the month at 7pm for a discussion about Truth and Reconciliation. Check this month’s activities for the time and place.