Indigenous Nun Returned to Kamloops Residential School
Patrick Jamieson, Victoria, BC
Volume 40 Issue 1,2,&3 | Posted: April 26, 2025
Sister Dorothy Bob was buried from Holy Cross Parish in Gordon Head on March 7. It was an interesting blend of Roman Catholic and First Nations rituals, not perfectly integrated but impressive given the state of relations between some First Nations and the Catholic Church. A very moving experience. See Lori Dueck’s related article below.
Sister Dorothy had attended Kamloops Residential as a child, left to care for her mother, went back to work there as a young woman and happily joined the Order in 1958 She passed away at age 92. Due to her nature she did not aspire to leadership roles in the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Anne. If she had perhaps the enhanced credibility of their response to certain criticism would have been more complex. None of this was brought up at the funeral which opened and closed with First Nations ceremonies. One of the elders spoke during the service.
Given the difficulties the Congregation has suffered during the recent years of blaming the Catholic Church for its role in conducting residential schools, the funeral felt to be a gracious healing moment. Of the hundred in attendance, 50 per cent were indigenous and the whole of those in attendance mixed easily and graciously at the service and reception after. Bishop Gary Gordon spoke at the grave site at Hatley Park, while the officiating and homily was done by Msgr. Michael Lapierre who did a masterful job of preaching on the Beatitudes, never an easy gospel passage in their spiritually paradoxical nature.
The church and ICN are at an interesting crossroads with the relationship of the Catholic Church and First Nations culture. Three years ago Pope Francis had an interesting impact by leading a penitential pilgrimage, which functioned at just the right level despite the CBC seemingly missing most of the salient points in its exaggerated empathy for the colonial exploitation and general mistreatment of Indigenous peoples. My sister theologian has written a nuanced reflection for another publication on the spiritual meaning of that visit to Canada. We hope to run it at some point.
Truth and Reconciliation has been the official policy in Canada for a few decades but blaming and retribution have been the general tone. A political solution has about been exhausted with the radical transformation of the Liberal Party from sunny ways to overt identification with the national business agenda represented by its massive swing behind banker Mark Carney in spite of his progressive Catholic orientation.
The Church needs to take the lead now in healing and reconciliation. The First Nations attendees came from Alaska, Seattle and Sister Dorothy’s band at Fountain reserve at Liloett, BC. This is to the South of the Fraser Canyon region where my father’s people came from at Boothroyd reserve.
Patrick Jamieson, Victoria, BC