King Charles III should take responsibility for the Crown’s role in residential schools: Grand Chief
Global News
'A huge statement from King Charles would be to revoke the doctrine of discovery, which is the basis of all of the genocide,' said Wolastoqewi Grand Chief Ron Tremblay.
The accession of King Charles III to the throne is being viewed by some Indigenous people in Canada as an opportunity for the Crown to right historic wrongs.
The Crown has played a role in the negotiation of treaties and the forming of the residential school system, the intergenerational trauma of which is still being felt today. Wolastoqewi Grand Chief, Ron Tremblay, says it is time for the monarch to take responsibility.
Tremblay, his siblings and parents all suffered abuse at the hands of the Crown, as they all attended residential day school.
“What would be a major or a huge statement from King Charles would be to revoke the doctrine of discovery, which is the basis of all of the genocide that occurred here in our homeland. And that would be a first step of us building a new relationship with the Crown,” says Tremblay.
“It (the doctrine of discovery) was quite an old document, but … there’s been many, many times that our our traditional leaders have called upon the Pope and called upon even Queen Elizabeth at the time to revoke the doctrine of discovery. And they have not responded.”
He says he hopes King Charles will be open to conversations with traditional Indigenous leaders and grandmothers across the country and that moving forward, a relationship is developed based in acknowledgment and truth.
“Our people have tried to bring forward the truth, even to those little graves were found. A couple of years ago, our people were talking about this, that there was graveyards within these residential schools. And, you know, and we’ve been saying this for many, many, many centuries, and people would not believe us until they eventually found those graves,” he said.
“What we’re actually trying to bring forward (is) the truth of of what really occurred here in our homeland.”
