ITK president among Indigenous delegates to meet with Pope
Omicron variant of COVID-19 is delaying the Indigenous delegation’s visit
ITK President Natan Obed is seen speaking at Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit in August. ITK is part of a delegation of Indigenous Peoples that will meet with Pope Francis to discuss the Catholic church’s involvement in Canada’s residential schools. The visit has been delayed because of concerns over the Omicron variant of COVID-19. (File photo)
Updated at 6:20 p.m., on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2021
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed will be among the Indigenous delegates in what is a now-delayed visit to see the Pope Francis at the Vatican, ITK spokesperson Patricia D’Souza told Nunatsiaq News.
The delay was caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
ITK is part of an Indigenous delegation that will meet the Pope at the Vatican. It also includes the Assembly of First Nations and the Métis National Council. The delegation will ask for an apology from the Pope for the Catholic church’s role in residential schools in Canada.
The meeting was supposed to occur this month but has been delayed until “the earliest opportunity in 2022” because of the concerns that elders from remote communities could be exposed to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said.
Once more scientific information is gained about the new variant, the visit will be rescheduled.
“ITK stands with our partners in putting the health of Indigenous peoples and communities first and choosing to reschedule this historic visit to a date to be determined in early 2022,” ITK said on social media.
The Indigenous delegation will include elders, knowledge holders and residential school survivors.
As well, the delegation will ask the Pope to release any records of residential schools and Indigenous artifacts held by the church.
Around 60 per cent of residential schools in Canada were run by the Roman Catholic church.
Since the beginning of the summer, over 1,200 unmarked graves have been found at former residential schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report estimated there are over 3,200 unmarked graves, but Murray Sinclair, the commission’s chair, said that number is likely much higher.
Former Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. President Aluki Kotierk have called for criminal charges to be revived against French Oblate priest Rev. Johannes Rivoire.
Rivoire worked in Canada’s eastern Arctic in the 1960s and was accused of sexually assaulting Inuit children. Currently, Rivoire is said to reside in France. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada stayed charges against Rivoire four years ago, saying there was “no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction.”
Correction: This story has been updated from an earlier version to reflect that ITK has not confirmed how many Inuit delegates will be part of the delegation to meet the Pope or who they will be.
While I wish this delegation all the best, it should be noted how pathetic it is that they need to go grovel to the Pope for an apology, which should have been forthcoming ages ago. It is not as if the Vatican is unaware of what has been done under its own aegis. That people are still willing to grant some kind of moral authority to this organization is beyond baffling to me. Such is the power of the imagination.
Sending a delegation to their doorstep instead of having them come to ours is a good move. Getting the apology and acknowledgment over there on their domain will at the very least allow a wider variety of media outlets access to the meeting than if it were to happen in the north.
I agree it’s a good move because it is the only move… and that is both the problem and the larger point.
Tourtière, for clarity let me add, my point is that an apology should not need to be coaxed or shamed out of an organization that for millennia has pretended to stand at the font of our moral understanding of the world.
How hollow is the notion that the Catholic Church speaks on behalf of god when it not only refuses to acknowledge the harms it has done, but actively thwarts efforts to bring those to light.
The hypocrisy is so stunning and the farce so obvious it truly stands as a wonder of the world that the organization maintains any credibility with people at all.
All that said, from a strategic perspective I grant you might be right in that there may be greater exposure for an apology if it is issued from the Vatican. Fair enough. I would add that it should be offered in both locations, in the Vatican and here, where its crimes were committed.
This guy isn’t the one who should be part of the delegation. He’s a pampered frat boy who got a free ride on a sports scholarship at an American university. He’s extremely privileged and completely out of touch with Inuit & Northern issues. It should be someone who was actually impacted by residential schools, who actually has suffered and not lived a life of privilege like Natan has.
I agree 100% with your comments Umingmak.
You realize he didn’t have the privileged life. Hockey was his escape to get away from Alcohol abuse. To this day, he has not touched Alcohol because of what he experienced while he lived in Nain. To say he did not suffer is not at all one bit true!
You have no idea what you are talking about, Umingmak.
I’m sorry to be the one to tell you but Natan Obed’s father was sent to a residential school. His father suffered from alcoholism and was abusive.
Natan has never touched alcohol as a result and worked hard at healthy activities like hockey and finishing school.
It’s bad enough that many Inuit lack various opportunities compared to other demographics but punching down on our fellow Inuit doesn’t do anything for Inuit causes.
Here’s someone who “made it” and people are disparaging him.
And yet, many Inuit First Nations still follow the religion of our colonizers, even tho it was forced and this organization was responsible for various atrocities.
Like another poster commented, we now have to send our representative all the way to Europe to ask for an apology from the almighty Pope who could care less?!
I suggest boycotting the meeting.
Maybe we should file charges at The Hague.
Is a demanded apology every sincere?
-An apology, Kennnn, will verify and validate the pain many survivors still live with today said Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme.
-Phil Fontaine, former Assembly of First Nations national chief, believes an apology is necessary for many survivors like him.
-An apology would fulfill Call to Action number 58 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.
-Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald called for a “long overdue” apology and she added that there should also be criminal charges and reparations.
-Is it sincere to take responsibility for past mistakes? Perhaps that’s foreign to some.
Total strawman, Barry
Akuluk Natan