Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

282 • Truth & Reconciliation Commissionled to family breakdown—such is the depth of this spiritual conflict. The cumulativeimpact of the residential schools was to deny First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoplestheir spiritual birthright and heritage. In our view, supporting the right of Indigenouspeoples to self-determination in spiritual matters must be a high priority in the reconciliationprocess. To be consistent with the United Nations Declaration, Indigenouspeoples, who were denied the right to practise and teach their own spiritual and religiousbeliefs and traditions, must now be able to do so freely and on their own terms. 81For many, this is not easily done.Many Survivors and their families continue to live in spiritual fear of their own traditions.Such fear is a direct result of the religious beliefs imposed on them by thosewho ran the residential schools. This long-internalized fear has spanned several generationsand is difficult to shed. It is exacerbated by the fact that Christian doctrinetoday still fails to accord full and proper respect for Indigenous spiritual belief systems.If it were the Survivors alone who faced this dilemma, one could argue that theyshould be able to resolve this for themselves in whatever way they can, including withthe assistance of trusted church allies. However, the dilemma of spiritual conflict ismore than a personal one to Survivors. It is one that extends to their children andtheir grandchildren, who, in these modern times, realize that there is much more totheir personal histories than what they have inherited from residential schools andCanadian society. They realize that each Indigenous nation also has its own historyand that such histories are part of who they are. Young First Nations, Inuit, and Métispeople today are searching for their identities, which include their own languagesand cultures.Aboriginal parents want their children raised in a community environment thatprovides all of this. However, there is often conflict within communities when thosewho have been influenced by the doctrines of the churches believe that to teachIndigenous cultural beliefs to their children is to propagate evil. There are those whocontinue to actively speak out against Indigenous spiritual beliefs and to block or prohibittheir practice. 82To have a right that you are afraid to exercise is to have no right at all. TheDeclaration asserts that governments (and other parties) now have an obligation toassist Indigenous communities to restore their own spiritual belief systems and faithpractices, where these have been damaged or subjected to spiritual violence throughpast laws, policies, and practices. No one should be told who is, or how to worship,their Creator. That is an individual choice and, for Indigenous peoples, it is also a collectiveright. However, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people need to be assured thatthey do indeed have the freedom to choose and that their choice will be respected.All religious denominations in Canada must respect this right, but the United,Anglican, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches, as parties to the Settlement Agreement,bear a particular responsibility to formally recognize Indigenous spirituality as a valid