Churches must release residential school files, or be penalized
The Yukon Residential School Missing Children Project is apolitical and managed by First Nations. It is not managed by the federal government. The Project is building the database of files about the children interned in the residential institutions, including those who died and went missing.
We don’t really know how many children entered into the institutions, were moved to other institutions, and then disappeared. We need to know. This is required for families and communities to be able to move on.
Between 1891 and 1985, at least 3,500 children were stolen into Indian residential schools in the Yukon and the Lower Post institution situated in British Columbia. The list of institutions include Chooutla Indian Residential School in Carcross, Yukon; Whitehorse Baptist Mission Residential School in Whitehorse; and more. Some of the 3,500 children stolen were from Taku River Tlingit First Nation.
The Chooutla institution was run by the Anglican Church. Know History, the expert organization tasked with doing the archival research, notes that Chooutla was known for “inadequate food, overcrowding, and outbreaks of illness.” It closed in 1969.
The Missing Children Project has amassed over 25,000 documents to back up the stories of resilience and the loss of children—to ensure we never forget.
The ‘we’ is Canada. So, we never forget.
But the Anglican Church refuses to release the records, according to the Missing Children Project. The Church has allegedly taken the very questionable position that some survivors are still alive so their privacy must be protected.
This means Taku River Tlingit First Nation does not know if we have all the records of our stolen children, and how many didn’t come home. Because the Church says 'no.'
This is absurd. This sounds like lawyer talk getting in the way of doing the right thing. And there is no penalty for withholding evidence about Indigenous kids who were stolen, First Nations kids who died.
Imagine that.
Last week, I sat with survivors as they heard about the Project and the difficulty to get the files. I saw survivors and thrivers listen, and saw their faces go stern. Not a single survivor in that room wanted the files to remain hidden.
The children’s safety and well-being was not protected in those institutions. Their health was not protected. And their lives were not kept safe. The children’s lives were neglected for the sake of colonization, and risked in the name of racism.
This call for privacy now? That trumps the truth? It has a very Epstein files flavour, no?
What is the Anglican Church hiding? Is it hiding from the truth? Is it hiding from reconciliation?
As the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation approaches on Sept. 30, some churches are still trying to withhold the truth of what truly happened. There are four Sundays before the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation to make clear the need for truth regarding residential schools—perhaps allies can find ways to amplify Indigenous voices. There are numerous days in September when the Anglican Church can find its way through its self-made valley and release every single record for every single child lost.
One month. This is the only way to be an ally now.
For those who are wondering, when is this ever going to be over? Rest assured, this is the same question that First Nations are asking. When will we have the stories so we can move on? The road to reconciliation is via the truth.
Then we can get back to ourselves and get back to laughter.
Rose LeMay is Tlingit from the West Coast and the CEO of the Indigenous Reconciliation Group. She writes twice a month about Indigenous inclusion and reconciliation. In Tlingit worldview, the stories are the knowledge system, sometimes told through myth and sometimes contradicting the myths told by others. But always with at least some truth.
The Hill Times