Chief Wilton Littlechild, a survivor of the school himself, gave Francis the headdress on Monday, placing it on his head amid cheers from an audience in Maskwacis, Alberta, that included many survivors of the school. The Vatican and the pope clearly appreciated the gesture: Francis kissed Littlechild’s hands after receiving the headdress, something he has done in the past as a mark of respect for Holocaust survivors and on this trip for school survivors. The Vatican apparently understood the symbolic importance of the moment, placing the photo on the front page of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano under the headline “I humbly ask for forgiveness.” Headdresses are historically a symbol of respect, worn by war chiefs and Native American warriors. For many Plains tribes, for example, each feather placed in a headdress has significance and had to be earned through an act of compassion or bravery. Some modern Native American leaders have been given war bonnets in ceremonies accompanied by prayers and songs. Not everyone was happy with Littlechild’s action. Some members of indigenous tribes said they found the gesture inconsistent with past transgressions at church schools for which Francis apologized. Russ Diabo, a member of the Kahnawake Mohawk tribe in Canada and an indigenous advocate and policy analyst, described the scene as “exaggerated” and the Pope’s remarks as “facile.” Diabo tweeted that “the Catholic Church and Canada are working together to create a mythology for a shared agenda of ‘Reconciliation’ told by prominent federal collaborators/residential school survivors!”. “I have so much to say about this, and all of it negative,” tweeted Joe Horse Capture, vice president of Native collections and curator of Native American History and Culture at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles. “I practice the mantra ‘If you can’t say anything positive, don’t say anything at all.’ But I’ll be honest, it’s hard!” added Horse Capture, a member of the A’aniiih Nation. Maka Black Elk, executive director of Truth and Healing at Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, described the scene on Twitter as “a #toosoon moment.” “The #PopeFrancis headdress debate is unfortunate,” wrote Black Elk. “He didn’t ask for it. It wasn’t his fault. But it’s also clear that the donors didn’t think about how it would make other indigenous peoples feel.” Black Elk later said in a phone interview that the mixed reaction to placing the headdress on Pope’s head “reflects the reality of Native people and our need for more dialogue” about the past. “I think Chief Littlechild felt it was important to honor this moment and this was an important moment,” he added. A spokeswoman for Littlechild did not immediately respond Tuesday to a message seeking comment. But Keeshon Littlechild used a Facebook post to defend his grandfather for giving Francis one of his own many haircuts. “It bothers me to see people bashing my grandpa and I understand how much respect it takes to give me one, but at the end of the day it was respectful to the pope that he went all the way to the mascara to apologize,” she wrote. Among those who came to Littlechild’s defense was Phil Fontaine, a former chief of the Assembly of First Nations and a school survivor. “Chief Littlechild followed his protocols,” Fontaine said. “There is a protocol for this kind of gift. He went to the elders, went to the leadership and asked permission to present that gift. It’s completely consistent with the way they follow their customs and protocol here.” Jon Crier, a First Nations elder and survivor of the school, said during a news conference after the apology that the gesture meant tribal leaders “adopted him as one of our leaders in the community. “It’s an honor for the man, it’s an honor for the work he’s done and it’s also the recognition … here’s a man who belongs to our tribe,” Crier said. Marie-Anne Day Walker Pelletier, former chief of the Okanese First Nation, told CTV, “I thought it was really cool. The chief of all chiefs now I suppose.’ —- Nicole Winfield and Peter Smith in Maskwacis, Alberta, and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to the report. Snow was reported by Phoenix. —— Associated Press religion coverage is supported through AP’s partnership with The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.
