"Anglicans across Canada are being called to demonstrate -- in the 22 days following the closing event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission -- that this ending is only the beginning of healing and reconciliation with Canada's Indigenous people. Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and National Indigenous Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald have issued a call to the whole church today to participate in #22days, a campaign that will stretch from the start of the closing of TRC event in Ottawa on May 31 [2015] to National Aboriginal Day on June 21 [2015]. 22days was first conceived of by a group of cathedral deans from cities in which a national TRC event was held and was 'heartily endorsed' by the House of Bishops" (p. 10). "The General Synod communications team has created a web page -- 22days.ca -- that will offer resources, including 22 videos featuring former residential school students and staff describing their experiences in the schools. The videos are not the typical 30-second sound bytes people are used to viewing on television, they are about 15 to 20 minutes each, in order to tell the stories in a more whole and sensitive way, said Anglican Video senior producer Lisa Barry. One video will be added daily to the website during the 22-day period and each will be accompanied by a prayer, written by various people in the church" (p. 11).
"The fourth national event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), held in Prairieland Park, Saskatoon, [21-24 June 2012], was not just about the survivors. It was also about their children and grandchildren, said TRC Commissioner, Mr. Justice Murray Sinclair. 'The intergenerational survivors need a chance to have their voices heard' he said, pointing out that over a 130-year period, the schools affected seven generations, causing 'a lot of damage to individuals, families and communities. It may take another seven generations to achieve that state of balance that the schools took away' he added. All Canadians must understand the legacy of the schools and take responsibility for this national disgrace, said Sinclair. 'This is not an Indian problem; this is a Canadian problem. Saskatchewan has one of Canada's highest number of survivors of the residential school system -- some 30,000 First Nation and Metis people have applied for compensation under the class-action settlement agreement". [Text of virtually all the article.]
"Eddie Dillon had never seen this family photo [included with article]. It was June 2011, and Dillon was at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) Inuvik national event when he spotted the snapshot of all seven Dillon brothers. They were standing, circa 1965, on the steps of Stringer Hall, and Anglican-run hostel in Inuvik". The photo was one of many taken by "a Stringer Hall nurse, Mossie Moorby, [who] had documented her life with the students in the 1960s and '70s. After Moorby died, her daughter gave some of these school photos to the General Synod Archives in Toronto. In spring 2011, after decades in boxes and albums, the photos journeyed back to Inuvik with Nancy Hurn, General Synod archivist. Hurn brought a display of school photos to this gathering, as she does for all national TRC events. It's part of the archives' work to make all records available to former residential school students". "The Dillon children grew up at Stringer Hall. Each September they flew four hours from their home in Tuktoyuktuk, N.W.T., to Inuvik, where they studied at Sir Alexander Mackenzie Day School and stayed at the hostel until June. Dillon told the TRC commissioners that his schooling was "a tool my mom and dad wanted me to have .. a tool I'm going to use for the rest of my life to get me further in where I want to go. Dillon now lives in Tuktoyuktuk and works as chair of the Northwest Territories Water Board. He said his 12 years at Stringer Hall gave him lifelong friends -- many now leaders in local organizations".
Eight page insert (1-8) with May 2013 issue of Anglican Journal. Anglican Church of Canada Ministry Report. Insert produced by Resources for Mission Dept.
1. Affirm the following goals of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada:
- Prepare a comprehensive historical record on the policies and operations of Indian Residential Schools;
- Complete a publicly accessible report that will include recommendations to the Government of Canada concerning the Indian Residential School system and its legacy;
- Establish a research centre by the end of its mandate that will be a permanent resource for all Canadians;
- Host seven national events in different regions across Canada to promote awareness and public education about the Indian Residential School system and its impact;
- Support events designed by individual communities to meet their unique needs;
- Support a Commemoration Initiative that will provide funding for activities that honour and pay tribute in a permanent and lasting manner to former Indian Residential School students.
2. Request the General Secretary and the Council of General Synod to ensure adequate resources for the Anglican Church of Canada to support and participate fully in the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada over the next five years (2010-2015).
