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Aboriginal students who endured abuse and torment in Canada's residential schools will finally get a formal apology from the Canadian government on Wednesday, a prospect that has many feeling a mix of emotions.


Willie Blackwater, who repressed his memories of rapes and beatings for decades, said he is looking forward to being inside the House of Commons in Ottawa when Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivers the apology at 3 p.m. ET. But at the same time, Blackwater said he fears the wording won't be right, or something else will be amiss.


"But I think it will be one of the humongous chapters in my life that will help bring completion of a lot of … my trauma, and the trauma I've inflicted on others, from the residential school legacy," said Blackwater, 53.


He participated in a massive lawsuit that set the ground for Wednesday's apology, and his accounts of the abuse he endured more than 40 years ago at a residential school in Port Alberni, B.C., helped lead to the conviction of his former dormitory supervisor in 1995.


A decade ago, the Canadian government acknowledged the physical and sexual abuse that occurred in the now-defunct network of federally financed, church-run residential schools, but Harper's statement on Wednesday will mark the first time a prime minister has apologized.


"It's got to come from the heart," Blackwater said. "That's where we as aboriginals talk from, it's from the heart. We will hear the difference."


A handful of victims and aboriginal guests will encircle Harper as he delivers the apology. Opposition members will then be allowed to respond, although the native guests will not, which has drawn vocal criticism in recent days.


Daily parliamentary business has been called off to mark the occasion, and events have been planned across the country while the apology is taking place.


Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl has said the apology will be a respectful and sincere recognition of widespread cultural devastation, physical trauma and sexual abuse affecting generations of aboriginal people to this day.


Overseen by the Department of Indian Affairs, residential schools aimed to force aboriginal children to learn English and adopt Christianity and Canadian customs as part of a government policy called "aggressive assimilation."


There were about 130 such schools in Canada, with some in every territory and province except Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, from as early as the 19th century to 1996.
In all, about 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were removed from their communities and forced to attend the schools, where many of them lived in substandard conditions and endured physical, emotional and sexual abuse.


In September, the government formalized a $1.9-billion compensation plan for victims.



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Well, at least the Canadian government is doing *something* right. I hope Satan Harper doesn't **** it up!

[Adrienne]

They deserve an apology. I'm glad they're doing something about it

[Carolyn]

Thanks for posting Kee. This is a subject that the Canadian Government should have dealt with a long time ago. Harper is hardly sympathetic to Natives - I hope he doesn't pull a no show.