A wave of church arsons has hit Canada in what is believed to be direct retaliation to the discovery of over a thousand bodies of indigenous children in unmarked graves. The graves were all located on the sites of former residential schools, many of which were run by the Catholic Church.
The grisly discoveries have shocked Canada, made headlines around the world, and pulled back the curtain on the country's dark history of indigenous "re-education."
Between the 1870s and 1990s, Canada sent 150,000 indigenous children to residential schools around the country in an effort to fix what the Canadian government called “the Indian problem.” Scores of children were torn from their homes and sent to these schools where they were beaten for speaking their native languages and often malnourished and abused sexually in what Canada now officially recognizes as “cultural genocide.”
Now, with more than a dozen Christian churches set ablaze in the month since revelations came to light, it seems apparent that the perpetrators are trying to take justice into their own hands.
Some don't think that's such a bad thing. Harsha Walia, Executive Director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, tweeted "Burn it all down" in response to the arson reports. That message was heavily criticized and was later deleted.
Fires "Not in Solidarity"
However, indigenous leaders see things differently. They have a message for the arsonist(s): Please stop.
“Burning down churches is not in solidarity with us indigenous people. As I said we do not destroy people's places of worship,” said assistant minister at Living Waters Church, Jenn Allan-Riley. “We're concerned about the burning and defacing of churches bringing more strife, depression and anxiety to those already in pain and mourning."
Lower Similkameen Indian Band Chief Keith Crow mourned the loss of two churches in his community in British Columbia's southern Interior. "I'm angry," he said. "I don't see any positive coming from this and it's going to be tough."
Some of the fires have even been at Catholic churches on indigenous land.
There’s a lot of anger and hurt in our community, from the residential school survivors and elders,” said chief of the Penticton Indian Band, Greg Gabriel. His house of worship, Sacred Heart Church, was targeted by the arsonist. He says the act only magnified the pain the community is feeling.
“A lot of families, including my own, had events like funerals, marriages and baptisms in that church. Elders were attached to the church and some feel hurt by its loss.”
It's worth noting that not all of the destruction has come in the form of fire – some of this anger was channeled into other types of vandalism. At least 10 churches were covered in red paint to represent the blood of the victims.
Harming, Not Healing
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pleading with the arsonists to cease their campaign of destruction.
“I have repeatedly over the past weeks and indeed months, condemned the attacks on religious institutions and over the past weeks condemned the burning of Catholic churches. That is simply not right,” he said. “It is a shame and, indeed, it is something that is going to prevent people who will seek solace in times of grief from being able to visit their own places of worship.”
It seems clear the fires are only creating more heartbreak for already devastated communities.
And yet, some activists point out that given the horrible nature of the unearthed crimes, it's only understandable that frustration would boil over into violence.
The Catholic Church has yet to issue a formal apology, despite repeated requests from indigenous leaders and the Canadian government.
What is your reaction?
57 comments
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Nicholas J Page
WTF sorry for blasphemy but why are people burning churches.Its God's house for heaven's sake.What right do these morons have to do this What if someone set fire to your property how would you feel then You would be homeless for a start and then what would you achieve? Nothing It's time people grew up.We have all done bad things especially me Which I'm not proud of.Repent your sins.Before it is too late.I have seen house's on fire and a big department store People left with just their clothes they stand up in.Arsonists forgive yourselves then God will forgive you.Wake up before it's too late and all our places of worship are no more
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Ilmenheru Terikson
You can take your gawd of genocide and go frell right off over a cliff. The cults to the vile gawd of Abraham have planted the seeds that have matured into these actions with their countless atrocities over the centuries.
Even now the tribal peoples of the americas hover at the edge of cultural oblivion becuase of the genoicde that has been carried out nonstop, it still goes on to this very day. The treaties that are suppose to be the highest law in the nation broken time and time again by the government whenever they feel like it.
As long as christians feel they have the right to push their faith upon others, to send missionaries into the lives of those that are better off never being infected by the faith to an enemy of all mankind.
