ZombieRN
New
Thank you for the work and thought you have put into exposing this story on any level. Frankly, for me, I don’t care about Kevin. This is about the children & I think I can speak for any decent human being, it was ALWAYS about the children. I wouldn’t give anyone (Kevin included) money for themselves. I would donate directly to the children or their families. Not through any agencies. I found out how a lot of “agencies” work & it isn’t good. Although, I do like Children’s International because I can talk directly to the families (children) we help.
There will always be people who prey on the weakness or trust of others. But, the message remains the same, the one you tell and the basic one Kevin told. It’s the story, not the storyteller. I mean the human bone thing is pretty nasty in itself and I would probably have spoken out had I been there. WTH are you carrying human bones!? That’s just wrong.
I do have to say I heard a quick note on the Indian schools in Canada years ago but it was quickly forgotten. I’d say this Kevin, at least brought it to light again. I’m in the USA so this won’t make it to news here anymore. To me, this is just a continuation of corruption inside the Catholic business. I’m not Catholic so I don’t have a dog in this fight, but something is really wrong with that religion. Like most things, you can find a lot of good in it, but then when you find the bad, it’s just twice as bad because the kids trusted “God”.
They (these pedophiles) have made God into THEIR image of sickness. They ruined “God” for decent people. I found it odd that Kevin was still in this faith or called himself a minister. I think I would have totally dropped that entire scene & either got into law enforcement, government or some other way to help those children I cared so desperately about. Nobody likes the “piano leg” story because we just wonder how that piano leg got there & how did the piano stand up after removing a leg? It’s a really odd thing to choose... a piano leg. But, the facts remain kids were taken and ALLLLL those Indian (grown people) seem to be pretty upset over something. So, I think there is an awful lot of smoke and there probably was a fire.
On Kevins side, sure maybe he is using this to make money to support himself, using others information. But, he has kept the story alive, so there is that. I know you don’t like him; but, the STORY is real.
Thank you for the work you have done to help those children. Keep it up, don’t let Kevin or anyone stop you. Don’t get rerouted to something that wastes your time. Tell the story about the children NOT Kevin. Nobody cares about Kevin he isn’t the real story here.
Thank you Atlantic.
I agree with 99.9% of your comments and 150% of your kind intentions and good works. I hear a lot of people say the same thing.."well, at least he brought a lot of attention to the problem". To that I have this to say. Back in 1998 there was a Tribunal hosted by Amnesty International and one of it's affiliates. Many of the movers and shakers in the Native activist community were to be there to hear testimony from nearly 100 survivors. There were people from the U.S. too, like Rudy and Diana James who were part of the AIM and knew people like Russel Means and Dennis Banks and Royce and Lydia WhiteCalf. Harriet Nahannee who was a long time protester against logging and pipelines through her territory was there and she got to know Kevin and invited him to participate. It was here that he obtained the testimonies of the survivors that was used without their permission. He caused some arguments between several of the Tribunal 'judges' and the whole process of moving forward to expose the atrocities broke down. The people who had been promised help and anonymity had to write an official complaint to Kevin to get their stories back and to have him not publish them...but it was too late. From those painful memories, he made his movie Unrepentant and from then on he controlled the narrative. The scholars, researchers, activists and leaders who attended that Tribunal never came together again nor did they continue to work together towards the same cause. Many of them gave up trying to expose it because their reputations had been smeared in their community and on the internet. The Tribunal was supposed to gain international attention with the help of Amnesty International....the delegates were planning to go to the UN. Instead, the Canadian Government began their own Truth and Reconciliation hearings where the worst and most damaging testimonies were kept from the public. So when people give credit to this 'person' who has rattled a lot of chains and made a lot of noise, I remind them of all the voices that were silenced because of that rattling.
Thank you for your words of kind support. I have written and stood behind all I have said about this horrific 'man' in order to get him out of the way long enough for the victims to truly heard. On a personal level, I have had the opportunity to work with native people who suffered horribly while at these 'schools' and whose children and grandchildren inherited the pain and trauma suffered there. It is not my place as a white woman of privilege to speak for any Native person about their experience, but I can speak out against the white minister who took advantage of them.
I'm glad that now there are stories coming to light from the people who lived their history....it's putting the power back in the hands of the victims which is where it belongs.