A False Claim

When I read Regina Munch’s article “The Way You Let Go” (June), I was stunned to see repeated the claim that “the remains of 215 children were found on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.” Not only was this story highly implausible when it first broke, but the local tribe has walked back incrementally on the allegations several times, as there is no evidence of children’s remains there nor any historic plausibility to the claim. Mainstream Canadian media such as The Globe and Mail and the National Post have acknowledged the truth of false claims there and elsewhere with the former apologizing recently for the lack of reporting integrity in their ongoing handling of this bizarre tale. The really sad part for those of us who actually care about reconciliation with our Indigenous brothers and sisters is that the false claims there and regarding other residential schools have set back the healing process significantly.   

Greg Aikins
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Regina Munch responds:

Thanks to Greg Aikins for his letter. He is correct that I made a mistake: remains were not found. It would have been accurate to say that in 2021, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced that a research team had found 215 suspected graves using ground-penetrating radar. Since then, the tribe has revised its language to describe the sites as “anomalies.” Five years later, excavation of the sites has not occurred. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, “Whether or not to dig at former residential school sites has been controversial, as some survivors want human remains left undisturbed, while others feel exhumation could help lay victims properly to rest and offer some closure.”

I disagree with Aikins that the allegation is “highly implausible,” that there is “no evidence of children’s remains there,” or that there is no “historic plausibility to the claim.” The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) estimates that, based on death records, about 4,100 Indigenous children died at Canadian residential schools, but the number could be much higher; as I wrote in the article, some children did not return home from schools, and there is no record of what happened to them. According to the NCTR, at least fifty-one children died at the Kamloops school.

Unforgivable

Thank you to Regina Munch for her report of the Lac du Flambeau Tribe and the repatriation of land owned by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. I have owned land near the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe (“Short Ears”) of the Lake Superior Ojibwe, east of Lac du Flambeau. I have watched the Short Ears struggle to survive and thrive over my lifetime after losing much of their lake. That lake, the Chippewa Flowage, was originally created when the two forks of the Chippewa River were dammed by the Winter Dam in the early twentieth century against the tribe’s wishes. The dam flooded sacred Short Ears land once covered with tall pines cut by lumber barons.

I drive through the reservation often, past a chapel, the new clinic, schools, and college. And yes, the casino and lodge is part of the economy. I think of the horror of the Indian residential schools. Will God ever absolve us? Those sacrileges are just a small part of our negative heritage on this 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I will never absolve that production of trash in front of our White House.

Thomas Chisholm
White Bear Lake, Minn.

An All-Inclusive Spirit

I found Daniele G. Palmer’s review of Anton Jäger’s book Hyperpolitics (“A Crisis of Belonging,” June) to be thought-provoking, and would like to add my perspective on Gospel nonviolence and agape (unconditional love) to the discussion. I believe the practices that make social cohesion possible and voluntary organizations durable, that counter the “decomposition of trust—in institutions as well as in each other,” may be found in the disciplined nonviolence of Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi’s application of Satyagraha (soul and “truth force”) to his struggle for just conflict resolution was crucial. The fifth principle of Kingian nonviolence states that “we forsake violence of the heart and mind as well as forsake violent behavior. We must be at peace with ourselves for our nonviolent behavior to be truly effective.” In the context of Dr. King’s “Beloved Community,” Gandhi’s imperative to individual moral commitment makes sense in the development of trust between individuals.

The second principle of Kingian nonviolence states that “the Beloved Community is our framework” for practice: “We must have an all-inclusive spirit that welcomes all people and excludes no one.” This would be the intuition behind synodality that Mr. Palmer identifies. Altruistic commitment to agape, practically displayed via communal efforts to effect nonviolent conflict resolution, would strengthen that trust. These are “habits of cooperation, forms of mutual recognition,” that develop “a sense that one’s fate is bound up with others.” Lamentably, we live in an age that celebrates cruelty and corruption. As a response, our moral commitments to one another and our democratic institutions are crucial. Essentially, Gospel nonviolence and agape are fundamental to Christian kerygma. The Sermon on the Mount bears this out: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. I submit that truly living the Gospel makes a significant contribution to “reconstruct, at a more basic level, the bonds that hold people to one another.”

Br. Jeff Mason, OFS
Davenport, Iowa

Minds at Work

I was delighted to see Ken Woodward’s article about Robert Coles (“Beyond Couch and Clinic,” July/August). Coles was a guru for my early studies when I was teaching three courses in child development. I also know Woodward from courses at Lumen Christi and his debate with Melanie Barrett. His written work led me to think differently, especially about politics.

I’ve thought about Robert Coles because of his work, too. I never met him, but found his work tying theory to experience so important for everything a child does. My classes included Erikson, Freud, and Piaget. I was influenced by Dorothy Day, Walker Percy, probably every Jesuit, and most of the others mentioned. I was mesmerized by how they thought and wrote. I felt so validated by what they said, and my three sons would agree. They would laugh at my joy in teaching, especially when I would ask them if they were still in the sensorimotor stage or if they had progressed to a more sophisticated level. We enjoyed being in cognitive development, and I explained I was still working on mine.

In the book Children of Crisis, I felt, as Woodward said, “the difference was that, unlike Freud’s, [Coles’s] was a mind marinated in the Bible.” When I taught undergraduates and graduate students at a Catholic university, I used Coles’s words and thoughts in class. His interviews were beyond reproach. The attitude he portrayed was different from previous eras: he had a very positive attitude and let it be known in literature and books. I am grateful for this article’s understanding of Coles and his work.

Dr. Eileen Quinn Knight, PhD
Professor Emerita, St. Xavier University
Chicago, Ill.