The Scots left oppression behind for a new start. Anyone
who oppressed families and especially children, were to be resisted or shunned.
Much like this scripture reading from Mark where people were warned not to harm
little ones. The picture of being tossed in the ocean with a mill stone would
have been vivid, relatable and more than a little shocking. In fact this whole
passage is more than a little shocking. Cutting off hands or feet or plucking
out eyes? Did Jesus think we were all like starfish and able to regrow new body
parts? This emphasizes
how important it is to take care of the most vulnerable people in our society,
children. When we forget that, we can cause great atrocities.
Right now, we have to wonder how children are doing. With
large class sizes, overcrowded schools and reports that 300 new schools need to
be built in Alberta, and with the US surgeon general declaring parenting being
a health hazard due to high levels of stress, and with a teacher shortage
looming as Baby Boomers retire, are children being treated as liabilities or
luxuries? Are the world's countries working together to find solutions to the
climate crisis we're facing that will impact today's children? Are we
protecting our youngest citizens by providing them the nutrition and the
education they need to thrive? Special needs children have to buy their own
speech therapy tablets, classes don’t have enough teachers aides, and single
moms find that there are unexpected school fees for junior high options in some
schools. So much for public schools and
free education.
Then there’s the impact of colonialism on some of our
children. There were over 130
residential schools operated in Canada between 1831 and 1996. In 1931, there were 80 residential schools
operating in Canada. This was the most at any one time. The United Church
operated 14 of them. The residential school system impacted 150,000 First
Nation, Inuit, and Métis children. An estimated 6000 children died while at the
schools, about a 4% mortality rate. The
survivors had children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. The trauma of being taken away from their
parents and grandparents, their language and culture and often forcibly put
into schools without the proper resources and care that was needed, in drafty
overcrowded conditions with inadequate food, are all a matter of public record,
thanks to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.
Unfortunately, the legacy of emotional trauma continues
today. From 2011 to 2021, there was a
6.5% increase in the number of indigenous children in care. Indigenous children accounted for 7.7% of all
children under age 15 in the general population, but 53.8% of children in
foster care (Statistics Canada, 2022). A
third of the children are living in foster homes that fall below Canada’s
poverty line. The National Centre for
Truth and Reconciliation (2021) has said this too is a legacy of the
residential school system. There is a
greater effort to place children in homes with at least one indigenous parent,
but a little over a half of children are placed in homes with at least one
indigenous parent. And to top it all
off, there are more Indigenous children in the child welfare system now than
there were in the residential school system at its height. This information comes from Statistics
Canada.
The legacy of residential schools is a mill stone around
the necks of governments, churches and the average Canadian, whether we are
aware of it or not. It will be a
millstone around our necks for a long time.
Hearing that public money in Alberta will be given to private schools
does not help. It’s frustrating to
realize how the system is still struggling to know how to work with indigenous
people to break the chain of suffering many children face. There are break throughs, however. Foster parents do their best to make sure
indigenous kids have ample exposure to their cultures. Indigenous communities are taking over
finding foster parents in their communities so that the kids can stay close to
home.
There’s still work to do.
But just as it took great courage for Queen Esther to stand up for her
people, indigenous people are finding great courage to stand up for their
children. Just as Jesus told his
followers to be very accountable for their behavior, especially toward
children, we need to call people to be very accountable for the decisions they
make that impacts our children.
Tomorrow is Orange Shirt Day and this is an opportunity for
us as followers of Christ to do what we can to stand in solidarity like Esther
for children. Consider joining the honor
walk at noon at the Native Friendship Center in Athabasca. Consider phoning the Education Minister. The ATA has an online petition that people
can sign. Be kind to struggling parents,
and loving towards little ones. Together
with God, let’s make a difference in children’s lives! Amen.
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