Anglican Church of Canada: nothing good about Residential Schools

Read it all here:

Dear Senator Beyak:

Not only in the Red Chamber on Parliament Hill, but across the country, many people – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous – were dismayed by your remarks. You said “I was disappointed in the TRC’s Report and that it didn’t focus on the good,” associated with Residential Schools. Had you, Senator, made these remarks within a discussion of the TRC’s Report, your comments might have been less shocking.

Senator Beyak, you are quite right in saying that for a small minority of survivors, their personal experiences of Residential School were “good”.  But in much greater numbers, the personal experiences of children who were housed in those schools were “bad” – very bad in fact. One only needs to have attended a local, regional or national event hosted by Canada’s Truth & Reconciliation Commission to know this. The Commissioners listened to the personal stories of thousands of students – of survivors – all of which bore witness to the horrific experience they had.

There are hundreds of students who went to Residential Schools administered by the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC). They have told their stories at our church’s National Native Convocation and at Sacred Circle Gatherings. We have been rendered speechless by what we heard. We have hung our heads in shame and raised them with remorse over the pain our church inflicted upon those children.

There was nothing good about a federal government policy of forcibly removing children “from their evil surroundings”, housing them in schools with the intent of “killing the Indian in the child…and turning them into a civilized adult”. It was an attempt at cultural genocide, an attempt whose failure bears witness to the courage and resilience of those children and their communities. As elder Barney Williams of the Survivors’ Society has so often said, “We were all brave children.”

There was nothing good about practices of taking away children, removing their traditional dress, cutting their hair, taking away their name, confiscating their personal effects and giving them a number.

The letter from Fred Hiltz, Mark MacDonald and Michael Thompson continues in the same vein with more fervent breast-beating.

While it seems beyond dispute that there was abuse in the residential schools, what really seems to be bothering the authors of this letter is the underlying assumption of the day that the Christian, Western world view held by the government, teachers and missionaries involved in the schools was superior to that of the aboriginals. That was the real evil at work, that is what was at the root of the abuse.

The church has since seen the light and now holds the opposite opinion: Western traditions, Christendom, perhaps even Christianity itself, are inferior to just about any other culture so long as the culture is not grounded in Judeo-Christian beliefs.

For another perspective, this is worth a look:

On June 11, 2008, Stephen Harper issued an apology for the residential school system in Canada. He called it a “sad chapter in our history,” noting that its primary objectives “were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture … the government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly. Nous le regrettons. We are sorry. Nimitataynan. Niminchinowesamin. Mamiattugut.”

The National Post has carried many stories about these schools before and since that apology. And every time we do, it is interesting to see that most of the letters we receive argue that the schools have been unfairly portrayed in the media.

That phenomenon was on display again this week, following the publication of last Saturday’s story, “4,000 Children died in residential schools; Truth commission.” As that story detailed, “commission officials expect that number to rise as researchers access much more complete files from Library and Archives Canada and elsewhere.”

Letter writers commenting on that story this week complained that the article lacked important historical context.

“Nice work, National Post, as you continue to dump on the charitable work accomplished by generations of selfless missionaries, physicians, nurses and teachers of the Canadian North,” wrote C. Lutz, of Haliburton, Ont. “[This story] heavily spins out a ‘physical and sexual abuse’ [narrative] as if 150,000 Indian and Inuit children had gained nothing good from taxpayer-provided white education. At least some of them learned enough English and French to, fluently, play the system and bite the hand that had fed them.”

“By today’s standards, 4,000 deaths out of a total of 150,000 students is shocking,” wrote Russel Williams of Georgeville, Que. “But given the period covered, 1870 to 1996, it may compare quite favourably with Canada at large, or Canadian aboriginal communities specifically, for the same period. One must bear in mind that much of this period predates immunization for smallpox, whooping cough, and diphtheria. It also predates penicillin for treatment of TB. Given the above, perhaps the statistic is not as alarming as it first might seem.”

“It was undoubtedly a terrible thing to be taken from your family, but in the early days, the reserves were impoverished and 90% of First Nations people were infected with tuberculosis,” added Michelle Stirling. “It is hard to say if the students got tuberculosis at the residential schools. And until the 1950s, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death of all Canadians.

“I am aware that some people will feel that I am defending the known cases of abuse and cruelty — I do not defend these,” Ms. Stirling continued. “My own father was the victim of the same [abuse] at the hands of his own white Anglo-Saxon teachers at his British boarding school. He used to have his left hand beaten black and blue and tied behind his back because he was left-handed.”

