SASKATOON — Susan Beaudin knows how hard the journey toward healing is for residential school survivors as she attended the Marieval Indian Residential and the Lebret Indian Industrial schools.
Beaudin never thought that she’d be able to stand side-by-side with the Archdiocese of Regina Archbishop Don Bolen and share her story of healing with the help and support of a lot of people.
“I have to go back to my ceremonies for my healing and to come to understand myself as an Anishinaabe and Nehiyawak woman, and a survivor of a residential school,” said Beaudin.
Beaudin spoke at Monday’s press conference at the Muskowekwan Indian Residential School, the last standing residential school in Saskatchewan, where 35 graves were discovered. The school is near Muskowekwan First Nation.
“It’s been a hard journey and many tears. As we talked about how many of our families were broken, and how we have so many things that we have to deal with among our kinship, that, I’m sure is happening will all of our families.”
She’s been working with Bolen as co-chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee of the Archdiocese where she helps in the healing and reconciliation process between other survivors and the Catholic church.
Beaudin, from Cowessess First Nation, said all residential school survivors like her must be proud of being resilient although their healing journey will not be easy.
“You can’t just get over the trauma. We just can’t forget it like a lot of people would like us to do.”
She recalled how while she was growing up her family always went to church every Christmas Eve and Palm Sunday especially the latter as her mother wanted to have a blessed palm, while also taking to heart what was told to her by one of her friends - that they were all praying to the same Creator.
“That little eight-year-old girl that prayed in the pews in the churches, I started remembering her and I started remembering how much I prayed to that God and how much I love that God even though the terrible things were happening to us,” said Beaudin.
“We’re all praying to the same God. I was feeling okay about my spirituality from a First Nations perspective, I needed to go down that road to the Catholic church… I truly believed I was guided to the Archdiocese, to Bishop [Bolen] because this work that we’re going to be doing is important.”
She added that they expect not all First Nations people who were baptized Catholics would go back to the church as every survivor has their way of healing from the trauma of attending residential schools.
Beaudin said that sometimes she also felt conflicted and questioned her role in the Archdiocese of Regina while being a residential school survivor, but came to realize how important her part is in the healing journey.
Calling Pope Francis to visit Muskowekwan
She joined the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations to have the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops include the Muskowekwan residential school on the itinerary when Pope Francis visits Canada in July this year.
“We have to hear from the pope that he’s sorry. Those of us that didn’t go to Rome didn’t feel that sorry. And with him coming, I think those of us survivors that are going to be in that audience will hear it and hopefully feel the same feelings the people that went to Rome felt. I want that for me as a survivor,” said Beaudin.
FSIN, in a statement, said Saskatchewan has one of the highest numbers of residential schools with 22 that housed more than 10,000 First Nations children. At least half of the 22 residential schools were run by the Catholic church where children experienced abuse - sexually, physically, mentally and spiritually.
“This damage also continued in the Indian Day School regime, where the church continued to abuse and mistreat the children and their communities. The Catholic religion continues to be practiced by some First Nations in Saskatchewan and the pope, as the leader of that church, needs to be accountable to his membership by visiting a site where these horrible abuses took place,” the FSIN statement said.
FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said the pope owes every survivor and the families and communities affected by Catholic-run residential schools in the province an apology. Saskatchewan alone has over 100,000 residential school survivors and intergenerational survivors, and many continue to be members of the Catholic church.
“The pope needs to visit one of our First Nations in Saskatchewan, especially one where the site of the abuse still stands, to witness for himself the reality we are facing today and the work our First Nations are conducting in finding the unmarked graves of hundreds of our children, while also trying to heal. Pope Francis and the church must bear witness to the devastation brought on by the Church in our Treaty territory,” said Cameron.
Bolen said he listens to Beaudin and the other residential school survivors to help him understand more of their experiences as the church recognizes the importance of apologizing for the past atrocities of some members of the clergy.
“Apologies are not only apologies from the pope but also local churches. From all of us who were carrying the legacy, on the church’s side, that apology needs to lead to action. We need your help in terms of what action to take, how to spend the money that’s been set aside and how to be your allies in your negotiations for the pursuit of your rights,” said Bolen.
He, however, did not guarantee that the Papal Visit can include the Muskowekwan residential school on its itinerary, but as much as possible would work to bring residential school survivors in the province to the place where Pope Francis will be making a stop.
“If the pope doesn’t come here, we want to find a way to facilitate as many survivors as possible going to wherever he [pope] does come. We want to assist in that regard, make it possible and accompany you, That’s going to take a lot of work for the moment. We home that plan [pope visiting Muskowekwan residential school] materializes.”