3. Reaffirm the 3 goals for equipping leaders, taken from the 'Equipping Ambassadors of Reconciliation' conference hosted by the Anglican, United and Presbyterian Churches in Orillia, Ontario in November 2009:
- To provide training and resources to ensure that every church member has knowledge of the history of the Indian Residential Schools system, the mandate and purpose of the official Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), and the possible roles of ordinary citizens in the official processes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- To provide training and resources to ensure that former students of Indian Residential School are given the opportunity to tell the story of his or her experience in a safe and respectful manner. These may be former students of Indian Residential Schools who are or were church members or who reside in the same communities or urban friendship or ministry centres.
- To provide training and resources to encourage all Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal church members to work actively together to build right relationships with each other.
4. Recommend that the Anglican Church of Canada co-host at least two and up to three more events modeled after the first 'Equipping Ambassadors of Reconciliation' conference during the 2010-2013 triennium, if possible in Western, Eastern, and Northern Canada.
"Reconciliation between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches and between Inuit and Dene students who attended residential schools in the North will be a focus of the second Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) national event this month [June 2011]. 'Conflicts among school children along these two religious and ethnic lines are part of the residential school story in this region and across the North', said the TRC in its concept paper for the event, scheduled for Jun. 28 to Jul. 1 [2011] in Inuvik, Northwest Territories (NWT). The majority of Inuit children attended Anglican-run residential schools, while most Dene children attended Catholic-run schools in the North". "The second TRC event is being hosted by the diocese of the Arctic under the direction of Bishop Andrew Atagotaaluk. The Rev. David Parsons, Church of the Ascension in Inuvik, is coordinating local Anglican participation in the national event".
"The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was created as part of the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Its mandate is to document the 130-year history of residential schools in Canada and to educate Canadians about their tragic legacy". "The Atlantic region had one residential school -- Shubenacadie -- which was operated by the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Halifax, on behalf of the federal government. Later, the school was managed by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. In the 1990s, hundreds of survivors from Shubenacadie were the first to file a class action lawsuit against the federal government for loss of language and culture, and for physical and sexual abuse. The Atlantic event, the third of seven national events hosted by the TRC, drew about 500 former residential school students and their families, as well as representatives from churches, government and the public sector. Senior staff writer Marites N. Sison covered the event and filed these reports and photos [separately indexed]".
"Henriette Thompson, the Anglican Church of Canada's director of public witness for social and ecological justice, resigned from her position March 31 [2016]. 'I came to a point in my life where it seemed important to make a shift', she said about her decision". "Ms. Thompson first joined the national office in 2008, as director of the church's partnerships department, where she oversaw work on global relations, eco-justice advocacy, and the Anglican Healing Fund. In 2010, her work focused on a range of social justice issues, including co-ordinating the church's participation in TRC [Truth and Reconciliation Commission] events -- work that affected her greatly, she said".
The Primate reflects on his attendance at the northern event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) held in Inuvik, NWT, in June 2011. "One of the things we have learned from the survivors of the residential schools is that birthdays were not celebrated. So, in advance of this event, the participating churches, in consultation with the TRC, planned a party". After the storytelling portion of the event, survivors attended a party held at the Midnight Sun Complex. "As the survivors came into their party, they were generally overjoyed that their birthdays were being honoured. Each one received a cupcake. .... As the lights were dimmed, everyone raised their cupcake in the air with delight. TRC Commissioner Chief Wilton Littlechild invited each one to shout out the date of their birth and they did so with great gusto. Then everyone joined in the singing of 'Happy Birthday', not only in English but in numerous dialects among first Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples".
"More than a thousand survivors of abuse at Indian residential schools, their family members, representatives of churches and government, and local citizens gathered at Canada's Pacific National Exhibition in September [2013].
The event was held to document the experiences of those who had lived through the abuse. Priests, bishops and staff of the national church listened to the survivors' stories.
Anglican Church of Canada Archbishop John Privett, bishop of the diocese of Kootenay and metropolitan of British Columbia, said he had been 'personally shocked and saddened and shamed' by the legacy of residential schools and the Anglican Church's part in that.
A hand-made woollen baby blanket and prayer shawl were presented as 'expressions of reconciliation' by the Archbishop and elder and parishioner Charon Spinks". [Text of entire article.]