(L-R) Lorne Green, Samson Cree Nation Elder, Chief Vernon Saddleback, Samson Cree Nation, John Crier, Samson Cree Nation Elder, and Flora Northwest, Samson Cree Nation Elder. (Samson Cree Nation)

By Sheldon Spackman

An Historic Journey

Samson Cree Nation elders hoping for healing through Pope’s upcoming visit to Maskwacis

Jul 22, 2022 | 12:24 PM

Residential school survivors from Samson Cree Nation are hoping for healing and reconciliation when Pope Francis makes a pastoral visit to Canada next week.

The Pope’s visit runs from July 24-29, 2022, with his first stop being in Alberta when he flies to Edmonton on Sunday and proceeds to Maskwacis on Monday, July 25, 2022.

The visit is expected to be a unique opportunity for the Pope to once again listen to and speak with Indigenous Peoples and to address the impact of colonization and the participation of the Catholic Church in the operation of residential schools throughout Canada.

Chief Vernon Saddleback from the Samson Cree Nation, a residential school survivor himself, says he appreciates the Pope having the courage to look at the idea that it’s time for the Catholic Church to apologize for its wrongs of the past.

“To be the head of the Catholic Church, for him to come out here and do it in person, you can’t say enough how important that is because that’s where healing begins, when you start to own up to actions,” he explains. “I’m here to support our survivors who’ve been through the traumas of residential school. We’re here to bring supports for them and be part of that healing journey.”

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“We’re hoping the Pope will see the people that we are, the people of faith that we are,” adds Saddleback. “And he will go away hopefully, knowing a bit of what reconciliation will mean to him and the church.”

John Crier, Elder from the Samson Cree Nation, says the relationship Indigenous peoples have had with the Catholic Church and federal government have been devastating. He says First Nations people wish to remain part of the land moving forward.

“We want to be able to say that we are safe in our own country,” says Crier. “There were policies and attitudes that were developed in the very beginning for the rest of Canada to be OK with the treatment that the Indigenous people received. We were quite literally demonized, labelled as savages, and all kinds of labels that made it OK for abuse and genocide and being thrown in jail to get us out of the way.”

“For myself personally,” continues Crier. “I hope the relationship changes because it really creates an opportunity to create a new and peaceful relationship, a relationship of sharing the land.”

Flora Northwest, Elder from the Samson Cree Nation, admits it’s been a journey of hope and recovery to get to this point.

“At one time I said I would never forgive my perpetrators, but I’ve been thinking about it for the last while,” she admits. “Forgiveness is very powerful. There’s a time in my life that I have to forgive. Now is the time.”

Lorne Green of the Samson Cree Nation is also a residential school survivor, and says he’s experiencing overwhelming joy with the Pope’s upcoming visit.

“For me, this is an exciting time in our history,” says Green. “Yes, reconciliation between the church and the state is good, but what’s more important and more meaningful for me, is reconciliation with ourselves and reconciliation with our loved ones. That’s what’s going to move us forward.”

For more information on the Pope’s visit to Canada, visit www.papalvisit.ca.