Cree singer-songwriter, musician and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie said Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Canada, as well as the expected apology from the Church for his involvement in the fate of children in residential schools, will have no meaning if the pontiff does not call for the dismantling of the Doctrine of Discovery.
Of course apologies are just the beginningunderlined the artist during a long interview with journalist Adrienne Arsenault during the television program The Nationalaired on CBC.
The Doctrine of Discovery is based on a series of decrees called papal bulls issued by the pope in the 15th and 16th centuries. This international framework laid the legal and moral foundations for the colonization of Canada and other countries by people from Europe.
As Buffy Sainte-Marie explains, the Doctrine of Discovery basically states that if you are a European explorer [chrétien]you have the right to go anywhere in the world to convert and enslave people, otherwise you can kill them.
According to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), legal arguments based on the doctrine of discovery continue to affect court decisions to this day. In a 2018 document titled Abolish the Doctrine of Discovery, (New window) the AFN says the doctrine is at the root of many historical injustices that continue against Indigenous peoples.
Torture tools in museums to remember atrocities
In parallel with her fight against this doctrine, Buffy Sainte-Marie is also trying to convince the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg to examine more attentively and more honestly the atrocities committed in North America. For example, she would like us to see tools used to torture children in Indian residential schools in Canada.
Children were torturedshe explained, referring to an electric chair used at the Sainte-Anne boarding school in Fort Albany, Ont. They want my guitar strap and manuscripts of my lyrics… cheerful, flashy stuff. But I want them to expose this damn electric chair and show people this doctrine of discovery.
Asked about the discovery, in 2021, of around 215 anonymous graves near the Kamloops Indian residential school, Buffy Sainte-Marie says that despite the horror, she sees progress in it.
The good news about bad news is that more people find out about it. Of course, I was devastated and horrified like everyone else. But it’s not like we don’t knowshe concluded. These recent discoveries are important because they are evidence.
This text was written from an article written by Greg Hobbs, media librarian and producer at CBC News. Comments may have been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Radio Canada
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
