residential schools

A group of youths lead a group drumming and singing at sunset outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, to honour the lives of those suspected to be buried in unmarked graves near the facility, in Kamloops, B.C., on Friday, June 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Royal Roads prof speaks to profound impact as unmarked graves trigger year of reckoning

Canada confronts the legacy of its residential school system for Indigenous children

A group of youths lead a group drumming and singing at sunset outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, to honour the lives of those suspected to be buried in unmarked graves near the facility, in Kamloops, B.C., on Friday, June 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Cassidy Caron, president of the Metis National Council, speaks to the media in St. Peter’s Square after a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Monday, March 28, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Gregorio Borgia

Pope Francis to visit Edmonton, Quebec and Iqaluit in July to meet Indigenous people

Visit comes after apology last month for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in residential schools

Cassidy Caron, president of the Metis National Council, speaks to the media in St. Peter’s Square after a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, Monday, March 28, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Gregorio Borgia
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday October 21, 2020. In a new mandate letter issued to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, Mendicino instructs the national police force to proactively disclose documents, help uncover truths and allow for alternative forms of investigation as communities “seek justice at their own pace.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Help heal Indigenous residential school trauma, public safety minister tells RCMP

Force told to proactively disclose documents and allow for alternative forms of investigation

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday October 21, 2020. In a new mandate letter issued to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, Mendicino instructs the national police force to proactively disclose documents, help uncover truths and allow for alternative forms of investigation as communities “seek justice at their own pace.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Squamish Nation memorial for survivors and victims of the St. Paul’s Residential School was vandalized in January 2022. (Cole Schisler/Black Press Media)

Police plead for tips in vandalism of North Vancouver residential school memorial

The memorial was vandalized in late January 2022

The Squamish Nation memorial for survivors and victims of the St. Paul’s Residential School was vandalized in January 2022. (Cole Schisler/Black Press Media)
Canada’s justice minister Dave Lametti was in Williams Lake recently where he met with First Nations leadership. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

Federal Justice minister tours B.C. residential school site with First Nations leaders

“It was important to visit the site,” Lametti said after touring St. Joseph’s Mission site

Canada’s justice minister Dave Lametti was in Williams Lake recently where he met with First Nations leadership. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo - Williams Lake Tribune)
The original school bell sits atop a monument dedicated to the Indian Residential School at George Gordon First Nation on Wednesday April 20, 2022. The first geophysical investigation of the George Gordon Indian Residential School identified 14 possible burial locations. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell

‘Just the beginning’: 14 graves found at former residential school in Saskatchewan

George Gordon First Nation recently wrapped up the first phase of its months-long search

The original school bell sits atop a monument dedicated to the Indian Residential School at George Gordon First Nation on Wednesday April 20, 2022. The first geophysical investigation of the George Gordon Indian Residential School identified 14 possible burial locations. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell
Archbishop Richard Smith shares his observations regarding his trip to Rome, in Edmonton on Monday April 4, 2022. Archbishop Smith was part of the delegation that met with the Pope Francis over the Roman Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Archbishop says pope wants to repeat his residential school apology on Canadian soil

Archbishop of Edmonton says Pope Francis statement last week just the first step on road to healing

Archbishop Richard Smith shares his observations regarding his trip to Rome, in Edmonton on Monday April 4, 2022. Archbishop Smith was part of the delegation that met with the Pope Francis over the Roman Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, stands 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)

‘Never losing hope:’ Former national chief says apology reflects decades-long fight

It was 13 years ago that Phil Fontaine requested an apology from then-Pope Benedict

Former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, stands 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)
Lejac residential school on the shore of Fraser Lake. (National Centre for Truth and Reconcilation photo)

Nadleh Whut’en First Nation outlines priorities for Vatican meeting with Pope Francis

Chief and Council offer prayers and support for all delegates to the Vatican

Lejac residential school on the shore of Fraser Lake. (National Centre for Truth and Reconcilation photo)
Former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, outside St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

‘Hope for change:’ First Nations delegates meet with Pope Francis

Meeting with the head of the Roman Catholic Church lasted two hours rather than scheduled one

Former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, outside St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
The memorial at the Centennial Flame for children who died at Indian Residential Schools, in Ottawa, on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Ottawa is eyeing a five-year timeline to build a national monument to honour survivors of its residential schools system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Building national monument honouring residential school students to take five years

Ottawa is eyeing a five-year timeline to build a national monument to…

The memorial at the Centennial Flame for children who died at Indian Residential Schools, in Ottawa, on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Ottawa is eyeing a five-year timeline to build a national monument to honour survivors of its residential schools system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is framed by a eagle statue as he visits Tk’emlups te Secwepemc in Kamloops, B.C. Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

First Nations need long-term funding for residential school investigations: chief

