'No sign of life' at crash site of helicopter carrying Iran's president
Rescuers on Monday found a helicopter that was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, which had crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran the day before.
A chief and residential school survivor says he will be looking for justice and healing when he leads the Assembly of First Nations delegation to meet with Pope Francis next month at the Vatican.
“We do this to seek true reconciliation,” Norman Yakeleya, Assembly of First Nations regional chief for the Northwest Territories, said Thursday.
“We pray to God, we pray that the Holy Father will do the right thing.”
On Thursday, the AFN announced 13 delegates, including Yakeleya, will be going to the Vatican from Dec. 14 to 21. Those chosen represent First Nations across the country and include residential school survivors and two youth delegates.
Wilton Littlechild from Alberta, who was a commissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, will be the spokesperson.
The group will have a one-hour meeting with the Pope on Dec. 20 when they expect to talk about different themes including the 10 principles of reconciliation and unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools.
There will also be Metis and Inuit delegations, which will have separate one-hour meetings with the Pope.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops will cover travel costs.
Yakeleya said when he was a child in a residential school in Inuvik, he never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would be able to talk to the Pope or hold him accountable.
He said the group will ask Pope Francis to deliver an apology for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools. But, he said, the discussion must go further because “it's also important to think about what happens in a post-apology world.”
“Only God knows what the Holy Father will say to us,” Yakeleya said.
Over a century, an estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools. More than 60 per cent of the schools were run by the Catholic Church.
Calls for the Pope to apologize for the church's role in the schools intensified since the discovery last spring of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential school sites.
The delegation's theme is how Indigenous Peoples and the Catholic Church can come together toward healing and reconciliation.
Last month, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis is also willing to make a visit to Canada.
Former AFN national chief Phil Fontaine from Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba said he hopes Pope Francis will commit to an apology in Canada during the delegation's visit to Rome.
Fontaine put experiences at residential schools on the national agenda in 1990 when he disclosed his own abuse at the Fort Alexander school in Manitoba.
He was also part of a previous Indigenous delegation with former pope Benedict that requested an apology in 2009. Pope Benedict expressed his sorrow and “personal anguish” but never apologized.
“The circumstances are so different for this visit,” Fontaine said.
“We are off to Rome with great expectations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2021.
Rescuers on Monday found a helicopter that was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, which had crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran the day before.
A Saskatchewan man who had a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old girl he met on Tinder successfully appealed to shorten release conditions barring him from online dating.
Stittsville residents on Kearnsley Way are seeking answers after an unusual bylaw crackdown on Friday. Every home with a basketball net received a ticket instructing homeowners to remove their nets from the road.
Three people were killed and five others were injured Saturday night following a boat crash on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont., the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.
The apparent crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's president and foreign minister on Sunday sent shock waves around the region.
Less than 24 hours after Montreal's 12th homicide investigation began, Montreal police confirmed that a 55-year-old woman's death in St. Michel is the island's 13th homicide. The woman's ex-spouse has been charged with first-degree murder.
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
Canada’s largest First Nations police service, the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service issued a community safety alert as extremely toxic drugs are likely circulating in many of the communities it serves.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.