Mental health support workers travelling alongside delegates for meetings with Pope

The Indigenous delegation travelling to the Vatican in Rome to meet with Pope Francis this week will be joined by a number of mental health support workers as they share stories about the lasting effects of residential schools, according to the Assembly of First Nations.

The delegation of First Nations, Inuit and Metis people includes elders, knowledge keepers, residential school survivors and young people, as well as two spiritual advisers.

The assembly said four mental health support workers are also going to be with the group throughout the week to be available to delegates whenever they need them.

"They're carrying a lot. They're carrying the stories of our people," said Tera Beaulieu, a registered psychotherapist who is one of the four support workers travelling to Rome.

"That can at times be ... not a burden, but a very heavy weight to carry and a lot of responsibility. So my role is to really assist and provide that space for people to share some of that weight where and when needed," continued Beaulieu, who is director of the Weaving Wellness Centre in Toronto and a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario.

The Pope is holding private hour-long audiences with more than 30 members of First Nation, Inuit and Métis delegations over the course of the week. In addition to the workers travelling with delegates, a mental health support worker will be in the room for each meeting.

Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation (Kukpi7) Chief Roseanne Casimir is the delegate from British Columbia. She said members of her community discussed the significance of the moment.

"I heard things like the importance of grounding for myself and keeping myself healthy and spiritually connected because I'm carrying a lot of weight on my shoulders when I go over there," Casimir told CBC.

"I just keep reminding myself the people are relying on me to deliver a message and it's really important that I remind myself every single day. I pray to the Creator to give me that strength to continue doing what I'm doing in a good way because this is about our future generations."

Chance for Pope to apologize

The Vatican meetings are being described by the church as an "encounter" between the Pope and Indigenous peoples to try to better understand how church-run residential schools affected Indigenous people by hearing from their children and grandchildren.

It will also be a chance for Pope Francis to publicly apologize for the Roman Catholic Church's primary role in running most residential schools in Canada — something Indigenous organizations have demanded more intensely since the discovery of unmarked burial sites at several former school sites across the country.

Taylor Behn-Tsakoza, 26, is the youth delegate for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN). Like Casimir, she spoke of the weight she and her fellow delegates will carry in Rome.

"I still live with the impacts every single day," said Behn-Tsakoza, a Dene woman from the Fort Nelson First Nation in northern B.C.

"I'm really holding up our survivors and our knowledge keepers that are going but also creating space for the story of intergenerational survivors … who are impacted in many ways emotionally."

In Ontario, Beaulieu said she has been joining local delegates' regular meetings ahead of the trip to discuss how she can best protect their well-being.

"Throughout this process, there have been moments of pause for reflection and discussion to identify what those important [support] pieces are that we need to ensure are there," she said. 

"These are difficult conversations to have ... We don't always know exactly what's going to happen when we're in certain spaces, certain circles together, and what kind of healing work or what kind of spiritual work may start to happen in those moments. Sometimes unexpected things can come up for us," said Beaulieu.

More than 150,000 Indigenous, Metis and Inuit children attended Canada's church- and government-operated residential schools from the 1870s until 1997.

In 2015, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called on the Pope to apologize for the church's role in the schools, but he has not done so.

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools or by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.