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Bringing the Children Home: United Church Initiatives on Missing Children and Unmarked Burial Sites Update: 20 August 2021 Sara Stratton, Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice Animator On May 28, Tk'emlúps First Nation shared that it had located evidence of 215 unmarked and undocumented graves on the grounds of the former Kamloops Residential School. Similar announcements were made by several other First Nations, and there are numerous efforts being made in others. Given what had been shared by survivors at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, this should not have been a surprise but it continues to reverberate throughout the country, and in the United Church.
United Church of Canada Responses/Initiatives With the guidance of Indigenous Ministries and Justice, The United Church of Canada, took a initial response of prayer, followed on May 31 with the acknowledgement of a time of mourning. This can be found at https://united-church.ca/news/kamloops-residential-school-time-mourning-and-support On June 4, a statement was released clarifying the Church's intentions regarding burial sites and missing children, about the sharing of our residential schools records, and about our response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This is available at https://united-church.ca/news/response-kamloops-residential-school-graves-discovery On June 25, the Moderator wrote to all ministry personnel to advise them that the church was working towards a response that would be respectful of Indigenous community leadership in this matter, and on July 5 he wrote specifically to Indigenous communities of faith to express his concern for them. On July 15, the Moderator and General Secretary wrote to the leadership of those Indigenous communities most affected by the institutions we operated to acknowledge the pain and trauma of survivors, families and communities, and to signal the Church's commitment to help bring the children home. This includes making all records accessible to those communities and to providing financial assistance if it desired. The Moderator and General Secretary have asked for the opportunity to meet with leadership to discuss this if they wish. This was communicated to the church as a whole on July 19, and is available at https://united-church.ca/news/moderators-statement-residential-school-burial-sites On July 20, the General Council Executive met to discuss a funding proposal for "Bringing the Children Home." The project, which includes a new round of archival research as well as financial support for Indigenous communities in the areas of knowledge-gathering, searches/identification of sites., ceremony, commemoration, and possible repatriation, was approved with an initial $3 million commitment. A statement is available at https://united-church.ca/news/resources-bring-children-home Responses to Church Initiatives 1. United Church Communities/Individuals There has been a significant response to the news in general, and to specific United Church initiatives. The Moderator received 17 letters (email and post) on the general news of unmarked graves . Most of these expressed sadness or regret; some were angry; almost all wanted assurances that the church would share records. Some shared frustration at the need to pause for mourning, and advocated for the church to go into communities and begin explorations, including ground-penetrating radar, on its own initiative. The Moderator's letter to Ministry Personnel received 18 responses, which were appreciative but continued to press for action. In both these categories, people expressed a complete lack of knowledge about the church's role in residential schools, suggesting the need for a renewed educational initiative. There were also a small number of letters to different staff asking whether "mission funds" were used in running the schools. Archives has prepared a report to show that this is the case. There were seven responses to the announcement of the GCE decision; most were positive; one requested that Teulon Residence be added to the list of schools. (Many children from Northern Manitoba were sent to Teulon. It was not included in the Settlement Agreement, although the United Church argued that it should have been. Teulon will be included in the church's work going forward.) Indigenous Ministries and Justice staff have responded on the Moderator's behalf or provided guidance where a personal response was merited. 2. Ecumenical and Global Partners Church in Partnership staff translated and shared the Moderator's statement the Bringing the Children Home with global partners. Twelve sent messages of support. The news was also shared ecumenically at the Settlement Agreement table. In particular, we continue to be in contact and share information with the Presbyterian Church in Canada, with whom we share responsibility for six schools. 3. Indigenous Leadership In terms of responses from the communities affected by United Church Schools, as of August 20, we have heard back from Ahousat, Cote, and Ochapawase First Nations. Dialogue is ongoing with them all. In addition, the General Council Archives staff have begun the process of transferring Round Lake Residential School records to Ocahapawase. Chippewa of the Thames First Nation has also made an archival request. Pacific Mountain Region is in its own conversation with Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations in Port Alberni. Next Steps Upcoming tasks include: · developing a workplan for the archival research project
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