Prime Minister Stephen Harper's historic apology over residential schools met with mixed reactions from aboriginal communities.
Some survivors interviewed by The Epoch Times said they hoped the apology will help the Canadian people understand what the aboriginal people went through in the schools and the fallout that is evident in their communities today. Others hope the apologies will help break down racial barriers between natives and non-natives.
The following are a selection of quotes from natives interviewed by The Epoch Times, or who spoke at Wednesday's historic ceremony in the House of Commons.
"I am one of these people who have prayed for this day and there have been times in this long journey when I despaired that this would never happen, but after listening to the PM and the leaders of the political parties I am filled with hope and compassion for my fellow aboriginal Canadians as I stand among them here."—Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Mary Simon responding to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apology.
"It's only words, we want to see action. How hard is it to say 'I'm sorry'? And if they do mean it well then they wouldn't be taking away all our educational programs, they wouldn't be taking away our Aboriginal Mother's Centre, they wouldn't be taking away funding for programs for the health and welfare of our women and children. They wouldn't be doing that if they were genuinely sorry."—Aboriginal rights activist Gladys Radek.
"The apology today was just a stepping stone. There is a lot more struggle to go through. It is generational—it didn't just stop at residential schools … I know that [the apology] is not enough. There is still a lot of feelings and lot of anger and aggression, because people just want to be recognized."—Former residential school student Gina Thomas, 39, of the Clem Clem Nation of Cowichan Lake, B.C.
"The memory of residential schools sometimes cuts like merciless knives at our souls. This day will help us put that day behind us. But it signifies something even more important—a respectful and therefore liberating relationship between us with the rest of Canada. Together, we can achieve the greatness that our country deserves."—Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, responding to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apology.
"We expected more, there were just a lot of holes in what the Prime Minister said. But what everybody else said was great. As a residential school survivor myself I don't think [the apology] was very sincere, I'm really not impressed with it…. It was very emotional, I'm still very emotional. I wish my mom and dad were here and that my sisters were here too. There's a lot of work to be done yet. I hope that this is going to open the eyes of the Canadian people."—Bernie Williams, provincial director of Zone 7 for United Native Nations Society.
"To me, the Prime Minister's speech was dead. I know it didn't come from the heart, it came from his head. He was reading and reading and there was nothing, no contact with the camera, nothing. It didn't come from his heart, he's just doing it, it's an action that he has to do…."—Former residential school student Rita Blind, security worker at a women's centre in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
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