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Rev Mark D
Absolutely, Ilmenheru, absolutely.
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Donald G Magel
Amen brother.
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Matthew Mastrogiovanni
Nicholas J Page, those are not my God's houses. Christians burned down the temples to my Gods, ages ago. How does it feel? "I am who I am", is getting what he deserves.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Bravo, Mastrogiavonni! Tell him about it. I could give you a half Italian kiss on the cheek for that!
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Nevertheless, it's still best to start our positive affirmations with "I am". I don't know why that is. Maybe it's folk magic. But it does work that way. It's definitely not Christian or Judaic though. However, there can be great power in words, when spoken the right way, and in many cases repeated numerous times, such as in chants.
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Andrew Clendenning
They are burning church’s because know one in Canada ever research’s anything on there own the listen to MSM and never think maybe ground penetrating radar may not be telling the hole truth. Justin Trudeaus father and mother ran these Rez schools and we must remember this in contexts to what is happing in Canada right now (freedoms stolen government censering internet) and it leaves a lot of questions unanswered. but a small group of individuals that watch MSM and feel white guilt and dont think that maybe what the government is doing is creating a problem so non of us see how corrupt and the criminal the Canadian political and justice system really is while tearing our country and as a Canadian I ask all to please pray for canada we need every bit of help we can get to route out this evil that is plaguing our great country my god help us all
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Don't worry, Nicholas. It's not the church of England! We got rid of all that hundreds of years ago, when we kicked those limies all the way back to England.
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David Arthur Lewis
I can't blame people for being angry at the church officials. But church buildings are an integral part of the infrastructure of all rural communities. An attack on a church is an attack on the people, not the abusers.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I lived in a rural community for four years, and never went to church, nor did by far most of my acquaintances and associates. We mostly hung out in coffee houses, where we mostly talked about politics and sports, played chess, drank coffee, and ate things like cheesecake, muffins, and whatever else they offered. The subject of religion didn't come up more than once a month, and never lasted long, for those who spoke of it had conflicting views, and the rest of our group didn't want to hear about it at all. I suppose it's easy for someone to say church is an integral part of life in rural communities, and maybe it was so for him, while living out in the boondocks, but give us a break man! It's not like that with all or most of the people who live in rural communities. We're not only talking about little, hick towns. The rural community I lived in ten years ago had a population of three hundred thousand, and Monday through Friday I heard estimates that there were atleast five hundred cars in that city called Lexington, Kentucky. And one out of five of it's residents atleast had a bachelor's degree. It was also estimated that one-third of the population was gay (and climbing). All of those things I've spoken of are well documented. Yet, Lexington is definitely considered a rural community, with not nearly enough church buildings to contain all those people, even though they did have their fair share.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
If they'd quit building churches, and blatantly identifying them as such, there wouldn't be anything to burn down. We learned in Wicca (the old religion), many centuries ago, that all we needed was a clearing of atleast ten feet in diameter, to cast a circle, to have our rituals. And if you aren't practicing as a solitairy, the perfect number of Witches at a ritual is thirteen. The christians should have learned that through Jesus and his twelve apostles, which made thirteen in all, and they also weren't usually in buildings. And it's better to hold rituals in open areas, with the moon and stars above. When will those christians learn?
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Linda weeks
The residential school program in the US and Canada was part of the government-sanctioned program of genocide against the Native people of both countries. If it is Natives that are burning the churches. I understand. Here in the US the government, it’s agencies, schools and churches are all infamous for their racism. It was not only the Catholic Church that had residential schools. Presbyterians did, Mormons did, other groups as well. It is time to recognize the atrocities done by the government genocide against Native people. We need to support Native people in their journey to healing!
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Ann
The natives are begging people to stop burning their churches and to stop blaming them for doing it.
