Before they arrived at the Vatican, the women had decided that they would present the pope with an empty traditional cradleboard as a symbol of all of the children who went to residential schools and never came home. “I talked it over with Louise, and she did not want me to leave it with the pope at all. Last Thursday, Schenandoah and 15 other delegates had a two-hour private audience with pope Francis. “All of this has made me feel two things very strongly: indignation and shame,” said pope Francis. “Things that happen in our daily life for being Indigenous Peoples, everything from missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls to substance abuse and domestic violence, are all related,” she said.

Source: thestar April 10, 2022 05:01 UTC