Denmark and Canada Apologize to Indigenous People

Tuesday saw Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen apologize on behalf of the government to indigenous children who were placed in orphanages in the 1950s to the 1970s and were subject to abuse and neglect there, KNR reports.

Frederiksen said she wants to “open the door to the darkest chapters of Danish history” and that she wants a new and more fair development for Denmark, one emphasizing understanding, recognition and respect.

In Canada too, according to Nunatsiaq News, Minister for Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett recently brought apologies from the Canadian government to Qikiqtani Inuit for the trauma caused to them by the federal government during the 1950-75 period, including a.o. forced relocation, division of families and killing of the Inuits’ sleddogs.