Buscador avanzado

On Sunday, the Pope landed in what we call Treaty Six Territory, but you are more likely to know it as Edmonton, Alberta. The purpose of his visit was delivering an apology for the Roman Catholic Church’s involvement in the genocidal project known in Canada as residential schools — a system that forcibly removed Indigenous children from their parents and tried to assimilate them into Euro-Christian society.

“I am deeply sorry — sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the Indigenous peoples”, Pope Francis said.

The Pope addressed his comments to several thousand residential school survivors in a pow wow arbor.…  Seguir leyendo »

Flores y zapatos infantiles colocados frente a una iglesia en protesta tras el hallazgo de los restos de 215 niños en un orfanato.Andre Pichette / EFE

En el viejo internado de Kamloops, en la provincia canadiense de la Columbia Británica, se descubrieron a finales del pasado mes de mayo los restos sin identificar de 215 menores indígenas. Desde entonces han aparecido más cuerpos en otros dos internados, elevando así la cifra a 1.112. Todo apunta a que el horror y la conmoción que sacuden al país no han hecho más que comenzar, ya que quedan 136 escuelas más por investigar.

Esta red de internados, llamados escuelas residenciales, fue creada en 1883 por el primer ministro John A. Macdonald con el objetivo de “civilizar” a la población indígena erradicando su cultura.…  Seguir leyendo »

Sur la stérilisation forcée des femmes autochtones au Canada

Le 22 février, la Chambre des communes a adopté à l’unanimité une motion déclarant que « la République populaire de Chine s’est livrée à des actions correspondant à ce que prévoit la résolution 260 de l’Assemblée générale des Nations unies, couramment appelée “convention sur le génocide”, dont la mise en place de camps de détention et de mesures visant à prévenir les naissances à l’égard des Ouïgours et d’autres musulmans turciques ». Nous ne nions pas cette caractérisation de génocide et nous joignons nos voix aux appels mondiaux exigeant une fin immédiate à la persécution des Ouïghours. Cependant, l’honnêteté morale impose aux parlementaires l’examen d’une réalité troublante : le Canada n’a jamais officiellement reconnu qu’il a commis un génocide contre les peuples autochtones ici.…  Seguir leyendo »

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls found that an ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples constitutes a root cause of the violence that is currently being perpetrated against Indigenous women and girls. Genocide is a centerpiece of the National Inquiry's report, which argues that colonial violence is ongoing, not just a legacy of the past. Its 231 Calls for Justice reflect the legal obligation to stop genocide through a range of policy and process changes.

Numbers are difficult to ascertain, as they keep growing, but nearly two decades of studies and reports in Canada have uncovered more than 1,200 names of Indigenous women who are known to have been killed or who have simply disappeared.…  Seguir leyendo »

Canada’s long-awaited report on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) was released last week. Its central finding, that Canada is engaged in a “deliberate race, identity and gender-based genocide,” has received cool reception from press and politician alike.

Reporters were initially quick to credulously repeat the study’s accusation, but more skeptical coverage now dominates, and editorial pages are filled with dissent. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initially sought to avoid stating whether he believed the genocide charge was true, only to finally concede, with lawyerly carefulness, that “we accept their findings, including that what happened amounts to genocide” — though the report was speaking in the present tense.…  Seguir leyendo »

A woman holds an eagle feather during the closing ceremony of the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Gatineau, Quebec, on June 3. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)

When I was in university in 2006, I would go for lunch with a friend named Casey after class. We would sit and discuss politics, books, lectures and so on. I should mention that Casey was a white woman raised in Toronto with very little experience with indigenous peoples, whereas I was (am) an indigenous woman who has lived on both sides of the border arbitrarily separating my peoples’ territory between the United States and Canada.

Casey had no idea about residential schools, the state- and church-run institutions where Canada forcefully held thousands of indigenous children, away from their families, and subjected them to all manner of abuse and neglect in the name of an “education” meant to “kill the Indian” to “save the man”.…  Seguir leyendo »

This week, family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people, survivors of violence, community activists and Indigenous leaders gathered in Ottawa for the release of “Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.” They were there to acknowledge the inquiry’s work in a collective ceremony to honor the lives of those who have experienced violence. It was an demonstration of the love that exists within Indigenous communities for Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people — and a recognition of the overwhelming levels of violence they have had to endure for generations.…  Seguir leyendo »