‘We are sorry’: Newfoundland and Labrador makes first apology for residential schools

ST. JOHN’S, N.L-_ Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey made a solemn apology today to survivors of residential schools in southern Labrador. Furey addressed members of the NunatuKavut Community Council in a gymnasium in Cartwright, N.L., where the Lockwood boarding school operated until 1964. The premier’s apology included a promise that the province’s history of residential schools will be neither forgotten nor repeated. He was presented with a painted drum by the Sandwich Bay Residential School Drummers, a group composed of NunatuKavut members who attended the Lockwood school, and descendants of former students. NunatuKavut President Todd Russell said he hoped the apology would be a turning point along a path to reconciliation. The NunatuKavut Community Council says it represents about 6,000 Inuit in south and central Labrador, though neither the…

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