Can You Apologize to Victoria Stewart? Or to 50,000 other Dead Children?


An Open Letter to the People, the Churches, and the Government of Canada on the First Anniversary of Canada's "Apology" to Residential School Survivors, from indigenous elders. June 11, 2009

Despite the self-congratulatory message filling Canada today that the Indian residential school nightmare is being "healed and reconciled", the truth is very different:

- Not one person has been arrested or tried for the death of a child in a residential school

- The churches responsible for the deaths of more than 50,000 children in these "schools" have been exonerated for their crime

- There will be no criminal investigation, naming of names or accountability regarding the residential schools

- The remains of the children who died have not been returned for a proper burial

- Over half of the survivors of the residential schools genocide have been disqualified from any compensation or recognition

- All of the survivors continue to die at genocidal levels because of what they suffered in these "schools"

- Justice is obstructed, as the full truth of the residential schools genocide continues to be suppressed and denied by the government and churches responsible

No-one who caused the death of even a single child would claim to be "reconciled" with their victim's family, or freed from prosecution, simply by issuing a verbal "apology" and a bit of money. On the contrary, such behaviour would be considered an attempt to miscarriage justice.

Then why, and how, have the Catholic, Anglican and United churches been able to do so, over their killing of untold thousands of children, aided by the government of Canada?

We have spent years trying to hold these murderers accountable for their crimes against our people and our land. But since they are the law, and determine "justice" and "healing" on their own terms, we will never win justice from them.

A year ago, "Prime Minister" Steven Harper exonerated his government and these churches with a hollow "apology" that released them from any responsibility for their murder of our children. Today, we declare that these institutions are not absolved from their guilt, or their liability, for their murder of our people.

As elders from the Nishgaa, Coast Salish, Cree, Anishinabe and Metis Nations, in alliance with Euro-Canadians who have renounced their allegiance to the genocidal Canadian state and the so-called "crown", we declare our intent to put these criminal bodies of church and state on trial and bring the guilty to justice by the following measures:

1. We hereby and forever expel the Catholic, Anglican and United Church of Canada from our territories;

2. We declare a public banning and boycott of these churches and ask all people to avoid all contact with or funding of them;

3. We hereby and forever declare our sovereignty as indigenous nations under a federated Republic of Kanata, and sever all connection with the so-called "crown" and the government of Canada, and all its agents, including the fraudulent "Truth and Reconciliation Commission", native band council chiefs and the government-funded "Assembly of First Nations";

4. We hereby establish indigenous courts of law on our own territories, in which we will try and convict those responsible for residential school crimes, including the murder of children, and all other crimes against our lands and our people, and

5. We call for international and diplomatic recognition of these measures, and request international human rights monitors and peacekeeping teams to come to our territories as witnesses to our efforts and demands.

These are the steps by which justice will be won for our people, and for the murdered residential school children. We will issue a more formal Declaration of Independence this September.

We call upon all people of conscience to rally behind us and our five steps.

Respectfully,

Chief Louis Daniels - Whispers Wind
Turtle Clan, Anishinabe Nation, Winnipeg

Chief Steve Sampson
Chemainus Tribe, Coast Salish Nation, Vancouver island

Elder Carol Martin - Spirit Tree Woman
Nishgaa Nation, Vancouver

Elder Lillian Shirt
Cree Nation, Edmonton

Elder Jeremiah Jourdain
Metis Nation, Winnipeg

Eagle Strong Voice - Kevin Annett
Adopted Member of the Anishinabe Nation, Winnipeg

This statement is endorsed by The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared, and The International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada.

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11 June, 2009
Issued on unceded and occupied Coast Salish Territory