This subseries contains material concerning the Indian Residential Schools Settlement, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Moving Forward Together Campaign, and the efforts of the Sisters of St. Joseph of London to support Indigenous peoples. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was a class-action lawsuit to recognize the damage done at residential schools and compensate those who were forcibly enrolled in the Canadian Indian Residential School System. As part of the settlement, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to document the history and impact of residential schools.
This subseries includes correspondence, articles, and applications. There is correspondence concerning the Sisters of St. Joseph of London joining the Moving Forward Together Campaign, a non-profit that sought to support Indigenous peoples’ healing and education. There is also correspondence concerning donations given by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph to agencies (primarily in Ontario, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories) which work with Indigenous peoples. There are letters of endorsement for Sister Mary Jo Fox, Sister Dianne Naud, and Father Jean Pochat from their missions in the Northwest Territories.
There is correspondence, newsletters, and a proposal for statement gathering related to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Church’s commitment to the Residential School Settlement. There is discussion of how religious entities not named in the settlement may investigate doing “in-kind” services to contribute to reconciliation efforts. There are also guidelines on and four “in-kind” applications to the Catholic Healing and Reconciliation Service Evaluation Committee (CHRSEC). One application is blank, one is for the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London, and two applications are for the Sisters of Providence of Western Canada.
Much of this series comprises the August 23, 2010 “Legal Formation” by Jacques L’Heureux of Les Missionaries Oblats de Marie Immaculée, a compilation of material intended to summarize the status of the settlement. There is a letter to Justice Murray Sinclair, Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission from Jacques L’Heureux detailing his opinions on his order’s involvement at residential schools and their truth and reconciliation efforts. There is also a statement from Most Rev. Gerard Pettipas, Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan, on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Bishop Pettipas was the Chair of the Board for the Corporation of Catholic Entities Party to the Indian Residential School Settlement. There is also correspondence from Bishop Pettipas to Dan Ish, Chief Adjudicator of the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat, concerning the 2009 Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. Along with this correspondence are informational materials related to said report and the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat, particularly its Independent Assessment Process which was a claimant-centered out of court process for the wrongful acts suffered at residential schools. There are also various articles about residential school survivors, the Church’s involvement with residential schools, and the efforts of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.