Vancouver's Catholic archbishop says a sacred covenant signed by the diocese and Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc is not a finished document, but a "living dynamic statement of moving to the future."
Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver shared newly published details of the Sacred Covenant on Wednesday (June 26). It is meant to be a shared path to reconciliation.
It includes seven "confirmation of truths," as well as history of residential schools and the post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission events, specifically the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc reporting in May 2021 the preliminary findings of approximately 200 anomalies from ground-penetrating radar. Some of those anomalies may be the unmarked graves of former students.
The covenant was signed on March 30, 2024 on Easter Sunday by Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver and the diocese of Kamloops. The Kamloops Indian Residential School was one of five schools that existed within the boundaries of the archdiocese of Vancouver.
The historical precedent for the sacred covenant dates back to 1537 when the pope at the time made a decree surrounding the rights of Indigenous peoples. That decree was published following confusion in the late 1400s around several letters from a previous pope that are sometimes referred to as the Doctrine of Discovery.
The Doctrine of Discovery, according to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, is a legal and religious concept that has been used for centuries to justify Christian colonial conquest.
Vancouver archbishop J. Michael Miller said that the Doctrine of Discovery enabled "certain exploitative European explorers to do great damage" to the rights and titles of Indigenous people in Canada, and throughout the world.
Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Kúkpi7 (chief) Rosanne Casimir said the covenant sets a lot of precedence.
"It's about relationship. It's also about making some meaningful steps towards healing and we can't do that alone."
She said there are two sections of the covenant that are of particular significance for her.
Section 27 now recognizes that the consequences of Indian residential schools were "profoundly negative and have had a lasting and damaging effect on Aboriginal culture, heritage and language."
"While some former students have spoken positively about their experience at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, these stories are overshadowed by tragic accounts of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children and their separation from their families and also their communities."
Casimir pointed to Section 28 when Pope Francis visited Alberta to meet with First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities and "asked for forgiveness for the evil committed by the Christians against Indigenous peoples." He acknowledged the suffering and abuse endured by Indigenous children in residential schools.
Miller said the residential school system did do great damage to the language, customs and traditions of First Nations communities.
"The church was wrong and how it complied in implementing a government colonial policy, which resulted in the separation of children from their parents and their families. Even the most ardent skeptics must know that a system requiring or pressuring the separation of families would have devastating consequences, tragic consequences."
Casimir said she also wanted take take the time to reflect on her journey in 2022 to the Vatican and how it led to the signing of the sacred covenant.
"I went there representing our people with the hope of building meaningful steps toward reconciliation, but also seeking justice. This has been a very dark chapter and it is a crucial time in the history and we all need to rebuild our relationships at every level and walk this journey together."