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Anchor: Antonia Gonzales
A Canadian Indigenous delegation has arrived in Rome in advance of what’s seen as a key meeting with Pope Francis. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, they’re hoping for an apology for the Catholic Church’s role in running Indian residential schools in Canada for more than a century.
About 170 people are taking part in the journey to the Vatican including 32 Indigenous delegates representing First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people. All of them have demands or stories to tell about the abuses at residential schools. From the late 1800’s to the late 1900’s, the government-funded schools were operated across Canada by churches, including the Roman Catholic Church. Native leaders in Canada want a papal apology for the abuses at the schools. They also want the church’s records of the schools. Perry Bellegarde is the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
“There were 130 residential schools in Canada. And the Roman Catholic Church was the church that administered most of those residential schools here. So, they have a moral obligation and a moral duty to do all they can. Yes, to apologize, but as well provide access to those records to help identify some of those children that have been lost or that were killed, you know, and the grave sites that have been found. So, they have an obligation no matter how difficult it is to make it easy for people to have access to those records.”
Metis and Inuit delegates will sit down with the Pope on Monday; First Nations representatives on Thursday. Then all three will gather with the Pope on Friday in an event that will be live streamed by the Vatican. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops organized the delegation, which has the theme “Walking Together Toward Healing and Reconciliation.” All the delegates expect that the pope will commit to apologizing and the Vatican has already said the pope is open to a visit to Canada.
Photo courtesy @NDNCollective via Twitter
The Great Sioux Nation issued a Notice of Trespass to the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota over the weekend. The action comes a week after a hotel owner called for a ban on Native American guests. Connie Uhre made the statements in a Facebook post and email following a shooting at the hotel on March 19th. Her statements and the hotel quickly gained attention and sparked strong reactions from the Native community. Tribal leaders across the state say racism and discrimination against Native people by businesses in Rapid City will not be tolerated.
Tribal leaders met for more than two-hours Saturday to discuss the trespass notice, the treatment of Native people in the city, their economic impacts (to the city and businesses), and what next steps to take. After the meeting, leaders and members of the Native community marched to the hotel and taped the notice to a door. The notice is to Connie Uhre, the Grand Gateway Hotel and its subsidiaries. It states, the Great Sioux Nation has made an investigation and evidence shows trespass, which includes violation of provisions in the Treaty of 1868. The document is signed by leaders of the Crow Creek, Oglala Lakota, Rosebud, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes. Last week, the hotel’s manager who’s Uhre’s son, told South Dakota Public Broadcasting he’s against the statements and that the hotel will continue to accept Native American guests. But, the Native organization, NDN Collective, and two individuals say otherwise, and have filed a federal civil lawsuit. They claim they were turned away when they tried to rent rooms at the hotel.
Photo: Richard Crook
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of northwest Montana have now assumed full control of the National Bison Range on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Aaron Bolton has more.
The National Bison Range, which was once a part of the reservation, was restored to the CSKT as part of a federal bill passed in 2020 to settle the tribes’ water claims. That bill was officially enacted in December, setting off the transitionary period for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service to hand over management responsibilities of the Bison Range to the tribes. In an announcement last week, the tribes said that transition is now complete. Tribal Council Chairman Tom McDonald said that means the tribes are now reunified with the bison on the range. The tribes say members started the herd in the 1800’s to conserve the bison at a time when they were nearing extinction.
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