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.
Image credit: [Untitled] by George Wylesol (2021). Source: The Globe and Mail. Used with permission of artist.
Latest News
- Statement regarding the location of plausible burials at the former St. Mary’s Indian Residential School
January 17, 2023 It is with heavy hearts that the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre releases a second statement today, less than a week after the previous one, regarding the location of unmarked burials at a former Indian residential school. Today, we are deeply saddened by the announcement […] - Statement regarding the discovery of human remains at the former Lebret Industrial School
January 13, 2023 The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre is deeply saddened by the announcement yesterday, by the Star Blanket Cree Nation, of the location of a child’s remains and 2,000 hits by ground penetrating radar at the former Lebret Industrial School in Saskatchewan. We send our sincere […] - Dr. Tricia Logan steps into the role of interim Academic Director with the Centre
The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre is pleased to announce Dr. Tricia Logan as the interim Academic Director, a role she stepped into this fall. Dr. Logan, a Métis scholar, is cross-appointed with the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Since 2019, she has been part of […] - Wellness Drop-ins
Beginning on November 29, the Centre invites Indigenous students, staff, faculty and community members to drop-in to the Centre on Tuesdays for tea or coffee (and goodies) with an Elder or Cultural Support Worker. This is a place to either take a wellness break, enjoy conversation, seek wisdom or all […] - NFB Film Series
The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at UBC invites you to learn about the colonial history and ongoing impact of the Indian residential school system through this six-part film series, presented in partnership with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The series runs from September 15 through […]
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.
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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