We also heard from a non-native who attended the St. Paul’s Indian Residential School in southern Alberta (the Blood/Kainai Reserve) for six years.

“When so many Canadians rely on publications like the National Post to stay informed on important issues, it is disappointing to see an article like that,” wrote Mark DeWolf of Halifax. “How does this figure compare to the number of First Nations children who died outside of the schools? Over 126 years and out of 150,000 students, the figure is perhaps not so surprising, given the deplorable health conditions on some reserves and high rates of communicable illness. More could and should have been done to ensure the health of these students, but let’s have responsible journalism, not emotional pandering to readers.”

16 thoughts on “Anglican Church of Canada: nothing good about Residential Schools

  1. As I recall, when the Parliament of Canada first broached the idea of ending the residential schools, Indian leaders said, no, we want them to continue. This is an inconvenient truth that goes against the grain of the present-day narrative of unmitigated evil.

    As well, many Canadians still harbour in their breasts the hope that Indians will cuturally assimilate, enabling them to enjoy the economic, cultural, and spiritual benefits of Canada — rather than the abject poverty and despair they face locked away in their own cultures.

    • And many Natives harbour in their hearts the hope that Caucasians will repent and turn from their obsession with abject materialism, pollution of the environment, and obsession with alcohol (look at all the vineyards you white people are constantly developing across BC and how you must all have alcohol at every party and celebration).

        • Yes, it is legal and white people in particular love it. White people, in general, really love “getting drunk” as something fun to do. This is not so much a value you see in other cultures. Indigenous people did not have “fire water” until the white people showed up. Indigenous people, many times, have fought for their reserves to be dry and to have alcohol bans–often white people have fought against alcohol bans (lots of books on that topic). Yet, you will hear white people saying that “Natives drink too much” and are “alcoholics.” But, maybe you’re agreeing with me? Not sure what you mean Mr. Li.

  2. I think many do enjoy the benefits of Canada, and there is not abject poverty and despair among all First Nations people. Among some, yes. In any event, the issue of residential schools involves more than just the number of children who died. It involves the treatment generally of the children under the care of the organizations that ran those schools. However, think of an alternate past, wherein the children would have been left without assistance and education. I invite you to imagine the lawsuits that would have arisen by now, on behalf of the First Nations, claiming enormous damages for not doing anything (or more likely, for not doing enough) to help those children when the rest of Canada had access to the benefits and education available. Perhaps, in hindsight, a better compromise could have been reached so many years ago, but that hindsight is enlightened by knowledge and insight that did not much exist then. It appears to me that part of the difficulty in discussing this subject at all is the superficial knowledge and knee-jerk anti-Christian attitude that litters the comments of so many who post their opinions following mainstream media reports.

    • Kindly, the Native children in those schools didn’t exactly get a Harvard-worthy education. Some were too busy doing laundry or scrubbing toilets. Treaties, in exchange for the land you are living on today if you are Canadian, promised Natives education. The Native leaders and elders knew their children would need to learn Western ways to survive. They wanted the best for their children. I come from a Christian Native family that really values education–we have done well for ourselves. Do you know why? Because we pretended to be white and avoided residential schools. Do you know why we did that? Because we all knew that from a white man’s perspective “the only good Indian is a dead Indian.” Now, in some parts of the United States, like with the Choctaw people, the Catholic Church actually took seriously its duty to educate the Natives–and some members of that nation speak very highly of the education they received, and many went on to schools like Harvard. We all know that children in res schools weren’t often fed the best meals–it’s hard to concentrate when you’re hungry and starving. If you are based in BC, you can visit St. Mary’s in Mission and hear the stories of Native kiddos who were so hungry they had to sneak out of bed at night to try to steal food. Hard also to study and learn when you are removed from your family and terribly homesick. (Children were intentionally sent far away from home to attend these schools so they couldn’t run away.) These weren’t posh British boarding schools, right? These were state-run schools designed to “kill the Indian in the child.” Mr. Wirrell says he taught at a school for a short time–schools also varied, in their individual history, of periods of being good and periods of being bad (including the local St. Mary’s, for example)–we know this even today–your neighbourhood public elementary school might go through seasons of doing well and seasons of doing poorly based on leadership. Right now conservative Christians are battling SOGI, they are battling for parental authority, the right to instill Christian values in children who come from Christian homes. The schism you have all experienced is horrible and traumatic–but don’t let ACoC beat you at something that you should be winning at: modelling the way of grace with Indigenous people. Many, many Indigenous people are Christians, and many of us live in cities. Do you know how horribly difficult it is to find a Church home if you have Indigenous heritage? Imagine: there are Churches for Anglos, for Mennonites, for Dutch, for Chinese, for Filipinos, for Koreans–how many Churches are there for Indigenous? Only two in the entire Lower Mainland! This is like beating your head against a wall if you are Indigenous and Christian. Caucasian Christians are constantly saying the nastiest things about Indigenous people–and often out of ignorance. Where is your compassion and kindness? How would you feel if this happened to your family? ANiC could have the most powerful witness of all if they really lead the way with Indigenous Christians and communities. We, as Indigenous people, we’re looking for Christian communities who truly care, who get it. We need places to go to heal–how can you heal if you are constantly running into more racism? I notice you have a Bishop in charge of multicultural ministries–but why not a Bishop in charge of Indigenous ministries? Like it or not, the word “Anglican” will always be tied to residential schools. It’s up to you to turn into something Christ-filled and grace-filled, and Biblical. My own family’s roots with Anglicans goes back nearly 300 years! I’m sorry, but you owe it to Indigenous conservative Christian families to open your arms wide and embrace us. You came to share the Gospel with us, you came to our soil. Where are the ANiC Churches just for Indigenous Christians? Where are the ANiC Indigenous Christian leaders? Where are the invites to Indigenous Christians to come to your Churches? to be embraced by your community?

