[2021-07-01] Canada Day reflection
This blog post is about residential schools in Canada. If you find that subject upsetting, please feel free to skip this Jenesis entry.
Today, I started reading Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future, which is the Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 2008 with two objectives:
- "reveal to Canadians the complex truth about the history and the ongoing legacy of the church-run residential schools, in a manner that fully documents the individual and collective harms perpetrated against Aboriginal peoples, and honours the resilience and courage of former students, their families, and communities; and
- "guide and inspire a process of truth and healing, leading toward reconciliation within Aboriginal families, and between Aboriginal peoples and non-Aboriginal communities, churches, governments, and Canadians generally."
It seemed appropriate on this Canada Day to reflect on a part of our country's history that I have not previously taken the time to understand, though should have. So I went to the best source of information on the subject that I know of: the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
I read the first 48 pages of the 535-page summary. When I got to the stories of survivors recalling their treatment as children, I had to stop. It was too painful to continue. I can't imagine having lived through what they experienced.
I am not Indigenous, nor am I particularly informed on the realities of Indigenous peoples in Canada. I will not presume to speak intelligently on the matter. But I can share a few passages from the report's executive summary that stood out for me.
It was the former students, the Survivors of Canada’s residential schools, who placed the residential school issue on the public agenda. Their efforts led to the negotiation of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement that mandated the establishment of a residential school Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC).
Survivors acted with courage and determination. We should do no less. It is time to commit to a process of reconciliation. By establishing a new and respectful relationship, we restore what must be restored, repair what must be repaired, and return what must be returned.
It no doubt took incredible courage and determination for survivors of residential schools to recall, relive and reveal their stories.
Too many Canadians know little or nothing about the deep historical roots of these conflicts. This lack of historical knowledge has serious consequences for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, and for Canada as a whole. In government circles, it makes for poor public policy decisions. In the public realm, it reinforces racist attitudes and fuels civic distrust between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians. Too many Canadians still do not know the history of Aboriginal peoples’ contributions to Canada, or understand that by virtue of the historical and modern Treaties negotiated by our government, we are all Treaty people. History plays an important role in reconciliation; to build for the future, Canadians must look to, and learn from, the past.
I am one of those Canadians the Commission referenced who knows little about the roots of conflict between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous Canadians. That's why the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which heard from more than 6,000 witnesses, is such an important historical resource.
Without truth, justice, and healing, there can be no genuine reconciliation. Reconciliation is not about "closing a sad chapter of Canada’s past," but about opening new healing pathways of reconciliation that are forged in truth and justice. We are mindful that knowing the truth about what happened in residential schools in and of itself does not necessarily lead to reconciliation. Yet, the importance of truth telling in its own right should not be underestimated; it restores the human dignity of victims of violence and calls governments and citizens to account. Without truth, justice is not served, healing cannot happen, and there can be no genuine reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
I agree that acknowledging the truth, as painful as it is to hear and read, is the first step toward understanding and reconciliation.
Survivor and the child of Survivors Vitaline Elsie Jenner said, "I’m quite happy to be able to share my story.... I want the people of Canada to hear, to listen, for it is the truth.... I also want my grandchildren to learn, to learn from me that, yes, it did happen."
I believe that it did happen.
Canada’s national history in the future must be based on the truth about what happened in the residential schools. One hundred years from now, our children’s children and their children must know and still remember this history, because they will inherit from us the responsibility of ensuring that it never happens again....
All Canadian children and youth deserve to know Canada’s honest history, including what happened in the residential schools, and to appreciate the rich history and knowledge of Indigenous nations who continue to make such a strong contribution to Canada, including our very name and collective identity as a country. For Canadians from all walks of life, reconciliation offers a new way of living together.
Using my platform to acknowledge the truth of residential schools and their harmful impacts on so many Indigenous peoples is, I hope, a small and humble contribution toward reconciliation.
On June 1, I saw this memorial in a Kanata neighbourhood to the 215 children whose unmarked graves were found near a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.
