Truth, for Reconciliation
Recently the public has been learning more and more about the Indian Residential School system, including the many deaths that happened at the schools, the rediscovery of long-lost cemeteries and gravesites, and the loss or non-existence of good records. The graphic reminder that the Indian Residential Schools were were not only a tool of cultural genocide but a place of abuse and neglect, but places where children died and were buried far from home and family, then lost in the official records, has brought home the heartbreaking tragedy of the Indian Residential School policy and its consequences.
The United Church of Canada is fully committed to truth-finding and truth-telling in relation to the Indian Residential Schools. It demonstrated this commitment by fully participating in the Truth and Reconciliation hearings from its inception in 2008 to its conclusion in 2015, and in opening all its records and archives to researchers.
In 1998, The United Church of Canada apologized for its role in running about 14 of the more than 139 schools, fully contributed its financial share of settlement payments to survivors, and actively continues to work to find ways to support Indian Residential School Survivors and Indigenous communities. At its June 2021 General Meeting, the Pacific Mountain Regional Council, which is the council of The United Church of Canada that covers BC and Yukon, committed to raising $1 million to assist Indigenous communities accurately locate lost graveyards and establish a healing centre on the Alberni School site.
When you run across “Kevin Annett”…
There is much to learn about the broken relationship between indigenous and settler people in Canada. However, not all sources are good ones.
Kevin Annett is a former United Church of Canada minister, best known for his tireless publishing of online stories related to Indian Residential Schools. Annett claims that only his research and self-created organizations are to be trusted. Unfortunately, while he draws on the basic reality of the schools, Annett fabricates a host of horrific stories he claims are facts. Annett’s stories are often accompanied by conspiracy theories that vilify legitimate church, political and Indigenous leaders. Kevin Annett was removed from ministry (placed on the Discontinued Service List – Disciplinary) in 1997 by The United Church of Canada.
The Truth and Reconciliation process recognizes that truth is the first, highly crucial step that must be taken before any possibility of real reconciliation might be achieved. For that reason, it is disheartening when a discharged United Church minister plays loose with the truth. If you have come across Annett’s stories and accusations, you’re encouraged to read them with a critical eye.
No Indigenous organization supports Annett.
Research Through Indigenous Organizations
Accurate, credible and helpful information is available from legitimate sources. When informing yourself on the Canadian Indian Residential School system, look to the reliable research from the many Indigenous organizations across Canada.
Truth and Reconciliation Report
The best place to start is with the Truth and Reconciliation Report itself. Although the full Report is daunting in size, good, well-researched information can be found fairly quickly through summaries. In particular, volume 4 is dedicated to the “Missing Children and Unmarked Burials.”:
- https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Volume_4_Missing_Children_English_Web.pdf
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Deaths of students and unmarked graves are also scrutinized in a report entitled “Where are the Children Buried?”, accompanied by charts and pictures:
- https://nctr.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AAA-Hamilton-cemetery-FInal.pdf
- https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/AAAA-Hamilton-Report-Illustrations-final.pdf
Other helpful, well-researched reports can also be found on the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation site:
Responses to Kevin Annett