Canada - Remains of children found at former residential schools in Canada, May 2021

[JerseyGirl]

View attachment 349889
View attachment 349888
June 17 2022

92-year-old charged following investigation into historic sexual abuse at Manitoba residential school

Manitoba RCMP have charged a 92-year-old Winnipeg man in connection with alleged sexual abuse that happened at a residential school more than 50 years ago.

winnipeg.ctvnews.ca

''WARNING: This story contains details that are disturbing.

Manitoba RCMP have charged a 92-year-old Winnipeg man in connection with alleged sexual abuse that happened at a residential school more than 50 years ago.

Retired Father Arthur Masse of Winnipeg was arrested on Thursday and charged with one count of indecent assault in connection with an allegation of sexual abuse that is said to have happened at Fort Alexander Residential School.

RCMP said the alleged incident occurred between 1968 and 1970, and involved a 10-year-old female student at the school.

The charge has not been proven in court.

Masse was released with conditions and will appear in court in Powerview, Man. on July 20.

RCMP received the tip about the alleged abuse in February 2010, with an official investigation beginning in 2011.

The school was opened in 1905 in the community of Fort Alexander, which later became Sagkeeng First Nation, and closed in 1970.

The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering from trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.

This is a developing story. More details to come.''

With files from The Canadian Press

Trial of retired Winnipeg priest charged with indecent assault wraps up

Closing arguments have wrapped up in the trial of retired 93-year-old priest Arthur Masse.

winnipeg.ctvnews.ca

 

[JerseyGirl]

Former priest, 93, acquitted of assaulting girl at Manitoba residential school decades ago

A judge has acquitted a now-retired priest of forcing himself on a residential school student more than 50 years ago, saying she believes an assault happened but could not determine beyond a reasonable doubt who did it.

winnipeg.ctvnews.ca

 

[tarabull]

No joke: BC residential school survivor wins $1M lotto jackpot on April Fools’ Day​

 

[tarabull]

Independent report details 48 findings about challenges of searches for unmarked graves​

 

[tarabull]

First Nations in Yukon hope search for unmarked graves of missing children can 'bring peace'​

 

[tarabull]

Community gathers before Manitoba church basement excavation for unmarked graves begins Wednesday​

 

[dotr]

Intriguing initiative...

Experts at finding Guatemala's 'disappeared' offer to help with First Nations’ residential school searches

'No one is going to treat (searches) with as much respect and dignity, and for as long as it takes to do it, like First Nations people. It's the most dignified way'

torontosun.com

''OTTAWA — A Guatemala-based forensic anthropology organization is extending its hand to Indigenous Peoples in Canada looking to potentially recover remains of children on the grounds of former residential schools''.

''Fredy Peccerelli, a founding member of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation, has been working for nearly 30 years to bring home bodies of the “disappeared” — Maya civilians who were killed during the 36-year civil war in Guatemala that ended in 1996.''

He said his first thought was that First Nations should develop an independent Indigenous-led forensics team similar to his organization’s.

“No one is going to treat (searches) with as much respect and dignity, and for as long as it takes to do it, like First Nations people,” said Peccerelli. “It’s the most dignified way.”

He added that his group has worked with others in Mexico and Rwanda to train people on how to collect DNA, excavate graves and repatriate remains.

It is willing to do the same in Canada.

Peccerelli isn’t the only person to say that Indigenous actors should be at the forefront of searches for children’s remains.''

 

[tarabull]

'Not the final numbers': 93 possible unmarked graves discovered at former Beauval residential school

Schools should come with playgrounds, "not graveyards," the chief of a Saskatchewan First Nation said following the discovery of what are believed to be nearly 100 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school.

thestarphoenix.com

 

[tarabull]

Honouring the missing children and the survivors, families and communities left behind: Senators Audette and Francis

Indigenous families and communities have spent decades looking for the children who went missing from residential schools. Senators Michèle Audette and Bri

sencanada.ca

 

[tarabull]

Confidential probe ongoing three years after announcement about graves at Kamloops residential school - Kamloops News

Details about the investigation are being kept secret for the time being.

www.castanet.net

 

[tarabull]

B.C. First Nation prepares for potential excavation at former residential school

The Williams Lake First Nation is preparing for the potential excavation of the site of a former residential school where it believes human remains may be located and has signed an agreement with the province and RCMP to help guide the sensitive process.

bc.ctvnews.ca

 

[worldwatcher]

B.C. First Nation prepares for potential excavation at former residential school

The Williams Lake First Nation is preparing for the potential excavation of the site of a former residential school where it believes human remains may be located and has signed an agreement with the province and RCMP to help guide the sensitive process.

bc.ctvnews.ca

That must be so hard, I wish them a lot of strength.

I really feel ashamed, as an European, tbh.
MOO

 

[branmuffin]

What bothers me are those individuals who say that if there is lack of bodies that means residential schools weren't involved in any criminal behavior, that they were all victims of the times, children and church personnel alike. What gets me more than anything is the casual disregard they had for these children. Whether any of them succumbed to beatings, sexual assault, or worse, it was the lack of compassion, treating them like numbers. Whether they died of tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria or any other reason, falls, fights, etc. they were buried anonymously and the family were not advised of their deaths. They didn't matter.

I used to work for the OPP and one day I was walking around the grounds of the former Orillia Psychiatric Hospital and found a marker for an anonymous boy who died. It was buried in the ground, and only had a first name on it. I'm sure he was one of those kids who probably was severely intellectually delayed and shipped off to the hospital and forgotten by not only the residential workers but his own family.

The native parents of those kids who never home didn't forget about their kids.