We knew the graves were there

Indigenous Boarding Schools and the Responsibility We Inherit Patty Krawec In late May, the uncovering of a mass grave containing the remains of 215 children on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, shook Canadians, and indeed, the world. One month later, 751 unmarked graves were located at a school outside Marieval, Saskatchewan. And we know these cases are just the beginning. Stories of mass graves have circulated for decades, both in Canada and the United States, and on June 22, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced an investigation into these institutions. […] Indigenous people knew the graves were there. Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which ended in 2015, contained a large section on unmarked graves. Survivors in Canada and the United States talked about these mass graves, but people didn’t hear them, so when the graves were uncovered, people were shaken. But that level of emotional intensity is hard to maintain. The emotions the news elicits are painful — so after the speeches and the promises, equilibrium is restored and things go back to normal. Business as usual. Christians who are part of the dominant culture often feel bad or guilty, but they don't know what to do; in that paralysis, they retreat to what they know: thoughts and prayers. They resolve to be better people without grappling with the structures in their society or the theology that allowed those injustices to occur in the first place. Equilibrium is maintained. While many white Christians may distance themselves from the overt racism of white supremacists, they neglect to consider that the world Christian nationalists are working toward is one in which they themselves will be safe. Boarding schools — along with the entire structure of our churches, government, policing, and military — combine to create a particular world. White Christians are safe in that world; by disavowing and distancing themselves from the Christian Right, they are neglecting their relationship to it. READ THE FULL ARTICLE Forward Share

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