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The towering and historic St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Attawapiskat was destroyed in a spectacular fire on April 21, 2021. There is a lot of emotion to this tragic event and most people, including myself, don’t really know how to express it.
Our feelings are complicated by the fact that Indigenous people in Canada and North America have a very difficult history with the Catholic Church and organized religion in general. On one hand these religious missionaries taught us construction skills in building these monumental structures while on the other hand, they did their best to destroy our traditional and cultural beliefs and ways. These religious organizations, with the blessing of the government, were involved in the kidnapping of indigenous children into the residential school system which ran for many decades. My late parents Marius and Susan and many others in the community endured this difficult experience.
Lamenting loss of historic church destroyed in fire
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Lamenting loss of historic church destroyed in fire
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Lamenting loss of historic church destroyed in fire
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Article content
The towering and historic St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Attawapiskat was destroyed in a spectacular fire on April 21, 2021. There is a lot of emotion to this tragic event and most people, including myself, don’t really know how to express it.
Our feelings are complicated by the fact that Indigenous people in Canada and North America have a very difficult history with the Catholic Church and organized religion in general. On one hand these religious missionaries taught us construction skills in building these monumental structures while on the other hand, they did their best to destroy our traditional and cultural beliefs and ways. These religious organizations, with the blessing of the government, were involved in the kidnapping of indigenous children into the residential school system which ran for many decades. My late parents Marius and Susan and many others in the community endured this difficult experience.