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CB Cuff
There is much to be said about this chain of 'events' over the past few months, and cautious comments are in order. The opening paragraph in this article is inferring what is mostly speculative at this stage of the investigations. Some of it is the language and some of it is in the known facts. There were no bodies discovered, anywhere, only 'remains'. It is not known how many are Aboriginal. All the gravesites were not 'discovered' on residential school grounds, most ajacent to the properties. Not all the administration was held by the Catholic church, some were Babtist and Anglican. Canada (government) has not officially called it cultural genocide, nor likely will anytime soon. On a personal note, I, like many other Canadians are offendd by the government's response to this by offering up cheques to compensate for the loss families have suffered over several decades. On a sliding scale to boot! How do you assess the monitary value of one person over another. It's shameful to say the least.
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Peggyann Johnson-Hansen
Compensation for the loss of human life remains impossible to value as each human in humanity remains priceless. No individual or government can assess the value of a human life without devaluing his or her own life in the process. Similar occurrences played out in the Phoenix area historically. The Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona has documentation of these same events played out by Christian missionaries in an effort to "Christianize" indigenous, "savages" tribes. (Their words at the time. Not mine). These missionaries removed indigenous children as young as four and sent them to their school in Phoenix, which was located in the New Mexico territory, which is now Arizona. Rarely were parents informed if his or her child's death while attending this school. As in Canada the children were dressed as the missionaries, their hair was cut, they could not speak his or her native tongue, and for the most part these children were trained to take servitude positions in adulthood never returning to his or her tribe.. Some of these children returned to his or her tribes, however, theses children no longer fit in either environment the emotional and mental damage was staggering. Canada and the USA need to spend compensation funds on Education, which will teach the truths of these events so they never occur again within any segment of humanity.
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Father Matthew
I am not so outraged by the arsons when I think of the terror experienced by children torn from their parents and beaten by strangers and killed. Just when a child needs love these children were terrorized and abused. This is simply a horror on par with the Holocaust perpetrated on the Jews. As always the Catholic church has to be shamed into an apology. At this point other avenues of shaming than arson should be pursued.
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arawngraalrd
In Europe, Church Burnings are attributed to Pagan Mohammedans, but these look to be the work of Social Workers, who want to help the Oppressed to express their Anger.
"Stand up for all victims of Oppression..."
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Krystina S.
Is it so difficult to apologize for the suffering created by these "Christian" denominations? Apparently so. Shame on them. I cannot imagine the pain indigenous people have suffered. My children have Chickasaw blood, but ALL human beings should weep at these incredible cruelties and injustices. So much worse that they have been perpetrated under the aegis of so-called Religious people and institutions. We should ALL be horrified and outraged. While burning Christian churches is wrong on the face of it, we must remember that these indigenous people were FORCED to become Christian, which later became the norm. I personally can understand the intensity of the emotions and the reopening of the personal and cultural wounds that these unearthed human remains create. Given the "superiority" hubris, the lack of acknowledgement or contrition, as well as the ongoing and neverending bigotry and injustice, what must be done for this genocide and cultural genocide and racism to be recognized, apologized for, and...ended??? While wrong to burn Christian churches, I can certainly empathize with the desperation of the people who would do this.
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Rev Mark D
Genocide is the word alright.
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Gordon DS Smith
While I cannot condone the burni G of the churches, as part indiginous, I certainly understand it. I am disgusted by the discovery of the children and ashamed of my country for what it has done. Calling it the " Indian Problem" sounds so similar to another genocide. I believe that was called the "Jewish Problem". How horrible of Csnada to be allergic to be vompared to that. Rest in place little ones and may the survivors find place.
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Matthew Mastrogiovanni
Christians wiped out ever church in their path: the Asatru, the Strega, and the Druids and once they were done in Europe they did the same in North/Central/South America.
It's Karma baby, turnabout is fair play.
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Father Frederick
So basically they are saying two wrongs make a right?
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Two wrongs of the same caliber, from opposing forces Frederick, is called leveling the playing field. There's nothing wrong with helping the universe induce karmic retribution. The universe will be balanced.
