Mtis excluded from closing ceremony of TRC

The leader of the Manitoba Mtis Federation says he can't understand why his people weren't invited to the closing ceremonies of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Leaders from the Assembly of First Nations, Native Women's Association of Canada and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami all participated in the final national event, which took place in Ottawa.But Mtis leaders were absent.

Manitoba Mtis president David Chartrand saidhe was often physically abused while he was a student at a church-run school.

"They used to whip us on the wrists every time we spoke the Saulteaux language," Chartrand said.

Other times, he saidthe nuns would force Mtis children to stand on their toes for long periods of time.

"As soon as you got tired, they would whip you in the back of your calves."

Despite the abuse he and many other Mtis people suffered, they weren't included in the Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and the subsequent government apology, nor did they receive financial compensation.

Chartrand thinks it's because most Mtis attended "day schools" thatweren't recognized by the federal government during the settlement process. He thinks Mtis people probably make up less than fiveper centof people who attended schools that are in the settlement agreement.

Still, the Mtis National Council (MNC) which represents the Mtisnation across Canadaand internationally issued a press release calling exclusion from the final ceremony"inexcusable and demoralizing."

For 10 years, MNC president Clement Chartier attended the Ile a la Crosse Mtis boarding school in northern Saskatchewan run by the Roman Catholic church. Chartier saidmany of his fellow students were subjected to physical, mental and sexual abuse from staff.

Chartrand saidwork is underway to launch a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Mtis students of residential and day schools. Because of the high costs of such a suit, he isn't sure how soon it could happen.

"We talk about turning the page, that's the slogan people are using, well the Mtis have not yet even opened the book," Chartrand said.

No one from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was available to comment on why Mtis people weren't included in the closing ceremony, which wraps up Wednesdayin Ottawa.