This month’s visit to the Vatican by Indigenous delegations postponed

Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald announced the postponement of the much-anticipated meeting between representatives of First Nations, Métis and Inuit with Pope Francis at the Vatican before the official announcement came.

“(It) now has been postponed out of concerns over the threat of the new COVID-19 variant. The health and wellbeing of our delegation and their families and communities is paramount to us and we will not put anyone in harms way if we can help it,” said Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief RoseAnne Archibald.

Acrhibald made the announcement this morning as part of her opening remarks for the AFN’s annual general assembly. She made her address from Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation.

The official announcement came a few hours later in a joint statement released by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and national Indigenous organizations.

“The decision to postpone was a heartbreaking one, made after careful consultation with delegates, family members, community leaders, public health officials and the leadership of each of the three National Indigenous Organizations," said the statement.

The trip had been planned for the week of Dec. 14 and would have seen representatives from the AFN (13 delegates), the Métis National Council (eight delegates), and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (seven delegates) each granted one hour audiences with the Pope.

No announcement has been made for when the meeting will be rescheduled.

Archibald said that the AFN was calling on the Catholic Church to make a number of reparations now.

Those actions include returning diocese lands and properties to the First Nations on whose traditional lands they are situated and an investment in long term healing initiatives that went beyond the commitment of $30 million which was announced in September by the church.

“Over 100 years of church efforts have resulted in the destruction of the social fabric of First Nations and now equal time, energy and resources must be made available to rebuild our children’s lives, our families and our communities,” said Archibald.

Archibald added her name to former national chiefs who have called on the Catholic Church to denounce the 1493 Doctrine of Discovery.

She said it needed to be replaced with a paper that “decrees that Indigenous peoples and cultures are valuable, worthy and must be treated with dignity and respect.”

Prior to the scheduled visit to the Vatican, the Pope had committed to coming to Canada and the hope had been that he would issue an apology.

 “Like many of you we are looking forward to meeting Pope Francis on the traditional land here on Turtle Island when he does decide to come and visit us,” said Archibald.

There had been no decision made as to where Pope Francis would visit, but Kukpi7 Roseanne Casimir of Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, one of the delegates for the First Nations delegation, had said she wanted him to come to her community.

In May, 215 unmarked graves of children were uncovered at the former Kamloops residential school site.

That uncovering, said Archibald, drew the attention of Canadians and the rest of the world.

Local Journalism Initiative Reporters are supported by a financial contribution made by the Government of Canada.