Susan Enge may be thinking about the time her mother spent in residential school on the long drive south from the Northwest Territories to see Pope Francis in Alberta.
Her thoughts will remain on that legacy and the complexities of being Native American and Catholic during the eight-hour drive from her home in Fort Smith to Yellowknife, where she will catch a flight to Edmonton on Sunday.
“Being a strong Catholic, I think it’s important to forgive people for their wrongdoing,” she says.
“It is a personal choice and a personal journey for all who seek healing from the Pope’s messages.”
Enge is going with her 24-year-old daughter in a group of about 40 people organized through the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith.
Thousands of people will travel by bus, plane and even boat in the coming days to attend the events of the historic papal visit. Pope Francis will land in Edmonton on Sunday before heading to Quebec City on Wednesday and Iqaluit on Friday. The visit will include public and private events with an emphasis on indigenous participation.
Francis is expected to deliver an apology for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in residential schools at the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School in the community of Maskwacis, Alta.
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An estimated 150,000 indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools for a century, with the Catholic Church running about 60 percent of the institutions.
Fern Hendersen says he was confused about who he was after suffering emotional, spiritual and physical abuse at a residential school in Manitoba as a child. For much of his life, he believed it was his fault and never felt like he belonged anywhere.
He says that listening to Pope Francis will be an acknowledgment of that truth and pain.
‘A personal journey’: People traveling great distances to see @Pontifex. #PapalVisit #PapalVisit #PopeFrancisco
“I’m finally going to hear the words ‘I’m sorry’…sorry for taking away my identity, sorry for taking away my language, sorry for taking away my culture and my family,” says Hendersen, swallowing back tears.
She attends events with her sister and a group from the Sagkeeng First Nation. He expects many painful memories to come up during the long journey. But, he says, it is important to go for all the members of his family who did not live to see the day the leader of the Catholic Church recognized the damage that was done.
He also goes for his children and grandchildren “so that they can move forward in a positive way.”
Organizing trips has not been easy, as plans and funds for indigenous organizations and communities have recently begun to materialize. Many Indians, including Hendersen, learned this week if they can participate in the events.
Chief Bobby Cameron of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations has said he was deeply concerned about the lack of coordination on the visit. Many survivors don’t have the agency, money or technology to attend the pope’s visit, he said.
“Survivors had no choice as children, and now some are waiting for approval from the very systems that ripped them from their families, homes, culture and identity as children, it is absolutely ridiculous,” he said in a recent press release.
The federal government is providing $30.5 million for community-led activities, ceremonies and trips for survivors during the visit.
Despite the logistical challenges, the importance of the trip has pushed many to undertake a journey to attend.
A large group organized by the Manitoba Métis Federation has chartered buses and plans to drive for two days to get to events in Alberta.
Andrew Carrier, who is a day school survivor, says he felt silenced for years after he was sexually abused as a child by a priest. His father was also abused, Carrier says. It is a legacy that will weigh heavily on his heart as he navigates the roads across the vast prairies.
“It is very important to be heard and recognized by the Pope as part of the healing process,” says Carrier.
Carrier, like many Métis citizens of Manitoba, is Catholic. He says the papal visit will be crucial to healing him and forging paths forward with the church.
“It’s an opportunity for closure,” he says.
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee, who represents Northern First Nations in Manitoba, says that while he hopes to hear a sincere apology from Francis in Alberta, the recognition won’t make a difference for everyone.
“Healing happens differently for all of us,” Settee said in a recent press release.
“There is no one right way to heal from the generational trauma that has been inflicted on our people by the residential school system.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 21, 2022.