Twenty-five years after the last residential school for Native Canadians closed, their legacy remains among the most serious barriers to a just relationship with Aboriginal Canadians, an Anglican Church brief says. The residential schools were run by churches and funded by the federal government. The schools were the most prominent feature of a set of … Continued
Minaki, ON Sunday, August 8, 1993 — The primate of the Anglican Church of Canada has apologized to aboriginal Anglicans for the “pain and hurt” they experienced in church-run residential schools. “I have felt shame and humiliation as I have heard of suffering inflicted by my people, and as I think of the part our … Continued
“Most non-native Anglicans have never heard aboriginal people describing their experiences in the residential schools,” says John Bird. “The more you hear, the more you are struck by the pain and horror that system has produced.” Mr. Bird was recently appointed, together with Shirley Harding, to job-share a two-year term position as Special Assistants to … Continued
May 27, 1992 — Whose job is it to deal with the negative effects of church-run residential schools? The schools were common until about 1970. Whole generations of native young people were separated from their families and communities, sometimes for years at a time. One major legacy of the residential school system is the social … Continued
The Anglican Church has taken its opposition to the James Bay II power project to the United States, in hopes that Massachusetts will become the second state to disassociate itself from the project. Recently, the New York Power Authority cancelled a contract to purchase power from James Bay II. Now, a bill before the Massachusetts … Continued
September 19, 1990 — The Primate of the Anglican Church has supported a request from Georges Erasmus, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, for Christian churches to make this Sunday (September 23) a National Day of Prayer. In a letter to selected parishes and committees, Archbishop Michael Peers asks Anglicans “to uphold the … Continued
July 27, 1990 — The Most Rev. Michael Peers, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has accused the federal government of ignoring “its constitutional responsibility to deal directly with the Mohawk Nation” to resolve the aboriginal land rights conflict at Oka, Quebec. In a first letter to the Prime Minister, dated July 12, Archbishop … Continued
February 9, 1973 — The leader of the Anglican Church of Canada said today that the basic rights of Canada’s native people cannot be rejected and ignored. Archbishop E.W. Scott spoke in reference to the current dispute involving land claims by British Columbia Indians. “In the past, we’ve tended to push aside the legitimate claims … Continued
August 1, 1967 — Encouragement of leadership and self-determination should be the keystone of the church’s policy in its approach to the complex problems confronting Canada’s native peoples says a report prepared for presentation to the 23rd General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada meeting here next month. The report, by the synod’s inter-departmental … Continued