Queen Victoria statue’s decapitated head pulled from river after Canada protests

The head of the statue of Queen Victoria was recovered by a kayaker (Pictures: Getty/ PA / AP)

The decapitated head of a statue of Queen Victoria has been recovered from a river after being hurled into the water by Canadian protesters.

Demonstrators pulled down the monument on Canada Day – celebrating independence from British rule – to voice their anger over the historical treatment of indigenous people.

The statue was toppled during protests in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Thursday, before it was beheaded overnight.

The head was fished out of the Assiniboine River by a kayaker named as Tom Armstrong the following day.

Tensions boiled over after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves thought to belong to indigenous Canadians.

It comes amid allegations about abuses in the country’s residential school system, which saw at least 150,000 children forced into institutions under Queen Victoria’s rule.

Police did not intervene during the largely peaceful events to avoid inflaming the situation, according to The Telegraph. Officers are now investigating.

Statues of Queen Elizabeth II were also torn down and defaced during the demonstrations.

Kayaker Tom Armstrong retrieved the head of the Queen Victoria statue from the Assiniboine River in Winnipeg on Friday (Picture: AP)

The beheaded statue of Queen Victoria in Winnipeg (Picture: Kelly Geraldine Malone/The Canadian Press via ZUMA Press)

Indigenous groups say they have now identified more than 1,100 graves, mostly belonging to young people who attended residential schools.

Up to 6,000 are thought to have died in the schools, mainly in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, western Canada, which were largely controlled by the Catholic community.

Indigenous leaders in Canada have demanded an apology from the Pope for the church’s role in forcing children to attend the schools, where there was widespread physical and sexual abuse.

Pope Francis will meet the representatives of the country’s three biggest indigenous groups – the First Nations, the Métis and the Inuit – at the Vatican in December, The New York Times reported.

Indigenous leaders have demanded Pope Francis apologise for the abuse endured by children (Picture: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has urged the Pope to atone for the Catholic Church on Canadian soil

A statement from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said the Pope is ‘deeply committed to hearing directly from Indigenous Peoples, expressing his heartfelt closeness, addressing the impact of colonization and the role of the Church in the residential school system.’

But the Pope has so far resisted pressure to apologise for the atrocities.

Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has also urged Pope Francis to travel to the nation to apologise.

Mr Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa: ‘I have spoken personally directly with His Holiness Pope Francis to press upon him how important it is not just that he makes an apology but that he makes an apology to indigenous Canadians on Canadian soil.

‘I know that the Catholic church leadership is looking and very actively engaged in what next steps can be taken.’

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