In the wake of Pope Francis’s April 1 apology for the role Roman Catholics played in Canada’s residential school system, Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba has announced the start of their investigation into one of the residential schools that used to be in Cross Lake.
Pimicikamak, also know as the Cross Lake Band, said April 5 that it will begin examining St. Joseph’s Residential School, which was run by the Roman Catholic Church and operated from 1912 to 1969.
Pimicikamak Chief David Monias said in a press release that the First Nation already has the names of 85 children who died while attending residential schools in Cross Lake — two residential schools operated in the community, both of which were destroyed by fire. Monias says the First Nation knows there is one mass grave containing the remains of children who died as a result of a fire at one of the schools. Pimicikamak doesn’t know if the list of children who died while attending residential schools in Cross Lake is complete.
“We are unsure where they were buried, or if the list we have is an actual record of the true numbers of children who died in the residential institutions,” Monias said. “Although Pope Francis made a historic apology last week, it saddens me that he did not acknowledge the unmarked graves of the children who never made it home. If the pope should visit Canada, then he should visit Pimicikamak. We have sent the letter of invite should he come to Canada.”
Pope Francis said last week when he apologized for Catholics’ role in residential schools that he intends to pay a visit to Canada, though no timeframe for the visit was specified.
Pimicikamak says it will use ground-penetrating radar to search the grounds of what was once St. Joseph’s, which was the main Roman Catholic residential school in Northern Manitoba, with knowledge keepers assisting the efforts. The First Nation also intends to collect relevant government, church and medical information to develop a database containing the names and home communities of all the students who attend St. Joseph’s during its decades of operation. To facilitate that process, Pimicikamak is calling on the federal and provincial governments, as well as Roman Catholic authorities in Manitoba and at the Vatican to assist their investigation, rather than hinder it.
“When you lose an elder, you lose a part of your history and, similarly, when you lose a child, you lose a part of your future,” said Monias. “This was the intention of the Canadian government and the religious institutions that were part of the residential school era. It is called genocide!”
As well as searching for answers, Pimicikamak wants to assist residential school survivors, including Cross Lake citizens who attended institutions elsewhere, and their children, in their healing journeys.
There are also plans to erect a permanent memorial to honour former residential school students in Cross Lake and from the community.
