Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to release names of residential school priests

An Every Child Matters Flag flies during a powwow at James Smith Cree Nation, Sask., on Friday, September 1, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu

OTTAWA — The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation says it will soon release the names of 140 priests or brothers who worked in residential schools.

Along with their names, the centre said in a media release it will also post online their personnel files and the names of the schools where they served.

“These personnel files supply a human measure to a story that is too often only institutional. Until now, these records were dispersed in many unique repositories across Turtle Island,” said Raymond Frogner, the head of archives and senior director of research at the centre.

“We are creating a central source to examine, understand and heal from one of the longest serving and least understood colonial social programs in the history of the country.”

The list was developed with the Oblates of OMI Lacombe Canada, which the centre says played a “fundamental role in Canada’s residential school system.”

The centre said the records are a “vital” resource for families and communities as they research survivors and those who never made it home. It said the names of the priests and brothers will be “updated on an ongoing basis.”

Rev. Ken Thorson of OMI Lacombe Canada said the organization is “deeply grateful for the work of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to memorialize the experiences of residential school survivors.

“We recognize that this is only one part of a long and painful journey, and we remain committed to continuing this important work in partnership with the NCTR.”

More than 150,000 children were forced to attend church-run, federally-funded residential schools, and many survivors detailed the horrific abuse they suffered there to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

An estimated 6,000 children died while attending the schools, although experts say the actual number could be much higher.

“Many communities continue to struggle with the difficult legacy of these schools. Knowledge, honouring the truth, is the first step to overcoming the difficult childhood experiences suffered in these institutions,” said Harry Bone, who serves as the elder-in-residence for the centre.

“We can use these records to better understand our experiences at these schools, to heal, to build relationships of love and respect, free of colonial judgment.”

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press