A Genocide the World Has Ignored: Holding Governments and the Catholic Church Accountable for Residential and Boarding Schools through the ICC

Authors

K. R. Redhage

First Page

801

Abstract

The United States, Canada, and the Catholic Church committed genocide in an effort to control Indigenous people and steal their land. By various means, over the course of hundreds of years, these extant powers perpetrated this genocide, and the effects continue to be felt in Indigenous communities to this day. The residential and boarding school systems, which were only disbanded in the 1980s, are two examples of tools created by these governments and the Catholic Church, which led to tens of thousands of deaths of indigenous children and robbed many more of their families, culture, language, and traditions. This article will outline the history and impacts of the colonial genocide which resulted from the formation of the residential and boarding school system. This note will also argue that the International Criminal Court has the authority to charge the United States government, the Canadian government, and the Catholic Church with genocide based on their direct involvement in these systems.

Recommended Citation

K. R. Redhage, A Genocide the World Has Ignored: Holding Governments and the Catholic Church Accountable for Residential and Boarding Schools through the ICC, 48 Brook. J. Int'l L. 801 (2023).
Available at: https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/bjil/vol48/iss2/9