Two Catholic churches on Canadian Indigenous land destroyed in 'suspicious' fires, police say

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Morning Mix

Two Catholic churches on Canadian Indigenous land destroyed in ‘suspicious’ fires, police say

By Andrea Salcedo
June 22, 2021 at 8:01 a.m. EDT

Greg Gabriel was fast asleep early Monday when a staff member called to report that the Sacred Heart Church on First Nations reserves in Canada’s British Columbia was engulfed in flames.

By the time Gabriel, the Penticton Indian Band chief, arrived at the Catholic church minutes later, the historic wooden structure was already gone, he told the Vancouver Sun.

About two hours later, someone called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to report a nearly identical incident about 25 miles away: St. Gregory’s Church on the Osoyoos Indian Band reserve was also burning.

The fires, which authorities are calling “suspicious,” erupted about a month after the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found on the grounds of a former residential school in British Columbia — a discovery that has led to renewed outcry over one of Canada’s darkest chapters, when nearly 150,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families and sent to government-funded, church-run residential schools in an attempt to assimilate them.

{snip}

By Andrea Salcedo
Andrea Salcedo is a reporter on The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. Before joining The Post in 2020, she covered breaking news and features for the New York Times metro desk. Twitter https://twitter.com/andreapsalcedo

[pandr32]

1. I can't say I'm shocked

I sympathize with the First Nations people.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Another link. Canada: Fire destroys two Catholic churches on indigenous land

Bilderbeck • 4 hours ago

OT: Canada: Fire destroys two Catholic churches on indigenous land

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57564486

Canada: Fire destroys two Catholic churches on indigenous land

Published 8 hours ago

Police in Canada say they are treating fires that destroyed two Catholic churches on indigenous community land in British Columbia as suspicious.

Sacred Heart Church and St Gregory's Church burnt down at about the same time early on Monday, as Canada marked National Indigenous People's Day.

The two churches - built more than 100 years ago - are located about 40km (25 miles) apart in the western province.

Liquid accelerants are believed to have been used, one fire official said.

The two churches on the Penticton Indian Band reserve and the Osoyoos Indian Band reserve are less than 100km from Kamloops, where the remains of 215 children were found at a former boarding school in May.

Thousands of indigenous children were sent to such schools in the 19th and 20th Centuries to be forcibly assimilated. The institutions were often run by the Roman Catholic Church.

{snip}

[Dawson Leery]

3. The First Nations are the victims of European "Christian" imperialists.

Last edited Wed Jun 23, 2021, 08:27 PM - Edit history (1)

The only sympathy lies with them.

You are seeing nations around the world reclaim their true heritage by throwing off the chains and disappeared history perpetrated by Roman based Europe.

[Spazito]

4. The Catholic church used those churches to try and destroy their ....

culture, their language, their beliefs, took their very names while abusing the children for generations.

It is a long time coming, imo. They are reclaiming their land, their culture, their identity.