The Catholic Church and Indian Residential School Survivors

With the visit of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit delegations to the Vatican, the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre has published an online exhibition about the Catholic Church and the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (2006). The exhibition includes previously unavailable files from the 2015 court case, Fontaine v Saskatchewan (Attorney General), in which the Canadian courts released the Catholic Entities from their obligations to Survivors. The exhibition features a background note from the Centre’s Academic Director, Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond (Aki-Kwe); timelines of the Settlement Agreement and the 2015 Court Case; and court files from the court case.

Explore the Exhibition

Image credit: [Untitled] by George Wylesol (2021). Source: The Globe and Mail. Used with permission of artist.

Latest News

• 
  Globe and Mail: B.C. introduces law to collect data on raceMay 4, 2022
  Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Aki-kwe, Academic Director of the Indian Residential School History & Dialogue Centre, professor at the Allard School of Law, and author of the In Plain Sight report comments on traditional data from the federal census.
• 
  BC Medical Journal: Delivering respectful, safe health care to Indigenous people in BCMay 2, 2022
  Further to the release of the In Plain Sight report by Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Aki-kwe, Academic Director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, the Joint Collaborative Committees—a collaboration between Doctors of BC and the BC government to improve BC’s health care system—have prioritized partnering with Indigenous communities and health care organizations.
• 
  Vancouver Sun: Community groups hope B.C. anti-racism law will help rather than harmApril 28, 2022
  In Plain Sight report by Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Aki-kwe, Academic Director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre and law professor at UBC cited in article addressing B.C.’s anti-racism legislation.
• 
  Vancouver Sun: B.C. prioritizing negotiation over litigation for Indigenous rightsApril 24, 2022
  Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Aki-kwe, Academic Director of the Indian Residential School History & Dialogue Centre, professor at the Allard School of Law, and former judge comments on the Province’s new approach to resolving legal disputes with Indigenous Peoples.
• 
  Indo-Canadian Voice: Thousands share their thoughts on using data to address systemic racismApril 20, 2022
  Recommendations from In Plain Sight report authored by Academic Director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Aki-kwe, informs new anti-racism data legislation from the Province.

What’s On

PODCAST

Listen to the Centre’s new podcast Love, Land & Spirit, a series about connection, community, culture, and Indigeneity written and hosted by a team of four Indigenous youth.

VIDEO

For those who missed the online dialogue, the recorded event will be available soon. Learn more about the Brigid Festival and view the other presentations.

VIDEO

For those who were unable to join us for the Dialogue Decolonizing Wellness: Indigenous Women’s Perspectives on Healthcare, the video is now available for viewing.

COLLECTIONS

View the Centre’s latest featured collection to learn more about the 2015 court case that released the Catholic Church from its obligations to Survivors.

The records offer diverse perspectives (former students, officials, journalists, scholars) and include Survivor testimonies, Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, photographs, maps, government documents, church documents, and newspaper articles.

Responding to Survivors’ desire to have a single point of access to residential school records, the Centre provides access to an online database containing digital copies of records from partner organizations. This single access point brings together records that are otherwise dispersed online and in physical spaces.

Explore the Collections

The Centre is located on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam people). We are privileged to work with the Musqueam First Nation and the Musqueam Archives as community partners.

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