Several residential school survivors have told Ottawa they do not want to “carry” the decision to raise the Canadian flag that was lowered in May after the believed remains of 215 children were found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.
The government then spent months thinking about how to raise maple leaves and this topic generated a lot of debate.
It will be a year next week since this discovery was made using the ground penetrating radar of Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation. The news caused grief, shock and anger across the country, whether in indigenous communities or elsewhere.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau then ordered that flags be lowered at half -mast on all federal buildings, including the one atop the Peace Tower in Ottawa.
Consultations for raising maple leaves
As early as June, federal officials wanted to find the right moment to raise the flag. They interacted with indigenous leaders and prepared various scenarios.
This is the longest time in Canadian history that the flags have been at half -mast Crown-Indigenous liaison officials wrote in a briefing note released to The Canadian Press under the information access law.
The length of time the flag stays at half -mast is usually dictated by strict rules. But when the federal government lowered the maple leaf to honor dead and missing Native children in the residential school system, it did not specify a date for its lifting.
According to documents, Ottawa was trying to put the flag back in place before Remembrance Day, which eventually happened.
It says survivors and members of national aboriginal organizations across the country believe it needs to be raised to half-mast on November 8, Aboriginal Veterans Day, and November 11, Remembrance Day.
The circle of survivors at the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation was specifically consulted. The group met last fall with Carolyn Bennett, the former federal minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, before she was appointed to a new portfolio.
Some participants mentioned that they did not want Canada to use this promise to justify raising the flag at its full height.officials said in a summary of the meeting.
They do not like to lift this decision, the summary added, cited that Ms. Bennett that he understood and he saw that not everyone agreed.
Some said they were not ready to see the flag raised to its full height, others said Canadians still needed to understand why the flag was lowered.
Different opinions
Officials noted differing views on the use of the flag and how the country plans to mark the discovery of other unmarked graves.
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami representatives stressed the critical need to honor all missing children (over 6,000) and continue to raise awareness of the residential school tragedyindicate the documents.
Representatives of the Métis National Council also suggested that the flag be raised at half -mast for a week whenever a new grave is discovered.they continue.
In addition, organizations felt that while raising the flag was complicated, it was something that needs to be resolved by the Canadian governmentofficials said.
More than just symbols
Organizations also felt the need to have another symbolic recognition at the national level in return if the flag is no longer at half -mast.
The office of current Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said in a statement that it is working with the offices of the Speakers of the House of Commons and the Senate, and with MPs to ensure that the flag of the survivors at the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation will be raised on Parliament Hill in June, Aboriginal History Month.
He also plans to lower the Canadian flag on September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Cowessess First Nation near Regina discovered 751 unmarked graves last year. Officials noted that according to Chief Cadmus Delorme, it was a historic moment for Canada at that in the volume of residential schools, this question will be present in the coming years.
Indigenous groups have also urged governments to take significant steps toward reconciliation and not just tokenism, the documents said.
Many times we were treated like strangers
Chief Harvey McLeod of the Upper Nicola Band in Merritt, British Columbia, recently said there needs to be more debate about what the flag means to Indigenous and Canadians, rather than discussing how long it should stay in half beat or lifted.
I think it is more important to continue the conversation to correct what has been implemented in this project [les pensionnats] which is the way to implement the vision of the Confederationdid he declare. It is a vision where we have to save ourselves, we are savages, we are Indians, to integrate ourselves into the general society.
We really need to roll up our sleeves and find a way to learn how to be inclusive for people like me.
Congress of Aboriginal Peoples national vice-president Kim Beaudin said he was more concerned with justice for survivors than Ottawa symbols.
Honestly, we are not treated like Canadians, are we? Full citizens of Canada in our own countrydid he declare.
Many times we were treated like strangers.
A Kamloops residential school survivor said any action from the Canadian government on the flag was significant.
Any recognition Canada offers is goodsaid Garry Gottfriedson, a 69-year-old poet who attended the facility from kindergarten through third grade.
The smallest gesture is good. Any small action Canada can offer is a step towards healing.
Source: Radio-Canada