Funding for mental health and well-being of residential school survivors, families, and communities

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is framed by a eagle statue as he visits Tk’emlups te Secwepemc in Kamloops, B.C. Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Pixie Wells, of the Metis community, talks to journalists after meeting Pope Francis in Rome, Monday, March 28, 2022. This week’s meetings, postponed from December because of the pandemic, are part of the Canadian church and government’s efforts to respond to Indigenous demands for justice, reconciliation and reparations - long-standing demands that gained traction last year after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves outside some of the schools. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

’Truth, justice and healing:’ Metis and Inuit delegates meet with Pope Francis

8 Metis delegates spent an hour with pontiff, 3 survivors shared stories of residential schools.

Pixie Wells, of the Metis community, talks to journalists after meeting Pope Francis in Rome, Monday, March 28, 2022. This week’s meetings, postponed from December because of the pandemic, are part of the Canadian church and government’s efforts to respond to Indigenous demands for justice, reconciliation and reparations - long-standing demands that gained traction last year after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves outside some of the schools. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron, shown in a handout photo, is part of the upcoming trip to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO- Metis National Council-David Stobbe

‘Always had faith:’ Métis delegates say Vatican visit a step to repair relationship

Métis, First Nation and Inuit delegates flying to Rome for meetings with Pope Francis next week

Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron, shown in a handout photo, is part of the upcoming trip to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO- Metis National Council-David Stobbe
Cristino Bouvette (left), an Indigenous priest, says he often thinks of his grandmother, Amelia Mae Bouvette (right), a residential school survivor, when he considers the Catholic Church’s role in reconciliation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Gerald McMaster

‘Reconciliation was possible:’ Indigenous priest reconciles faith with identity

Unmarked graves at former residential school sites has some pondering role of the church

Cristino Bouvette (left), an Indigenous priest, says he often thinks of his grandmother, Amelia Mae Bouvette (right), a residential school survivor, when he considers the Catholic Church’s role in reconciliation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Gerald McMaster
Judy Sackaney and her grandson Creedence, 10, stand in front of an honour staff with tobacco ties at the Centennial Flame after participating in a Pipe Ceremony to honour the 215 children whose remains were found at the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School at Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation in Kamloops, B.C., on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Saturday, June 5, 2021. Government officials spent weeks trying to figure out how best to remove a memorial on Parliament Hill for Indigenous children who died and went missing from residential schools, with an initial recommendation to try and have it taken down in a ceremony before last fall’s federal election. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Behind the scenes of the removal of residential schools memorial from Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill memorial was one of many that popped up across the country

Judy Sackaney and her grandson Creedence, 10, stand in front of an honour staff with tobacco ties at the Centennial Flame after participating in a Pipe Ceremony to honour the 215 children whose remains were found at the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School at Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation in Kamloops, B.C., on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Saturday, June 5, 2021. Government officials spent weeks trying to figure out how best to remove a memorial on Parliament Hill for Indigenous children who died and went missing from residential schools, with an initial recommendation to try and have it taken down in a ceremony before last fall’s federal election. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
A child’s dress hung on a cross blows in the wind near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School to honour 215 children whose remains have been discovered buried near the site in Kamloops, B.C., on Friday, June 4, 2021. The Catholic religious order that operated some residential schools in Canada says it will give researchers access to its archives in Rome. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Oblates to open Rome archives for search of residential school records

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to get full access to records in the Italian city

A child’s dress hung on a cross blows in the wind near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School to honour 215 children whose remains have been discovered buried near the site in Kamloops, B.C., on Friday, June 4, 2021. The Catholic religious order that operated some residential schools in Canada says it will give researchers access to its archives in Rome. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Eleanor Nooski (left) and Tanya Stump at Lejac on March 17, 2022. (Photo by Michael Bramadat-Willcock/Omineca Express)

B.C. First Nation prepares for Vatican visit

Delegates will invite Pope Francis to visit Lejac residential school, push for access to Vatican archives

Eleanor Nooski (left) and Tanya Stump at Lejac on March 17, 2022. (Photo by Michael Bramadat-Willcock/Omineca Express)
A young Tina Savea, now of North Saanich, with her late father Elton Keshane in Saskatchewan. (Courtesy Tina Savea)

North Saanich resident finds healing even as graves found in schoolyard where she played

Indigenous woman Tina Savea gives voice to her late father, sharing childhood abuses he faced

A young Tina Savea, now of North Saanich, with her late father Elton Keshane in Saskatchewan. (Courtesy Tina Savea)
A child’s dress is seen on a cross outside a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., Sunday, June 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Northern Alberta First Nation discovers 169 potential graves

Kapawe’no First Nation says potential graves have been identified using ground-penetrating radar

A child’s dress is seen on a cross outside a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., Sunday, June 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward