Prince Charles’ acknowledgment of the “suffering” of the aboriginal people of Canada during his visit is an important step, many tribal officials say, and they have now called for an “apology” to the monarchy.
Read more: Residential Schools: Anglican Church President Apologizes
Read more: ‘Forgiveness does not destroy what happened,’ says the boarding school survivor
“On behalf of my wife and myself, I acknowledge the suffering of (the natives) and want to tell them that our heart is with them and their families,” Prince Charles of the Yellowknife (Northwest Territories) concluded his speech on Thursday. -A day visit to Canada.
After stopping in St. John of Newfoundland (east) and Ottawa, Prince Charles ended his voyage in northwestern Canada on Thursday, where Prince Charles “bravely described his experiences with survivors, especially in tribal boarding schools.”
“We need to listen to the truth of the experiences lived by the tribes and work to better understand their pain and suffering,” he added.
This is an “important step” for Cassidy Coron, president of the Medes National Council. “It makes a lot of sense to us that Prince Charles and his family want to hear and hear the truths of the tribal people,” he added.
For his part, Roseanne Archibald, national chairman of the First Nations Legislature, described seeing the prince as “very sympathetic.”
But he said he still believes he should apologize “not only on behalf of the Anglican Church for what happened in these institutions, but also for the failures in the relationship between the Crown and the First Nations.”
The visit comes a year after the first graves of anonymous children were discovered on the site of former boarding schools for aboriginals in Canada, sparking a scandal and exposing the country’s colonial history.
Between the end of the 19th century and the 1980s, about 150,000 tribal children were forcibly enrolled in more than 130 residential schools across the country, where they were cut off from their families, language and culture.
Thousands did not return. Authorities estimate their numbers are between 4,000 and 6,000. In 2015, the National Commission of Inquiry qualified for this “cultural genocide” method.
Pope Francis, who had already submitted his apology to a group of Canadian delegates in April, will arrive in the country at the end of July to renew them.
