Pam Palmater: Systemic racism in health care continues because it has been normalized, ignored and denied, while the system places an onerous burden on First Nations peoples to prove racist hospital treatment
All three parts of that are important: “Catholic Church,” “how” and “where.”
Notice that “if” and “when” are not part of the question. The Catholic Church, like other Christian communities, has been engaged in reconciliation and healing for 30 years. It made sincere apologies not long after the issue came to wider public attention.
“We are sorry and deeply regret the pain, suffering and alienation that so many experienced. We have heard their cries of distress, feel their anguish and want to be part of the healing process,” read a statement issued by Canadian bishops and leaders of religious orders that participated in the schools.
Pam Palmater: Systemic racism in health care continues because it has been normalized, ignored and denied, while the system places an onerous burden on First Nations peoples to prove racist hospital treatment
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The wave of grief has been immense following the discovery of the unmarked graves of 215 Indigenous children on the grounds of the government-authorized, Catholic Church-run institution in Kamloops that does not deserve to be remembered as either residential or a school. Finally, Canadians everywhere are coming to terms with the agonizing truth that our country was founded in genocide, the reality of which is still with us. With that awareness, nothing can be as before.
At this time, space must be opened and respected for Indigenous voices and leadership, certainly in the territory of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, but also nationwide. That means space for survivors, relatives, friends and community members, to be as private or as public as they wish in responding to this wrenching revelation. While not unexpected news for families who have carried the painful knowledge of the disappearances and deaths of these beloved children for generations, it is