Former Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations chief unhappy with lack of progress after papal visit | 24CA News
This is the second story in a Global News collection known as Journey Towards Reconciliation. To see earlier tales, click on right here.
George Arcand Jr., the previous grand chief of the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations, says greater than six months after Pope Francis visited Canada to ship an apology on his individuals’s land, contact between First Nations leaders, Ottawa and the church has been virtually non-existent.
Ahead of his departure from the position of grand chief, Arcand Jr. sat down to talk to Global News for a tv particular known as Journey Towards Reconciliation.
“I’m really disappointed that Canada and the church are not moving quicker,” he mentioned. “In the First Nation communities, we’ve started to prepare for the battle of dealing with our community members’ challenges.
“We see early that we don’t have the resources or the people to deal with this battle we’re going to have. ”
Former Confederacy Chief George Arcand Jr. in a sit down interview with Global News.
Global News
The First Nation chief mentioned Pope Francis’ go to and the apology for the Catholic Church’s position in residential faculties reopened outdated wounds. His focus for the primary wave of the “battle” might be on those that heard the apology and who will really feel like they’ll transfer forward now.
“We need the tools to deal with that,” Arcand Jr. mentioned. “There’s going to be an additional wave of those people who are going to see their brother or their sister has gone ahead and dealt with some things and they’re living a much better life — mentally and physically.
“I believe it’s all about creating the infrastructure, and when I say infrastructure, I mean the services required for people to get by.”
In order for that to occur, Arcand Jr. mentioned the federal authorities must restructure among the methods it offers with First Nations psychological well being points, particularly in the case of residential faculty survivors. He additionally desires the church to be part of the method.
“I think we need to get serious and pull together and create the necessary table to begin the discussion,” he mentioned. “We have not.”
Read extra:
Pope Francis apology: What wasn’t mentioned in deal with to residential faculty survivors
Richard Smith, the Archbishop of Edmonton, mentioned the go to and its recoil have been intense.
He mentioned he tried to arrange a gathering with the Arcand Jr., however they’d not been capable of schedule that assembly earlier than new Leonard Standingontheroad was appointed as grand chief.
Smith is trying to arrange a gathering with Standingontheroad within the spring.
“The principle behind it is walking together,” he mentioned. “If we are going to move forward, it can’t just be the Archbishop coming up with ideas.
“We still have to guard against the encroachment of the old colonial mindset (of), ‘We know what needs to happen. Let’s go do it. Will you come along?’ No.”
Smith mentioned he has been assembly with parishes in First Nations communities and hopes to talk with different chiefs to allow them to know the church nonetheless desires to interact and work collectively to determine what engagement seems to be prefer to them.
“I think a lot of us are still trying to get our heads around what happened,” he mentioned. “What would normally have unfolded over a two-year-plus period, was really concentrated in a matter of months.
“(It’s) going to take a long time to digest and sink in… It’s not to say that things have been stagnant, not by any stretch.”
Smith mentioned he has spoken with Indigenous parishioners who’ve instructed him they have been deeply moved by the papal go to to Canada.
“Before he even said a word, his arrival in the country was the message,” Smith mentioned, referencing Pope Francis’ restricted mobility on his journey. “He was in a lot of pain and people realized that this was really important to him… He wanted to be with Indigenous peoples, as he had promised.
“I sense it certainly within myself, and I sense it within others: a real desire, a real enthusiasm not to lose the significance of that moment of the visit and not to lose a sense of how important this relationship is with Indigenous people, not just on the part of the church, but on the part of the whole country, and how do we move it all forward.”
It’s not simply in regards to the short-term impacts. Smith mentioned the church is prepared for “the long haul,” and never simply the keenness instantly following the go to.
The federal authorities mentioned it has additionally taken steps ahead for the reason that go to.
“The Government of Canada is taking the steps necessary to ensure it continues to do all it can to execute the disclosure of documents, while respecting legislation, court orders, settlements and ongoing litigation processes,” a press release from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada mentioned.
On Jan. 20, 2022, the federal authorities signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, centered on the sharing of historic paperwork associated to residential faculties which might be in Canada’s possession.
Shovels broke floor the place a brand new, everlasting National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation will stand on the University of Manitoba grounds.
Mike Latschislaw
The authorities says greater than four-million paperwork have been beforehand disclosed by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and different authorities departments to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and people paperwork have been transferred to the NCTR.
There can be an inside assessment being achieved on paperwork that weren’t disclosed as part of that course of, and on a brand new construction to “govern document disclosure, and the formation of an interdepartmental committee to facilitate this process.”
“Canada has now shared more than 1.5 million additional documents and higher-quality images with the NCTR, as well as 12 previously unshared or updated school narratives and the full document collection from the Sisters of St. Anne,” the assertion mentioned.
The federal authorities has additionally supplied $1.6 million to help the disclosure course of, “while respecting survivors’ wishes, legislation, court orders, settlement agreements and ongoing litigations.”
The assertion additionally mentioned that the federal authorities is working with the Catholic Church to facilitate the sharing of their collections.
Arcand Jr. mentioned there’s nonetheless a protracted approach to go, and to ensure that individuals to maneuver on with their lives, they should really feel like they’ve been heard, revered and trusted. They additionally must know that the Catholic Church takes accountability for what occurred within the faculties it ran.
“I don’t believe that it’s just about money, but I believe the Catholic Church needs to be part of the solution,” he mentioned.
“The papal visit, I think people started to see that there is some sincere sincerity in the Catholic Church wanting to figure out a way to make things better.”
— With recordsdata from Erin Chalmers, Global News and Dan Grummett
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
