Catholic Church's ‘purpose at one time was to brainwash’ Indigenous people in Cowessess

Head of Cowessess First Nation seeks apology from pope

Politics 12:27 04.07.2021
The Roman Catholic Church had "one purpose at one time” and it was "to brainwash my lineage to make sure that we stop praying to who our spirituality was and only pray to the Roman Catholic Church faith," said the head of the Cowessess First Nation.
 
"Today we have intergenerational trauma, we have colonization, and we're trying to decolonize," Cadmus Delorme told Anadolu Agency in an interview.
 
In 1885, Delorme said, the Roman Catholic Church arrived on Cowessess and built a church and they started overseeing a grave site. “It was a Roman Catholic Church’s grave site,” he added.
 
In 1898, Delorme continued, that Canada built and invested in a residential school and asked the Roman Catholic Church to oversee the residential school.
 
From 1885 to 1972, anyone who went to the Catholic Church and died while staying at the residential school was buried at the grave site, he said.
 
He said there were headstones at the graves and blamed a priest of the time for not protecting those headstones that were later removed.
 
"This is not a mass grave site. These are unmarked graves," he added.
 
Delorme said these stories are “even challenged amongst us," adding that survivors have different perspectives as to what happened.
 
He said some seniors and elderly have "very strong" Roman Catholic faith, while others “have anger and hate and are so upset with the way the church treated them.”
 
Delorme said the child mortality rate in residential schools was 40-60%, noting that there were “many pandemics,” including smallpox and tuberculosis.
 
He said they are aiming to identify and mark with names those graves to make sure that "they have a real rest in peace".
 
" ... We want an apology from the pope," Delorme said.
 
He said there are other locations as well to search for graves.
 
First Nations refers to the 600 Indigenous tribes that inhabited Canada before European settlers arrived.
 
In mid-June, 751 unmarked graves were discovered at the former Maryville residential school by the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan. So far, 1,148 unmarked graves have been found at the sites of three former Indian residential schools in Canada.
 
It is estimated that before the last school closed in 1996, at least 4,000 children died and were sometimes unceremoniously buried without their parents ever knowing their fate.
 
About 150,000 children attended the schools, whose goal was to instill white culture in the Indigenous children. Many of them are said to have suffered from physical, mental and sexual abuse.
 
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said the time has come to get an official apology from the head of the Catholic Church.
IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

State Department: Bringing Russia-Ukraine war to end remains Trump's priority
12:45 03.07.2025
President Ilham Aliyev attends inauguration of Ahmadbayli-Fuzuli-Shusha highway
12:36 03.07.2025
Swiss authority orders dissolution of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Geneva
12:30 03.07.2025
Trump administration threatens legal action against CNN for coverage of app to track immigration officers
12:15 03.07.2025
Trump says Lara Trump would be 'great' for North Carolina Senate seat
12:00 03.07.2025
Israel holding secret talks with Russia on Iran, Syria during ceasefire Report
11:45 03.07.2025
Sadyr Japarov to attend ECO summit in Azerbaijan
11:30 03.07.2025
US paves way to resume ethane exports to China amid trade truce
11:15 03.07.2025
Bali ferry sinking leaves at least four dead, dozens missing
11:00 03.07.2025
US contractors say their colleagues are firing live ammo as Palestinians seek food in Gaza
10:55 03.07.2025
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry: 'We call on Russian side to refrain from steps and statements that artificially aggravate situation'
10:30 03.07.2025
Scientists find natural substance stopping spread of cancer cells
10:15 03.07.2025
Haber Global: Azerbaijan hosts important forums ahead of ECO summit
10:00 03.07.2025
Number of Azerbaijanis arrested in Russia's Yekaterinburg reaches 8
09:45 03.07.2025
14 injured after skydiving plane crashes at New Jersey airport
09:20 03.07.2025
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev make press statements
09:10 03.07.2025
WB allocates $2M for preparation of sustainable development project in Baku
22:00 02.07.2025
Malaysia inviting Azerbaijan to participate in trade incentive program
21:45 02.07.2025
Malaysia expects further expansion of palm oil trade with Azerbaijan
21:30 02.07.2025
EBRD updates current portfolio of projects in Azerbaijan
21:30 02.07.2025
12 Georgian MPs lose parliamentary mandates
21:00 02.07.2025
Asan Jakishev: Kazakhstan strengthens status as key transit hub in region
20:40 02.07.2025
Zakharova: 'We call on Baku to take measures to return ties to level of strategic alliance'
20:30 02.07.2025
Kyrgyz ambassador to Azerbaijan also appointed as envoy to Georgia
20:20 02.07.2025
Bangladesh court sentences ex-Premier Hasina in contempt case; first conviction since ouster
20:00 02.07.2025
Russia says reduction or cessation of Western arms supplies to Ukraine brings conflict closer to its end
19:45 02.07.2025
Israeli prosecution cancels Netanyahu’s corruption trial sessions next week over US visit
19:30 02.07.2025
Mamasadyk Bakirov: Kyrgyzstan creates all necessary conditions for business
19:15 02.07.2025
Lachin holds panel session on Role of Women in Urban Development
19:00 02.07.2025
Central banks of Azerbaijan, Georgia mull implementation of systems supported by AI
18:45 02.07.2025
Azerbaijani military personnel participate in International Anatolian Eagle-2025
18:30 02.07.2025
Shavkat Mirziyoyev to open Uzbekistan park in Baku
18:15 02.07.2025
Peskov: Head of Russia's Investigative Committee, Azerbaijan's prosecutor general mull problematic issues
18:00 02.07.2025
South Korean ex-premier, minister summoned over Yoon’s martial law probe
17:45 02.07.2025
Trump says Israel has agreed to 'necessary conditions' to finalize 60-day ceasefire in Gaza
17:30 02.07.2025
DR Congo-Rwanda peace deal ‘does not address serious crimes committed in the east': Amnesty International
17:15 02.07.2025
China again urges its citizens to avoid travel to Iran
17:00 02.07.2025
Australia's Qantas says 6 million customer accounts accessed in cyber hack
16:45 02.07.2025
US accuses UN expert of ‘economic warfare’ over report on companies aiding Israeli occupation
16:30 02.07.2025
150 National Guard troops reassigned from Los Angeles security mission to wildfire response
16:00 02.07.2025
Hamısı