Assembly of First Nations delegation lead Chief Gerald Antoine says he believes a meeting held with Pope Francis at the Vatican will be the beginning of a "new partnership" between Indigenous groups and the Catholic Church in working towards reconciliation.
The First Nation delegation and survivors of residential school institutions met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday. Antoine spoke during a press briefing following the meeting, saying there will be continued dialogue between Indigenous groups and the church to "learn from the past and share a vision for a hopeful future."
He called the meeting with the Pope a "historical milestone."
The meeting lasted for two hours, although the delegation had only been scheduled to be with the Pope for one.
The First Nation delegation sang a traditional song and drummed in Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City ahead of the meeting.
Delegates said they wanted the Pope to understand how they’ve been shaped by the legacy of the Catholic Church and Canada’s residential school system, as well as the impact of that system on subsequent generations.
In the emotional meeting, they requested the doctrine of discovery be rescinded and Indigenous lands be returned. They also requested Pope Francis travel to Canada to apologize for the church’s role in residential schools.
During Thursday’s meeting with First Nations, Pope Francis did not commit to coming to Canada or making a formal apology. However, delegates say they left the two-hour meeting feeling hopeful.
"Despite our collective grief and pain, there comes hope for change," Antoine said Thursday following the visit with the pontiff.
"This change will bring dignity, equality, trust and an opportunity for this change to happen."
During the meeting, the delegation gave the Pope cultural gifts, including Moccasins, an eagle feather and a cradle board, intended as a sign of peace and an example of First Nations culture persisting despite assimilation attempts.
The delegation said they tasked the Pope with taking care of the cradle board overnight, with the hope he will return it when he meets with all three Indigenous groups on Friday, in a sign of his commitment to reconciliation.
Beginning in the late 1800s, approximately 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families and forced to attend residential schools, facilities that aimed to replace their languages and culture with English and Christian beliefs. The schools were set up by the Canadian government and most were run by the Catholic Church.
Numerous cases of abuse and at least 4,100 deaths have been documented at the former residential schools, where thousands of confirmed and unmarked graves have been found. Canada’s last residential school closed in 1996.
Inuit and Métis delegations met with the Pope at the Vatican on Monday. The pontiff did not offer them an apology.
When Pope Francis meets with delegates Friday, he is expected to discuss the church’s next steps, which many Indigenous people expect to include a papal apology on Canadian soil.
Speaking at Thursday’s press conference, Archbishop Richard Smith said the meeting with First Nations "deeply" affected Pope Francis and said he will engage in "thoughtful reflection" overnight ahead of Friday’s meeting.
Smith said he, his fellow bishops, and Pope Francis "want to be on this journey" towards reconciliation with Indigenous groups.
Kukpi7 Chief Rosanne Casimir of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation in British Columbia was one of 15 official delegates who addressed the Pope in Thursday’s private meeting. During her 10-minute address she personally asked him to come to Kamloops, where 215 unmarked graves — later revised to 200 — of what is believed to be mostly children, were discovered last year.
Pope Francis previously indicated a willingness to travel to Canada, though no date for such a visit or where the visit would take place has been announced.
It will be a long-time coming, as to this day there has never been an official apology from a Pope. Residential school survivors say an apology would be more meaningful if Pope Francis travelled to Canada for it.
They want recognition of the Catholic Church’s involvement in ruining the lives of innocent children in whaxjmtzywt survivors say was an act of genocide.
Since the late 1980s, several apologies have been made by different church groups, politicians – including former prime minister Stephen Harper in 2008 — and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 2004 and 2014 — each acknowledging their role in the operation of residential schools.
In 2017, during a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked the head of the Catholic Church to apologize for its involvement in Canada’s residential school system. But the following year, the church issued a letter stating the Pope would not deliver an apology.
While he doesn’t expect an official papal apology during this week’s trip, Phil Fontaine, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations and residential school survivor, previously told CTV National News he is confident one will be delivered in Canada.
"Our expectation is very clear and strong that Pope Francis will apologize," Fontaine said Tuesday. "Our hope is that he will come to Canada to apologize. He’s already made a commitment that he will visit Canada, and so there is an expectation and hope that he will apologize in Canada on First Nations land."
Speaking Thursday outside of Saint Peter’s Basilica, Fontaine said he was optimistic about the progress achieved following the meeting.
"This was a special moment for us. A profound moment," he said.
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Members of the Assembly of First Nations sing a traditional song outside St. Peter’s Square as their delegation is meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Thursday, March 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Assembly of the First Nations NWT Regional Chief Gerald Antoine talks to journalists outside St. Peter’s Square at the end of a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Thursday, March 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Members of the Assembly of First Nations walk in St. Peter’s Square at the end of their meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Thursday, March 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
