Film screening, round table planned on Amerindian “boarding schools”

The 54-minute film will be followed by a round table discussion with several members of the Amerindian community whose families have been directly affected by the forcible return of Amerindian children to “boarding schools”.

“Dawnland” tells the story of the removal of Indigenous children from the United States and the country’s first-ever government-approved Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated the devastating impact of the country’s protection practices. childhood of Maine on the Wabanaki people.

“In Michigan, the Mt. Pleasant Indian Boarding School operated from 1893 to 1934,” according to a press release. “The Saginaw Chippewa Indian tribe has uncovered documents and oral accounts which indicate that at least 227 children have died in school during its 41 years of operation. The school was operated by a mission of The United Methodist Church.

“The Holy Childhood of Jesus Indian Residential School operated in Harbor Springs from 1886 to 1983. It was one of the last such schools to close in the United States. Holy Childhood was operated by the Sisters of Notre Dame and the Brothers Franciscans, under the supervision of the Catholic Diocese of Gaylord. The Holy Name of Jesus Indian Residential School operated in Baraga (Assinins) and was managed by the Sisters of Saint Joseph.

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition reports that 350 Native American “boarding schools” were operating in the United States and that 84 of them were administered by Roman Catholic orders, according to a press release.

In June, Home Secretary Deb Haaland announced a federal residential school initiative to conduct a comprehensive review of the legacy of federal residential school policies. The work of the initiative includes detailing historical records and examining cemeteries or other burial sites, and will take place under the supervision of Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian community. (Ojibwe) in Michigan / Anishinaabe Aki.

“The Home Office will address the intergenerational impact of residential schools to shed light on the unspoken traumas of the past… this process will be long and painful… it will not erase the grief and loss we feel. But it is only by recognizing the past that we can work towards a future that we are all proud to embrace, ”said Haaland.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reports that the bishops are “closely monitoring” the US Department of the Interior’s investigation into what was known as residential schools in the United States and have pledged to “seek ways to help ”.

“We need to better understand our complicity in this form of cultural genocide and put more emphasis on residential schools in our expression of repentance for the inhumane treatment to which the church and its members have subjected Indigenous peoples in the past,” said the United Methodist Church.

“Much of the truth about the residential school policies has been written in the history books. Healing, justice and reconciliation must begin with truth and learning,” a press release read. .

COVID-19 recommendations will be followed; masks will be provided and strongly encouraged.