VANCOUVER — The head of the Catholic Church in B.C. has promised that all church archives and records will be given to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation near Kamloops, as the band tries to identify children found buried near an old church-run residential school.
Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller said on Wednesday that the church would be “fully transparent with our archives and records regarding all residential schools, and strongly urge all other Catholic and government organizations to do the same.”
He also said the church would also offer technological and professional support “to help the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and other affected Nations in whatever way they choose to honour, retrieve and remember their deceased children.”
On Thursday, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation reported that the unmarked graves of 215 children — some as young as three — had been found in a field close to the old school, using ground-penetrating radar.
In a statement on Twitter, Miller wrote, “I wish to apologize sincerely and profoundly to the survivors and their families, as well as to all those subsequently affected, for the anguish caused by the deplorable conduct of those Catholics who perpetrated mistreatment of any kind in these residential schools. The Church was unquestionably wrong in implementing a government colonialist policy which resulted in devastation for children, families and communities.”
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, academic director at the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at UBC, said key narrative documents from the Kamloops Indian Residential School had not been provided to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
“The churches handed over most [residential school]) records, but in a few cases, the narratives were withheld, notably at Kamloops and St. Anne’s [in Ontario],” Turpel-Lafond said.
“The school’s narrative document is missing. These narratives are prepared for all schools, and include key pieces of information about the running of the school, notable dates, lists of principals, school attendance yearly, and if there were key cases of abuse against staff or students at the school.”
She said the majority of school narrative documents had been provided to the Centre and hoped Miller’s statement was a “moment of significant action or reversal of position.”
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Rosanne Casimir, speaking to APTN News on Tuesday, said only one section of land near the old school had been searched by radar so far.
“That’s just one section. A lot more work needs to be done,” Casimir said. “We are going to be reaching out with many asks of the federal government because this is just the beginning.”
Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde said the federal government must provide assistance to First Nations seeking help in finding missing children near old residential schools.
“The discovery at Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation confirms what First Nations have believed for decades took place at residential schools,” he said.
