April 2022 

Cancelation and Public Statement on the Visit with the Archbishop of Canterbury:

Below is our public letter on the cancellation of "After the Apologies" visit scheduled for May 3rd 2022 with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Survivors of Indian Residential School and legacy institutions

April 30th, 2022

Trigger warning: discussion of church-run Indian Residential Schools

Dear community,

We write to inform our community that the “After the Apologies” visit with the Archbishop of Canterbury has been canceled, after deep consultation and dialogue with Survivors of the Indian Residential School legacy and community members. We offer our support and solidarity with all former Residential School students, those who never returned home or are missing, and intergenerational Survivors, who have been harmed and impacted by the Anglican Church of Canada. While the work of Right Relations is at the forefront of our ministry, we could not in good faith host the visit by the Archbishop of Canterbury.  We are writing to inform you that the talking circle and feast have been canceled for May 3rd.

It has come to our attention that the visit to Six Nations has been canceled, as protocols on community engagement were not followed and there was a lack of consideration of how the Survivors of the Mohawk Institute would receive this visit. We have also read the conditions put forward by the Survivors, that for this visit to happen, it:

• be organized with adequate time for consultation from Six Nations leadership and Survivors;

• be held in accordance with and honour the protocols of the Nations they intend to visit;

• honour the request of Survivors to discuss funding and reparations for language revitalization; and

• honour the request of Survivors and their Nations that all records from the New England Company be released.

We support these above requests, and in consultation with our local community and the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, it is also requested that:

• A comprehensive imperative be issued to all dioceses to release all records related to Indian Residential School, Indian Day School, missionary work, Indian Hospitals, etc., to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and the Indigenous communities most affected;

• Permanent Indigenous-controlled funding be established for housing for Indian Residential School legacy Survivors; and

• The church work alongside Nations and Survivors, to fund and support investigative work into all church-run institutions related to genocide against Indigenous Nations.

It is vital that the voices, direction, and leadership of Survivors be prioritized in order to continue this journey towards a new relationship. As the conditions set by Survivors of the Mohawk Institute for a visit with the Archbishop of Canterbury were not honoured, TUNM has canceled our gathering in solidarity with all former Residential School Students. We close with the words of a Survivor in our community:

“To be able to continue to speak our voices, to acknowledge that the voice that Creator gave us is powerful. Creator gave us a voice and we need to be able to use it, express our thoughts, and be heard and honoured. As former Residential School students we are afraid to speak out, but we are now. That is part of our healing. Thank you for listening.”

Sincerely,

The Staff of Toronto Urban Native Ministry