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Alexander Clarke
The root of most evil begins with religious teachings. Every religion is based on controlling what you think, say and do. The function only by control and by separating you from your money. One can have faith without belonging to an organized religion. God does not need your money. Every religion teaches that "their way is the only way" and all others are wrong.
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John Anderson
Not every religion teaches that, but the big monotheistic ones DEFINITELY do, which is why, even though they all worship the same deity under different names, they just cannot get along with each other now. This wasn't always the case, but its been true for over a millennium.
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Ilmenheru Terikson
This is simply not true and something commonly said by those who still to some extent bend knee to the gawd of Abraham.
For example to even suggest that people who practice Hinduism worship the same being as those who worship Abraham's gawd is to truly belittle and insult a faith far older, and a god that unlike Yaweh has no apparent precursor faiths amalgamized to create it.
Yaweh and the entire cult sprung up to that gawd started by a bunch of inbred goat herders cant even begin to claim the same kind of history and substance of the far far older Indian faith.
This is even more so the case for those who embrace modern spiritualism, or just create their own, which is in fact the most proper thing for each citizen in the U.S. to do, as nothing truly proves one to embrace the ideal of freedom from the old cults then to create your own personal spirtual code to abide by free from others telling you what is the divine truth.
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John Norris Campbell
Every Communist dictatorship throughout history is also based on controling what you think, say and do. Look at modern day China, or the recent struggles in Cuba...any people voicing their political dissent are rounded up and shot, or imprisoned. The root of most evil begins with corrupt HUMANS and religion is simply man's idea of what pleases their god.
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Clifford
Maybe they should burn them down themselves? Considering the many lives they’ve destroyed with fire and brimstone. Throughout the centuries.
And the separation from the true divine they have caused.
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Rev Mark D
What the heck is wrong with the Catholic Church? Once again, and see the recent story (WP or NYT or BBC, this weekend, don't recall the publication) about the sex abuser protected right in the Vatican by the highest of the prelates for years and years and years praying on the other boys and then finally made a priest, ordained in the Pope's presence in 2018? And then ever since it came out, those very same top bishops continue to say nothing wrong happened and there was never any evidence and they don't believe it ever happened, even while they personally sponsored him and then investigated officially several times.
And now, not a word. Just what is the problem with these inhuman Catholic Church top clergy? Psychopaths.
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Linda weeks
It was not only the Catholic Church that participated in the residential school system, Presbyterian, LDS and others did as well. They are all responsible!
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I don't care, Linda. Let's all get together, and torch the Vatican anyway!!! Catholicism came before the rest of them.
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Charles Richard Bezio
How can anyone claim to be a Christian doing God’s work by destroying a house of worship?
Pray for these misguided soul.
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Clifford
So your asking God not to burn down false temples?
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Since when did christians start doing God's work, Charles? I thought it was all lip service, to get brownie points.
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Lionheart
Perhaps more to the point, how can anyone claim to be Christian and believe all that superstitious blackmailing nonsense?
🦁❤️
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Ealdormon Piparskeggr Robinson
I have found a 4th great grandmother who was Canadian Mohawk and 6th who was Canadian Cree. Their French-Canadian husbands worked for fur trade companies.
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David Arthur Lewis
Well aren't you precious!
