[2021-09-30] Truth and reconciliation
This blog post is about residential schools in Canada. Some readers may find the subject upsetting.
Today, in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I listened to the Residential Schools Podcast Series by Historica Canada. This thought-provoking and well-crafted three-part series relays the experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit in residential schools. Hosted by Indigenous journalist Shaneen Robinson-Desjarlais, the short episodes describe the history of residential schools, offer the perspective of experts, and feature the voices of residential school survivors.
Robinson-Desjarlais states that before residential schools were set up, "European settlers had tried to integrate First Nations and some Métis peoples into what they considered civil society." They removed their rights, languages, cultures and traditions. They outlawed many Indigenous ceremonies. They restricted First Nations people from leaving their communities without the permission of the government’s representatives on reserves. "Eventually," she says, "the government decided that the best way to integrate Indigenous people into Euro-Canadian society was to remove the children from their communities."
University of Manitoba Professor Dr. Niigaanwewidam Sinclair explains the impact of efforts to assimilate Indigenous children:
Assimilation is basically trying to turn one person into another. To deny who they are, make them forget who they are―their language, their culture, tradition, the family they come from, and then replace that with something else: with a different way of thinking, a different way of being, a different perspective. The problem of course is that you then have to go and look in the mirror and you can see yourself as you actually are, but you’ve been taught this foreign way. Therefore, you’re naturally at conflict. So, assimilation is also a process of deep, deep trauma and conflict.
In each of the episodes, residential school survivors share stories of physical and sexual abuse, of the shame they felt, of being stripped of their language and culture, of insufficient and poor quality food, of their loss of freedom, of punishments, and of not receiving an education.
Robinson-Desjarlais notes that more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children attended residential schools, with thousands dying at school or because of their experiences in the system.
Sinclair suggests that we all need to work together to figure out how to move forward. While sharing the truth is a brave and important step, it's not the final one. He states:
The truth is really hard, but the reconciliation part is even harder because then we actually have to change our behaviour. It’s time for Canadians to stand up as well and to take responsibility for that. This is their challenge as well.
Occasions such as National Day of Truth and Reconciliation encourage all of us to take up the challenge, to learn about the legacy of residential schools, and to support efforts to address both historic and present-day wrongs.
