Brandon church hoping to work toward reconciliation after weekend graffiti

A Brandon church says it plans to reach out to local Indigenous leaders after it was targeted by graffiti over the weekend.

St. Matthew’s Anglican Cathedral, along with First Presbyterian Church and a number of nearby vehicles, was tagged Sunday, in incidents Brandon police say are linked.

In a statement on social media, St. Matthew’s said it wants to use the incident to help work toward reconciliation.

“While we cannot condone damage to property, we can try and recognize the pain and the anger of survivors, their children and their grandchildren,” the statement said.

“If this was as a result of that sort of anger, let me be clear. The church, in this case, the Anglican church, was wrong to have been involved in the residential school system.

“While we may have apologized as a church for the damage we have caused, there is clearly more work to be done and we are committed to recognizing the harm we have done and to reconciliation.”

The church said it wants to become a place that listens to those who ‘have been ignored for so long’ and responds appropriately.

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Brandon police confirmed to Global News that some of the graffiti made reference to children, and that they’re continuing to investigate.

Ongoing protests have taken place across the country in recent weeks, after ongoing discoveries of unmarked graves at former residential school sites throughout Canada.

In Winnipeg, a Canada Day protest march culminated in the toppling of statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II at the Manitoba Legislature.

The Queen Victoria statue’s head was removed and dumped in the river before being recovered.

While some politicians are calling for the statues to be restored, the province said they’ve been taken away to assess the damage for now.

Organizations like the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs have called for Indigenous involvement in decisions about whether the statues should be replaced.

The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering with trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.

1:09 Federal Conservatives urge Manitoba Premier to restore statues of Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria