[WSMDiscuss] In Canada, on Turtle Island : Murray Sinclair says more remains will be found at residential school sites / RCMP investigating former Kamloops residential school site, Sinclair tells MPs (Kristy Kirkup and Mike Hager)

[Jai Sen]

Friday, June 4, 2021

Indigenous Peoples in movement…, Turtle Island in movement…, Canada in movement…, Colonialism in movement…, White supremacy in movement…, Resistance in movement…, Justice in movement…, History in movement…, Herstory in movement…

[Again following up on my post on this tragic but vital issue in Canada on Turtle Island this last Wednesday, June 2 2021 (‘Indigenous leaders say discovery of children’s remains at Kamloops residential school is beginning of national reckoning’, at https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-indigenous-leaders-call-for-national-reckoning-after-childrens-remains/ <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-indigenous-leaders-call-for-national-reckoning-after-childrens-remains/> and the other articles I posted), here is more on what is clearly unfolding as a huge moment in the life of Turtle Island (aka ‘North America’) and of Canada and Canadian society, and especially of the original inhabitants of this land, its Indigenous Peoples.  But where now, or at least so it seems, some parts of Settler Canada at least seem to also be opening their eyes, hearts, and minds to the reality…

[In some ways – or so it seems to me as a relative newcomer – the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada <http://www.trc.ca/> (for an overview, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_and_Reconciliation_Commission_of_Canada <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_and_Reconciliation_Commission_of_Canada>) was a crucial first step in this journey (please make sure you take a look at its website and reports at http://www.trc.ca/ <http://www.trc.ca/>); this ‘discovery’, or uncovering, of the children’s bodies – which was known all along - marks the second.

[Until a decent overview article appears, here are just some threads of what is happening in and across Canada today :

Mr. Sinclair said on Thursday that a discussion should be had with police about how they are handling the situation, and that the RCMP should focus on obtaining documents kept by the schools that could shed light on the deaths.

“They should not be pursuing those who are revealing the information,” he said. “They should in fact be looking at and looking for those records. They should be looking at what it is that we do know as opposed to trying to pursue witnesses.”

Mr. Sinclair also said the individual who conducted search with ground-penetrating radar is “quite scared” by the approach the RCMP has taken with her.

Murray Sinclair says more remains will be found at residential school sites

Kristy Kirkup <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/kristy-kirkup/> and Mike Hager <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/mike-hager/>
June 2 2021

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-murray-sinclair-says-more-remains-will-be-found-at-residential-school/ <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-murray-sinclair-says-more-remains-will-be-found-at-residential-school/>
RCMP investigating former Kamloops residential school site, Sinclair tells MPs

Mr Sinclair also said the individual who conducted search with ground-penetrating radar is “quite scared” by the approach the RCMP has taken with her

Kristy Kirkup <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/kristy-kirkup/> and Mike Hager <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/mike-hager/>
Jine 4 2021

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-rcmp-investigating-former-kamloops-residential-school-site-sinclair/ <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-rcmp-investigating-former-kamloops-residential-school-site-sinclair/>



Thundersky Justin Young, left, and Daryl Laboucan drum and sing healing songs at a makeshift memorial to honour the 215 children whose remains have been discovered buried near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, B.C., on June 2, 2021. (COLE BURSTON/AFP/Getty Images)


Former Truth and Reconciliation Commission chair Murray Sinclair told a House of Commons committee on Thursday that the RCMP have opened an investigation in response to the discovery of children’s remains at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Mr. Sinclair, who is a retired senator and judge, criticized what he called the “typical heavy-handed” way that Mounties are “simply intimidating people rather than helping them.”

“I got a call earlier this morning, in fact, that the RCMP now have declared that there is a major investigation that is going to occur into the bodies that have been located in Kamloops,” he said. “They are now beginning to question those who have made this story available.”

The Kamloops residential school’s unmarked graves: What we know about the children’s remains, and Canada’s reaction so far <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-kamloops-residential-school-mass-graves-215-children-explainer/>
Discovery of children’s remains at Kamloops residential school ‘stark example of violence’ inflicted upon Indigenous peoples <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-bodies-found-at-kamloops-residential-school-site-in-bc/>
Kamloops residential school’s unmarked graves a painful reminder of why we need leadership <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-kamloops-residential-schools-unmarked-graves-a-painful-reminder-of-why/>
The office of the local RCMP detachment in Kamloops confirmed on Thursday it has opened a case related to the remains, but its commanding officer denied there was any tension, and said his investigators are consulting with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation.

“The Tk’emlúps Rural RCMP has attended the site, participated in meetings, and will continue working closely with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc community leaders in determining the next steps and the best way to be involved in any investigative avenues explored going forward, while at the same time being supportive, respectful, and culturally sensitive to the Indigenous communities that are impacted,” Staff-Sergeant Bill Wallace said in a statement.

The Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc are in charge of the investigation, and Mounties will continue to support the community, Staff-Sgt. Wallace added.

The nation deferred commenting until a press conference scheduled for Friday morning. Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir said last week that preliminary findings of a search with ground-penetrating radar discovered the remains of 215 children at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.

The announcement generated international headlines and sparked commemorations across the country, with people placing children’s shoes at churches and government institutions to symbolize those who never came home. A final report on the work at the site is due later this month.

Leaders of the community have said they are not currently releasing any further details about the search or who conducted it while they grieve, hold ceremonies and consult with leaders of other communities from which children were taken to the school.

The BC Coroners Service was alerted to the discovery last week by the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nation. Spokesperson Ryan Panton said on Wednesday the service has offered its assistance and, at the request of the nation, is standing by until its private consultant finishes the report.

Mr. Sinclair said on Thursday that a discussion should be had with police about how they are handling the situation, and that the RCMP should focus on obtaining documents kept by the schools that could shed light on the deaths.

“They should not be pursuing those who are revealing the information,” he said. “They should in fact be looking at and looking for those records. They should be looking at what it is that we do know as opposed to trying to pursue witnesses.”

Mr. Sinclair also said the individual who conducted search with ground-penetrating radar is “quite scared” by the approach the RCMP has taken with her.

“I don’t blame her,” he said.

Mr. Sinclair also said he has advised her to ensure she has legal counsel to prevent any mistreatment.

Nicole Schabus, a law professor at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops who has worked with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, said it is no surprise tension is being reported between the nation and the RCMP, given the Mounties’ historical ties to residential schools.

“There’s a lot of distrust. The RCMP played a role in the system,” Prof. Schabus said. “There are current issues that have to be addressed and obviously that mistrust will play out on the ground.”

Earlier this week, Mr. Sinclair released a video message stating that the TRC asked the previous Conservative government to allow the commission to conduct a more fulsome inquiry into the issue of missing children. He said that request was denied and that “there were probably lots of sites similar to Kamloops that are going to come to light in the future.”

He also told the House of Commons Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee on Thursday he has spoken with probably 200 survivors who have expressed grief, frustration and emotion over the findings from the school, and very few resources for healing are available to them. He wants an independent investigation to look at all burial sites.

A group of Calgary-based lawyers has asked the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the discovery in Kamloops as a “crime against humanity.”

“There is a need for an independent investigation, with the view to the public’s confidence in the justice system,” one of the lawyers, Jonathan Denis, said in a news release.

 

SEE VIDEO AT LINK TO ARTICLE

Retired Justice Murray Sinclair video statement

 

Retired Senator Murray Sinclair is calling for an independent investigation to examine all burial sites near former residential schools. Sinclair, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, told a House of Commons committee that such a probe should not be run by the federal government, but should be overseen by a parliamentary committee that will ensure that it is done in a proper way. The Canadian Press 

Marion Buller, a former judge and the chief commissioner on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and gender-diverse persons, said on Thursday that she hoped that “in light of the discovery of the 215 beloved children at the Kamloops residential school, all Canadians will now believe the truths told by families and survivors at the national inquiry about the genocide that continues today and hold all governments to account.”

A national action plan was released on Thursday in response to the inquiry’s 231 calls to justice.

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said the work ahead will involve understanding intergenerational trauma and confronting what happens when people have lost their language and culture, been abused and don’t feel they belong. The link between residential schools and missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and gender-diverse people is “so clear,” she added.

Rebecca Kudloo, the president of Pauktuutit, a non-profit organization representing Inuit women, attended residential school beginning when she was nine years old in Igloolik. She said the descendants of the children who attended the Kamloops residential school are grieving right now. Unresolved grief can stem from not knowing what happened to one’s relatives who died outside of communities, she said.

Shannin Metatawabin, the son of a survivor of the St. Anne’s residential school, called for an independent investigation at a news conference hosted by the federal NDP. Mr. Metatawabin is from the Fort Albany First Nation, “where we know that we have unmarked graves and graves that are there and the stories are real.” An attempt was made in the past to look into the stories, he said.

“The RCMP came with rakes and made a laughable attempt to try to find remains.”

The number for the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is 1-866-925-4419. British Columbia has a First Nations and Indigenous Crisis Line offered through the KUU-US Crisis Line Society , toll-free at 1-800-588-8717.

With reports from Jana G. Pruden in Edmonton and Marieke Walsh in Ottawa


[The rippling impact of the discovery, cutting into and across the country’s favourite rituals… :

On Thursday, Mr. Amero was gratified to hear of the effect his performance seemed to have had on Canadians. Still, he said, “to be honest, I’m not sure if I can go back into that kind of space to sing the anthem. I think the way I sang it yesterday is the lament in my heart. And I think until we can at least find the psyche of the Canadian people changing and shifting, that to me is the anthem that sits in my heart today.”

Behind the scenes of the stunning, mournful performance of the national anthem, O Canada, at the Jets-Canadiens playoff game

Simon Houpt <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/simon-houpt/>
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-behind-the-scenes-of-the-stunning-mournful-o-canada-at-the-jets/ <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-behind-the-scenes-of-the-stunning-mournful-o-canada-at-the-jets/>
 

SEE VIDEO AT LINK TO ARTICLE

For a very different performance of the national anthem

 


Don Amero wasn’t even sure he wanted to sing O Canada.

Last Sunday evening, the Winnipeg country and folk singer-songwriter got a call from his friend, Mark Chipman, the executive chairman of True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Winnipeg Jets, asking whether he would be willing to sing the national anthem at game one of the second round of the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

Only days before, the country had learned of the discovery, announced by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, of the remains of 215 children <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-bodies-found-at-kamloops-residential-school-site-in-bc/> on the grounds of the former Kamloops residential school. The Jets intended to begin their opening ceremonies with a moment of silence for the children.

But would an anthem celebrating Canada even be appropriate after that?

The Kamloops residential school’s unmarked graves: What we know about the children’s remains, and Canada’s reaction so far <https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-kamloops-residential-school-mass-graves-215-children-explainer/>
“The Jets organization were struggling with, what’s the proper move here?” said Mr. Amero, recalling his conversations with Mr. Chipman. “We wrestled with the idea of having just the moment of silence and saying, ‘Tonight’s not the night for the anthem.’ Because there are so many questions Canadians are asking themselves right now: What is Canada?”

For two days, he went back and forth on whether he could perform the anthem. “George Stroumboulopoulos pointed it out the other night,” explained Mr. Amero, during a phone interview with The Globe and Mail on Thursday afternoon.

“How do you have a moment of silence, and then moments later sing ‘God keep our land,’ knowing full well that the atrocities in this country were at the hands of people who claimed to be in the name of God?”

But after mulling it over, Mr. Amero, who is of Cree and Métis heritage on his mother’s side and European descent on his father’s side, concluded that, “I don’t believe, and I think many Canadians don’t believe, that this was at the hands of God. This was at the hands of people who had hatred in their heart for a people. And I don’t believe that God did this. So I can peacefully sing that line and know that it wasn’t Him or the creator. So, I was at peace with that.”

Still, he knew he couldn’t perform the conventional chest-thumping rendition of O Canada, of the sort that he’d done at three previous Jets games over the years. “I thought of altering lyrics. I thought of leaving lyrics out. I thought, what if I did the Colin Kaepernick thing and take a knee? And none of that felt right to me.”

On Tuesday, still uncertain of how to proceed, he drove his wife and three young children up to the family’s cabin, got them settled in, then returned to Winnipeg. By the time he arrived home, it was about 1:30 in the morning; there were only 17 hours until game time. “And that’s when I thought of the idea of, like, a sombre, melancholy, almost dark music note.” At 2:30 a.m., he made a rough recording of his idea and sent it off to Mr. Chipman, who quickly gave him the green light.

And so on Wednesday night, as about three million Canadians watched on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA, a slow progression of moody, unsettling bass notes thrummed through Bell MTS Place, Mr. Amero brought the microphone unsteadily to his mouth, lifted his eyes to the camera, and delivered a mournful anti-anthem that seemed perfectly calibrated to the present, uncertain moment.

“I just said to myself, this is for those children in the ground and the many others that we don’t know of, and this is for those here with me now, those residential-school survivors and those in this country. And I really wanted to dedicate it to them, because I do feel like, as a nation, there are some things to be proud of but there’s also a lot of things that we need to sort through, and that was heavy on my heart when I sang,” he said.

“And I wanted it to be mournful. I wanted it to be something where people would lean in a little more going: ‘Yeah, really, what do these lines actually mean?’ And I knew if I said [the lyrics] slow and patient and really allowed people to kind of digest them, you know – that was really my goal.”

He wanted, he said, to “create unity around the question of what is Canada. Because I feel like I’ve heard an overwhelming response of people who have, for lack of a better term, have been shaken, who’ve kind of awoken to the realities of our history.”

The Jets have led the National Hockey League in a number of reconciliation initiatives since landing back in Winnipeg in 2011. In 2015, the team banned costume headdresses at their home games after a Chicago Blackhawks fan wore one to Bell MTS Place. A year later, the Jets became the first team in the league to include a land acknowledgement in the opening of every home game. Last year, the team played host to the Strong Warrior Girls Anishinaabe Singers from a local primary school, who performed O Canada in Ojibwe.

Around the same time, the team also brought on Kevin Chief, a former MLA and the co-founder of the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre, as the senior adviser of community development for True North.

Mr. Chief, who is Anishinaabe and Métis, was instrumental in helping to devise the moment of reflection on Wednesday night, in which the arena glowed with Indigenous orange, and the designs of numerous Inuit and Métis and First Nations women artists flickered on the overhead screen. He also invited two elders to flank Mr. Amero during the anthem.

“I didn’t want Don to feel that he had to carry that alone,” said Mr. Chief, in a separate phone interview. Elder Wally Swain carried tobacco and an eagle feather, while his wife, Karen, cradled a pair of baby moccasins.

“For them to stand there, with the tobacco that represents the teaching of gratitude and an eagle feather, which represents love, and then the moccasins that represent [the campaign to] Bring our Children Home, to stand there with Don and to be able to do that for us collectively, I thought was quite powerful.”

On Thursday, Mr. Amero was gratified to hear of the effect his performance seemed to have had on Canadians. Still, he said, “to be honest, I’m not sure if I can go back into that kind of space to sing the anthem. I think the way I sang it yesterday is the lament in my heart. And I think until we can at least find the psyche of the Canadian people changing and shifting, that to me is the anthem that sits in my heart today.”


____________________________

Jai Sen

Independent researcher, editor; Senior Fellow at the School of International Development and Globalisation Studies at the University of Ottawa

jai.sen at cacim.net <mailto:jai.sen at cacim.net> &  <mailto:jsen at uottawa.ca>jsen at uottawa.ca <mailto:jsen at uottawa.ca>
Now based in Ottawa, Canada, on unsurrendered Anishinaabe territory (+1-613-282 2900) and in New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325)

Check out something new – including for copies of the first two books below, at a discount, and much more : The Movements of Movements <https://movementsofmovements.net/>
Jai Sen, ed, 2017 – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ?.  New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press.  Ebook and hard copy available at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>; hard copy only also at The Movements of Movements <https://movementsofmovements.net/>
Jai Sen, ed, 2018a – The Movements of Movements, Part 2 : Rethinking Our Dance.  Ebook and hard copy available at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>; hard copy only also at The Movements of Movements <https://movementsofmovements.net/>
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