Following the Pope's apology to Indigenous people Friday for the horrific abuse suffered in Canada's church-run residential schools, the Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance says they are “past apologies.”
In a statement released Friday night, the Nation, which is comprised of several Southern Interior bands, said they're demanding the Vatican, the Roman Catholic Church and the Government of Canada “move beyond empty apologies.”
“Apologies and empty words from the prime minister, government officials or a trip to the Vatican will never heal the pain and hurt that our people were subjected to, were witness to and continue to endure,” Chief Greg Gabriel of the Penticton Indian Band said in a statement.
“We are past apologies - there is no forgiveness for the murder and attempted murder of our children. We have no faith in the processes being taken by colonial institutions.”
Over the past week, Pope Francis heard from Indigenous people about the impact the residential school system had on their families, cutting off children from their traditions and culture and causing inter-generational trauma that is still being felt today.
“For the deplorable conduct of those members of the Catholic Church, I ask forgiveness of the Lord,” Pope Francis said. “And I want to tell you from my heart, that I am greatly pained. And I unite myself with the Canadian bishops in apologizing.”
But local Indigenous leaders say it will take more than just words to right the wrongs of the past.
“The impact of genocide upon all our peoples is a stain on Canada’s history and will take more than Truth and Reconciliation talk to ever come to terms with what our people have had to live through to be here today,” said Osoyoos Indian Band Chief and ONA Tribal Chair Clarence Louie.
“We are demanding justice, equality and actualization of human rights, not apologies without real action. This colonial history was a collusion of the State and the Church — that is the Truth.”
In its statement, the ONA notes that more than 7,000 unmarked graves have been discovered across the country in the past year alone, including more than 200 at the former site of the Kamloops' residential school.
Over a century, an estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools. More than 60 per cent of the schools were run by the Catholic Church.
