Yukon First Nation delegate knows what she's going to tell the Pope this week

The Yukon representative on the Assembly of First Nations' delegation to the Vatican is intent on making sure Pope Francis understands not only what the children who attended residential schools experienced, but their families as well.

Adeline Webber said the lives of the families changed drastically when the children were taken away.

"He needs to understand and reflect as to why it's so important that these people, that the survivors and their intergenerational people, have the assurance and the help they need to live a better life," she said.

"And I just really hope that he is very serious about dealing with us."

Webber and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) delegation are scheduled to meet with the Pope for an hour on March 31, and then for another hour on April 1 along with the Inuit and Métis delegations.

The meetings are meant to lay the groundwork for Pope Francis's visit to Canada, expected later this year. The delegates will press the Pope to make an official apology for the church's role in running Catholic residential schools during his visit to Canada. 

Soul searching

Webber, a survivor of residential schools, said she and the other AFN delegates have been meeting weekly on Zoom to prepare for the meeting. She added she's also done a lot of soul searching.

"I've been listening to my family and friends and the community for quite a long time, talking about residential school and the issues that we all experienced in many different ways," she said.

She said that when the Pope comes to Canada, she wants him to visit at least one former residential school. 

"It's important that he goes and actually walks through the halls … where so many children suffered at the hands of the people who ran those places," she said.

She added that when he does come to Canada and apologize to the survivors and their families, the visit will play a key role in supporting the healing and reconciliation that needs to take place.

"There's a lot of people who are struggling. And, you know, the apology is the beginning of a new relationship. I'm hopeful," she said.