  3. Well Hiltz and his cohorts didn’t actually say, “Is my eye hurting your elbow?”, but came pretty darn close.
    This is grovelling at the master level and should be a source of real chagrin for them.

  4. Have not heard a ‘peep’ from the ANiC [Who in actuality and before the schism, were equally responsible for the multitude of atrocities]. Therefore, before casting stones at Hiltz, face up to your own sins and make some reparations!

    Changing your name and a schism does Not wipe the slate.

    • The ANIC was not in existence prior to the closure of the Residential Schools and only came into existence as a result of apostasy with the ACoC and the actions of legally stealing properties from orthodox Christians. Further I did work for a short time in one of the Residential Schools and noticed nothing that was improper in that school. There is no question in my mind that many have claimed abuse solely due to the fact that they were told they could collect compensation.

      I fully believe there was some improper behaviour but that exists in all areas of our society.

      Clearly you are a member of the ACoC and if you do your homework you will clearly see it has become apostate under the leadership of Fred Hiltz and his apostate colleagues.

      • I am not, and never have been a ‘member’ of the ACoC.

        We are talking Residential Schools, and if you were involved then shame upon you. You ere obviously one of the blind enablers.

        You sound like a very confused individual!

        Cailiosa Egan

  5. The liberal leadership of today and the Residential Schools issue of yesterday are two separate items. Anybody of ANIC who was connected with the ACoC of yesterday cannot divorce himself/herself from the unfortunate association of the past.

  6. Another rather nasty article. Let’s just put it this way: removing children from their families is abusive. There are many, many, many Indigenous Christians of conservative beliefs who could really use a good Church home. Where should we go to Church? I visited an ANic Church and was told I should not say anything bad about residential schools because there were people in that congregation who had taught there–but they were “the good ones.” If you come from an Indigenous family, in general, there is no such thing as “good” residential school. The ANiC Churches, while professing to value children, are contradicting their own stated values here. You should be leading the way on reconciliation, making the ACoC look shameful in comparison. What is more Christlike than caring for children? for saying that children belong with their moms and dads? Honestly, as an urban Aboriginal, we wanted to join an ANiC Church but your blog reminds me to steer clear. Nastiness! How would you feel if this happened to your family? My family are Native Christians who have been Christians for a very long time–we even have Native Anglican leaders in our history. And yet, trust me, no one was looking forward to residential school. In fact, it was better to pretend to be white than to be thrown into res school! This is one thing ANiC really, really, really needs to work on. I think it’s horrible that you were thrown out of your buildings–I think all that went on with this schism is horrible. But we are looking to you as an example of a better way to go about things rooted in Christ’s powerful Gospel–and remember Christ was Jewish, not an Anglo. Very sad to read this blog. My heart is troubled. So much potential with the ANiC congregations and yet this glaring sin–complicity with a past that has hurt so many families. Thanks to racism and colonialism my own family was torn apart. You need to do much, much better in your Christian witness here.

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