(Ottawa, ON): Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief RoseAnne Archibald will be in Alberta for the official welcome of His Holiness Pope Francis on Turtle Island and will attend the meeting with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples at the former institution of assimilation and genocide located in Maskwacis in anticipation of a long overdue papal apology.
DATE: July 24-25, 2022
TIME: 11:20 a.m. MDT, 10 a.m. MDT
LOCATION: Edmonton International Airport
Edmonton, Alberta
Former Ermineskin Residential Institution
Maskwacis, Alberta
The AFN has advocated for urgent action to fulfill each of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action since their release in 2015, including the need for a papal apology detailed in Call-to-Action #58. For the past seven years, the AFN has pressed the federal government, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Holy See to work in consultation with First Nations on the best way to offer this much-needed apology on the homelands of Turtle Island. The National Chief and AFN Executive Committee remain optimistic that during his stay, Pope Francis will acknowledge and apologize for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit and Métis children carried out by Catholic-run institutions of assimilation and genocide.
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a national advocacy organization that works to advance the collective aspirations of First Nations individuals and communities across Canada on matters of national or international nature and concern. Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates.
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For more information please contact:
Andrew St. Germain
Communications Coordinator
Office of the National Chief
[email protected]
Paige Hanson
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
613-402-4349 (mobile)
[email protected]