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John Norris Campbell
Look up the 17th-century Iroquois Wars...aka as the beaver wars...seems your Grandma's were enemies resulting in the permanent dispersal or outright destruction of several First Nations in the Eastern Woodlands...Indian on Indian genocide...and yet all the tribes wanted to trade with the french, leaving many of those fur traders with the belief that "those indians are crazy"
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Peggyann Johnson-Hansen
I understand the anger and long simmering frustration of all indigenous people within the North American Continent, where the taking of children for conversion into various spiritual communities was acceptable by local and national governments in history, past, present, and unfortunately future events. It seems it always falls to that one community, spiritual or secular, who deems their rightness of negative ideals or behaviors against the human dignity of all humanity-based solely on his or her belief systems. These behaviors also occur when one community remains greater than another either in power, money, or social influence. With little knowledge of North American indigenous history, one would desire knowledge if this same or similar history occurred between the various indigenous tribes before North America was invaded and overcome by the various groups of European cultures and missionaries? Did indigenous tribes take members of another tribe into captivity and demanding his or her conformity to the beliefs and customs of his or her community? How many died in servitude? The burning of the churches may appear to "take revenge", however, the building itself is only a building. The creation of earthly doctrines and beliefs occurred through human interpretations of belief systems created and adhered to by earthly humanity, whether these individuals were indigenous in any section of the world. The nature of humanity is to “belong” and in “belonging” those who are in leadership of these communities seek power, entitlement, riches, and control over his or her community and eventually over larger numbers of humanity. The use of holy texts, cultural adherences, battle defeat, or the belief that all humanity should conform to his or her demands and beliefs is the cause of the horrible behaviors related to the taking of indigenous children from there families.
In the process the expressions of superiority over these children, their families, and the rooting out of his or her natural cultural heritage remains over-looked as inhumane and rationalized as acceptable behavior. Therefore, the burning or defacing of buildings remains an accelerant. The heart of the issue will always remain the choice of the human individual to choose a narrow view of the value of humanity instead of the commonality of humanity, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12). (The Golden Rules)-
Ilmenheru Terikson
Due to the cultural genoicde practiced by the eurochristian invaders, little history of the tribes prior to the ivnasion exists. Your questions are not just obvious whataboutism, but are clearly asked in the spirit of willfull ignorance of that well documented fact.
Nothing that was done between the tribes is relevant to the world wide atrocities of the chrisitians. Everyone who ever chooses to follow that faith will also carry every single atrocity committed in the name of that faith upon their hands and their souls.
The only way to truly be free of those sins, is to denounce your faith and condemn its gawd and history completely.
Until the faith to that vile being the gawd of Abraham is completely in the past, and not one living person worships it, then none who have suffered or had ancestors who suffered at the hands of the church need do other then treat those in its ranks as the most evil of souls on this world.
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Rev Mark D
Wasn't just cultural genocide, it was actual.
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John D. Partin
Ilmenheru Terikson, it is rightfully called Islamophobia when all Muslims are blamed and hated for the actions and thinking of a few terrorists and the lunatic fringe of Islam, but that isn't followed suit when you and others commit Christophobia or Christianophobia and blame Christ or all Christians for the actions of a few of them or Deiphobia when God is blamed for all actions committed by any people who merely say that they "believe in God". If someone says in a newspaper or tabloid that Ilmenheru Terikson said something or told them to do something, even if you didn't say it, should we all, by your standard of believing whatever is ascribed God to have come out of His mouth, also believe that you actually said or told them to do that thing ---- because, of course, "they couldn't say it if it weren't true, now could they?". Only love is actually from God and so if it isn't love, it isn't from God, even when it's in the Bible. How is it any less gullible to believe everything that is ascribed to God than it would be to believe whatever anyone says about you or anyone else? Why shouldn't God be done unto as you and other people would want others to do unto you and them, and not have every word that is put into His mouth or action ascribed to Him accepted as actually coming from Him? The Golden Rule applies to God, too. God isn't going to stop people from lying about Him, anymore than He will stop them from doing any other wrong thing, because that would just be His making that decision for them, instead of their deciding not to do so, and would be violating their free will. He is what He is, despite the lies that are told about Him, just as you are what you are, despite the lies that are told about you, and can no more waste His time going around correcting people's lies and misconceptions about Him than you or other people can waste your time correcting the lies and misconceptions about all of you. That is the single standard of doing by God what we want done for ourselves, instead of the double standard of doing differently for God than we want done for ourselves. It is your unforgiveness and hard heartedness that keep you from seeing and admitting to that. Or, as the song very familiarly puts it, "What if God were one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Just a stranger on the bus, trying to make his way home?".
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Clifford
Because its not, nor ever has been the true house or temple perhaps?
