Feb. 14, 2022
Dear Chief Kitchemonia and Working Group Members from Keeseekoose First Nation,
On behalf of the Archdiocese of Regina, I acknowledge with deep sorrow the suffering, trauma and abuses that Indigenous Peoples of Keeseekoose First Nation have experienced as a result of colonization, and at Catholic-operated Fort Pelly and St. Philip’s Residential Schools, in addition to the experiences of racism and intergenerational trauma which continue today. We as church also recognize that when governments, and religious institutions such as ours, took steps to suppress Indigenous language, culture, spirituality and traditions, that inflicted deep wounds on Indigenous Peoples. Today, as we come to honour and respect the wisdom and blessings that come with your language and traditional ways, we want to express our support of your efforts to revitalize them, and to be deeply attentive to your oral traditions and good ways of being in relationship with creation.
I am grateful for the opportunity, over the past months, to work with the Keeseekoose Survivors and Elders to form a working group. Through the working group, I want to identify how we as church members can be your allies in dealing with the legacy of St. Philip’s and Fort Pelly Residential Schools.
In our joint meetings, we have identified the following areas to begin our journey together:
1) Conciliation/Reconciliation: joining you in educational and relationship-building among Survivors and Elders, our archdiocesan Working Group on Indigenous Relations, and local Catholic parishioners.
2) Records: confirming what records have already been shared, and working with your community to develop processes for sharing other records from the Archdiocese of Regina and St. Philip’s Parish that would be useful to you.
3) Residential Schools Historical Information: supporting your work of compiling a history of the St. Philip’s and Fort Pelly Residential Schools.
4) Indigenous Parishioners: in addition to supporting Keeseekoose as a First Nation, honouring our existing relationship with and responsibility to Indigenous parishioners of St. Philip’s Parish, who are living with the great challenge of being Indigenous and Catholic at this time.
I greatly value the relationship we have been building with you, and I believe that by walking together, we can help build a better future for our shared community.
Yours sincerely,
Donald Bolen
Archbishop of Regina
