More churches will burn because more unmarked graves at former residential school sites will be found, predicts Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) interim Grand Chief Leroy Constant..On the heels of the discovery of almost 1,000 unmarked graves, about two dozen churches, most in Western Canada, have been destroyed, damaged by fire, or vandalized. .“I wouldn’t say I’m concerned about it, but we should be prepared for more,” said Constant when asked if churches will continue to be torched. .“As we move on, with more mass graves that are going to be found in the remaining searches of the residential schools, we anticipate more,” said the chief of the York Factory First Nation. .“There’s a lot of people that are feeling anger. All of that’s out of anger,” said Constant..A plea for the destruction to stop was made by residential school survivors, some who are members of the targeted churches. .AMC hasn’t echoed that call. .The arson and vandalism are out of the hands of Indigenous leaders, said Constant..“It’s beyond us now. It’s the people that are acting out now. It’s the survivors. There are multi-generational people that have been affected by the residential school system. We can’t physically stop people. There’s people that are acting out because of their anger, because of the hurt, the loss of their culture, their language,” he said..Constant said he doesn’t condone the attacks on churches..“But I understand the pain that’s associated with it,” he said. .What good comes from acts of arson and vandalism?.“It brings attention to the issues,” said Constant..Members of targeted churches being religiously persecuted had nothing to do with 150,000 indigenous children being forced from their communities into some140 residential schools..The abusive system prevailed over a 100-year span..Catholic churches have been singled out for attack, but residential schools and day programs were also run by Mennonite, Anglican, United and Presbyterian churches..In May, unmarked graves believed to hold remains of 215 indigenous children, were discovered at a former residential school site in Kamloops, B.C. Soon after, 751 unmarked graves were found in rural Saskatchewan. .The causes of death are undetermined. .The discoveries prompted calls for investigations at other sites across Canada..Manitoba had 14 residential schools..Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, in southwestern Manitoba, identified 104 potential graves on land where a residential school operated 1985-1972. .Records account for only 78 of those graves. Efforts to identify children who died at the school have been underway since 2019..Several other Manitoba First Nations announced they’ll conduct searches after the recent discoveries..Indigenous communities are in “crisis,” said Constant..“When the announcements are made, it’s a really heavy feeling in the community. Not only with the elders but with the actual residential school survivors themselves. You’re hearing all these stories now. It brings back memories of seeing these children taken and not returned,” he said..Many who experienced the residential school horrors suffer in silence refusing to talk about it..“I guarantee across the nation right now there’s a lot of re-opening of those wounds,” he said..Constant said a lot of government support is needed..“It’s not going to be money. We’re going to need a lot of resources to apply to First Nations communities,” he said, suggesting that support teams be deployed..“It’s going to be overwhelming. It is overwhelming already. We’ve got to prepare for it. With the ground-penetrating radar system they have in place, it’s going to be definite.”.Slobodian is a Western Standard columnist based in Manitoba
More churches will burn because more unmarked graves at former residential school sites will be found, predicts Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) interim Grand Chief Leroy Constant..On the heels of the discovery of almost 1,000 unmarked graves, about two dozen churches, most in Western Canada, have been destroyed, damaged by fire, or vandalized. .“I wouldn’t say I’m concerned about it, but we should be prepared for more,” said Constant when asked if churches will continue to be torched. .“As we move on, with more mass graves that are going to be found in the remaining searches of the residential schools, we anticipate more,” said the chief of the York Factory First Nation. .“There’s a lot of people that are feeling anger. All of that’s out of anger,” said Constant..A plea for the destruction to stop was made by residential school survivors, some who are members of the targeted churches. .AMC hasn’t echoed that call. .The arson and vandalism are out of the hands of Indigenous leaders, said Constant..“It’s beyond us now. It’s the people that are acting out now. It’s the survivors. There are multi-generational people that have been affected by the residential school system. We can’t physically stop people. There’s people that are acting out because of their anger, because of the hurt, the loss of their culture, their language,” he said..Constant said he doesn’t condone the attacks on churches..“But I understand the pain that’s associated with it,” he said. .What good comes from acts of arson and vandalism?.“It brings attention to the issues,” said Constant..Members of targeted churches being religiously persecuted had nothing to do with 150,000 indigenous children being forced from their communities into some140 residential schools..The abusive system prevailed over a 100-year span..Catholic churches have been singled out for attack, but residential schools and day programs were also run by Mennonite, Anglican, United and Presbyterian churches..In May, unmarked graves believed to hold remains of 215 indigenous children, were discovered at a former residential school site in Kamloops, B.C. Soon after, 751 unmarked graves were found in rural Saskatchewan. .The causes of death are undetermined. .The discoveries prompted calls for investigations at other sites across Canada..Manitoba had 14 residential schools..Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, in southwestern Manitoba, identified 104 potential graves on land where a residential school operated 1985-1972. .Records account for only 78 of those graves. Efforts to identify children who died at the school have been underway since 2019..Several other Manitoba First Nations announced they’ll conduct searches after the recent discoveries..Indigenous communities are in “crisis,” said Constant..“When the announcements are made, it’s a really heavy feeling in the community. Not only with the elders but with the actual residential school survivors themselves. You’re hearing all these stories now. It brings back memories of seeing these children taken and not returned,” he said..Many who experienced the residential school horrors suffer in silence refusing to talk about it..“I guarantee across the nation right now there’s a lot of re-opening of those wounds,” he said..Constant said a lot of government support is needed..“It’s not going to be money. We’re going to need a lot of resources to apply to First Nations communities,” he said, suggesting that support teams be deployed..“It’s going to be overwhelming. It is overwhelming already. We’ve got to prepare for it. With the ground-penetrating radar system they have in place, it’s going to be definite.”.Slobodian is a Western Standard columnist based in Manitoba
