One Church Body’s Response to this Crisis

The discovery of a mass grave of indigenous children in British Columbia prompts grief and concern.

UPDATE, JUNE 24, 2021:

Craig Smith reports, “[The Kamloops discovery] is only the ‘first ice cube on the tip of this horrendous iceberg.’ This discovery has caused Indigenous people in Canada to insist all residential school grounds be given similar radar screening.  The first screening of many more to come since Kamloops has uncovered 751 more bodies.  You can imagine where this is going as many more gravesites will be discovered and uncovered, adding more shame to the Church in the aftermath.  I can say that with great confidence in that over 50,000 Indigenous children were purported to die in these hellish places and are buried somewhere, waiting to be discovered.”

A mass grave containing the remains of 215 children has been found in Canada at a former residential school set up to assimilate Indigenous people. The children were students at the Kamloops Indian residential school in British Columbia that closed in 1978. The discovery was announced on Thursday by the chief of the local tribe. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was a painful reminder of a shameful chapter in our country’s history. The first nation is working with museum specialists and a coroner’s office to establish the causes and timings of the deaths, which are not currently known. Roseanne Casimir, the chief of the community in the British Columbia city of Kamloops said the preliminary finding represented an unthinkable loss that was never documented by the school’s administrators.

Canada’s residential schools were compulsory boarding schools run by the government and religious authorities during the 19th and 20th centuries with the aim of forcibly assimilating Indigenous youth. Kamloops Indian Residential School was the largest in a residential system. Opened under the Roman Catholic administration in 1890, the school had as many as 500 students when enrollment peaked in the 1950s.

A Statement from the C&MA in Canada

The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada profoundly grieve the recent revelation of the deaths of 215 Indigenous children in Kamloops, B.C. Our heart goes out to their families, their home communities, and to all First Nations across Canada.

The residential school system remains a stain on Canada’s history. We acknowledge that our ancestors participated in this injustice, even through their silence and inaction. On behalf of our family of churches, I sincerely apologize for the sins of our ancestors and failure to protect these innocent children.

We acknowledge the blindness and institutionalized racism of our past and we are committed to work toward a better future. As a church, we own our sins of the past and repent of this failure—yes, even generations later—and commit to representing Jesus better now and in the future.

We pause, we remember, we search our hearts, and we promise to do better for all children. We will continue to pursue truth and reconciliation in keeping with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Rev. Dr. David Hearn
President, The Alliance Canada

 

UPDATE JUNE 1, 2021

Deep Wounds Reopened

In their recent Indigenous Faith podcast, Craig and LaDonna Smith lamented the Kamloops tragedy. “This discovery has sent not only shock waves across native America and among the first nations people of Canada but has reopened some very deep wounds of our Indigenous people—some of which are the living survivors of these schools,” notes LaDonna. “For most non-Native people in North America, there is no knowledge that such atrocities were ever committed in what has been referred to as North America’s unacknowledged genocide.”

Craig adds, “This affects me personally, in that my grandparents met at a U.S. government boarding school in Tomah, Wisconsin. And we know that a lot of atrocities happened in those facilities as well. Now, in this instance, our hearts ache—not only because of such atrocities that have been committed by those who claim they represent Christ, but also for the lack of knowledge of Native American First Nations history by the larger population. Here in the United States we’re normally off the radar screen in America’s consciousness. And for those like us who have spent a lifetime trying to bridge the cultures, it leaves us with a huge hole in our hearts.

“Many Americans don’t even know that these institutions were part of the United States and Canadian history. That was evidenced by a reaction of some of my fellow (C&MA) board members in our recent gathering in Nashville. When I shared the news with them, there was such a shock that they never heard that these kinds of schools existed or that they forced native children away from their families. And the sad part of American and Canadian history is, like I said, off the radar screen. And that’s so sad to my own heart and soul. I think it’s important to understand how painful this issue is to many Indigenous people, especially those old enough to be one of the survivors of the boarding school experience.

“As a residential school survivor, I share the renewed pain and sorrow that all former residential school survivors feel at this time. The mixed feelings of gratefulness to have made it home and survive is filled with triggered memories of horrific abuses that were witnessed.”

“One such person is a man that I’ve known for over 50 plus years. For sake of confidentiality, I’ll leave his name out of the discussion. But I would like to share with you a posting that he made recently as he laments the loss that was absorbed by so many native families. He says, ‘The gruesome discovery of 215 remains of children at a mass grave located at the former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, is horrific and devastating. As a residential school survivor, I share the renewed pain and sorrow that all former residential school survivors feel at this time. The mixed feelings of gratefulness to have made it home and survive is filled with triggered memories of horrific abuses that were witnessed. The history of the residential school system became very real for all of Canada with the findings of these children.

The man continues, “As an elder and former resident school survivor, if it’s one last thing I do, I want to see that all these children are returned to their homelands and rest with dignity, respect, and the love that they so deserve. Then we can talk about reconciliation. But for today, reconciliation sounds hollow.”

LaDonna adds, “We grieve for the generational losses—of that generation and the current one—and the unanswered questions that remain. But I’m so glad that truth matters, and that this is finally coming out to the surface as it needs to. I think of the Indigenous believers and those who don’t know the Lord are probably looking for answers right now on how to even process all of this. And several questions come to mind, questions like, “How can anyone justify, especially what the church has done to these little ones? Why would anyone including the clergy seek to harm a child to the point of death? How did the church get so far off as to legitimize and even cover up for these actions? And what do you think God has to say about this? What answers can I give to my family, friends, and community when asked, ‘Why are you even following Christianity with such a horrific history and the abuses committed at the hands of  the Church?’ How do we even approach such a painful topic?”

“How can anyone justify what the Church has done to these little ones?”

 Craig points out that in tragic instances like these, it becomes very difficult to make sense of the mindsets, policies, and decisions of governments and religious institutions that have left so many innocent children vulnerable to these kinds of unspeakable abuses. He notes, “It doesn’t matter what I say. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says in all things, what really matters is what does the word of God have to say about these horrific issues.  God has already had something to say in his word about such atrocities and for those who have committed such acts even while representing Christianity . . . Mankind has a fallen sin nature, and that covers every single one of us. But there is going to come a day . . . and I love how Dr. E.V. Hill puts it: ‘Payday someday . . . payday someday.’ And that will be payday for the good—yes, the rewards [for the righteous]; but also, there’s judgment coming [for those who commit these kinds of atrocities]. Meanwhile, I really believe it’s going to be very important to lay some groundwork that will help Indigenous people understand that not all who claim to represent Christ or his church are even followers of Christ as defined by the word of God.”

Craig and LaDonna Smith are the founders of the evangelistic organization Tribal Rescue Ministries (TRM). They are Christian ministers from the Ojibwe and Navajo tribes. In their over 45 years of ministering together, their focus has always been the proclamation of God’s Word while seeking to live God-honoring lives. Craig is licensed as a Christian and Missionary Alliance national evangelist and serves as president of TRM. LaDonna joins Craig in their music and teaching ministries and in their equipping of many next-generation spiritual rescuers. Hear more about this topic and other important issues impacting North American Indigenous peoples at their Indigenous Faith podcast.