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Peggyann Johnson-Hansen
I understand the anger and long simmering frustration of all indigenous people within the North American Continent, where the taking of children for conversion into various spiritual communities was acceptable by local and national governments in history, past, present, and unfortunately future events. It seems it always falls to that one community, spiritual or secular, who deems their rightness of negative ideals or behaviors against the human dignity of all humanity-based solely on his or her belief systems. These behaviors also occur when one community remains greater than another either in power, money, or social influence. With little knowledge of North American indigenous history, one would desire knowledge if this same or similar history occurred between the various indigenous tribes before North America was invaded and overcome by the various groups of European cultures and missionaries? Did indigenous tribes take members of another tribe into captivity and demanding his or her conformity to the beliefs and customs of his or her community? How many died in servitude? The burning of the churches may appear to "take revenge", however, the building itself is only a building. The creation of earthly doctrines and beliefs occurred through human interpretations of belief systems created and adhered to by earthly humanity, whether these individuals were indigenous in any section of the world. The nature of humanity is to “belong” and in “belonging” those who are in leadership of these communities seek power, entitlement, riches, and control over his or her community and eventually over larger numbers of humanity. The use of holy texts, cultural adherences, battle defeat, or the belief that all humanity should conform to his or her demands and beliefs is the cause of the horrible behaviors related to the taking of indigenous children from there families.
In the process the expressions of superiority over these children, their families, and the rooting out of his or her natural cultural heritage remains over-looked as inhumane and rationalized as acceptable behavior. Therefore, the burning or defacing of buildings remains an accelerant. The heart of the issue will always remain the choice of the human individual to choose a narrow view of the value of humanity instead of the commonality of humanity, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12). (The Golden Rules).
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I hope by the time of my next incarnation, no doubt again as a Witch, there won't be any goddam, worthless christian churches left in this world. Whether they're burned down, torn down, or blown down doesn't make any difference to me, but I just know that the world would be a much better place without them. It's so much better to go see a movie, or even hang out in a bar, etc. There are many things better to do than go watch an asshole preach at a church.
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Shalandra Martin
As a mixed native I see no problem with this at all!! BURN THEM ALL TO THE GROUND!!! Most have been built on sacred or ceremonial grounds in an effort to suppress the old native practices and force submission and assimilation. The cleansing is just beginning!!!
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CB Cuff
You've made nothing more than assumptions, unless of course you know it's was Aboriginals that burnt all these churches down....? And revenge, as you're suggesting does not equate into 'healing'.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Since Native Americans didn't start out having religious ceremonies and rituals indoors (except for sweat lodges), or by their own desire, now that there is much more religious freedom in North America, maybe this is a call to get back to their roots. Maybe even the spirits of their ancestors played a part in the destruction of those evil Christian structures.
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Ann
Humans have been doing horrible things to children forever. We've known about the atrocities to the Native children for years and the horror hasn't lessoned with time. What we are doing now is politicising what was done to those children which is just adding more horror. Not agreeing with someone elses religious or spiritual beliefs does not give us the right to attack them for it.
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Rev Mark D
Then what does it give us the right to, Ann? What?
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Ann
Is attack the only way you see to make things better? More violence? More anger? More hate? Ya, that works.
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Rev Mark D
Christians, whatever happened to Thou Shalt Not Murder?
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
Well, nobody's perfect, Mark.
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Philip Joseph Ryan
It's rather hypocritical of Americans to judge, considering their genocide of Native Americans, as well as their treatment of black people, over the centuries. It is also peculiar that people are getting outraged by historical incidents; what is happening now is what matters, not what happened to people you have no connection with. Burning down churches does not help matters, nor does it help that the Catholic Church, once again, has been found out to have presided over a culture of vengeance and punishment. This kind of thing has happened in Ireland, but no-one there was stupid enough to commit arson. There needs to be secular laws, that control and limit, the powers of organised religion, so that they cannot abuse the people who believe in them.
You ARE the Temple. Burn them all down..
Let's all get together, and torch the Vatican!!!