MOVING FROM APOLOGY TO ACTION


“And my mother was on the beach when I was boarding the plane. With few clothes I had, maybe one pair of pants, maybe a sock that my mother had put into her fl our sack. And I know that she started walking home not even bothering to look at me. And today I think maybe she had tears in her eyes. Maybe she was crying.”


– JOE KRIMMERDJUAR, Statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, June 30, 2011


The residential school system had dev-


astating impacts on survivors, their descen- dants,


communities, languages, cultural


Commission chairman Justice Murray Sinclair speaks at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Ottawa.


CHILDREN’S BOOKS ON RESI- DENTIAL SCHOOL


Shin-chi’s Canoe by Nicola Campbell. Groundwood Books, 2008 (Grade 3+)


Shi-shi-etko by Nicola Campbell. Groundwood Books, 2005 (Grade 3+)


When I Was Eight by Christy Jordan- Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton. Annick Press, 2013 (Grade 5+)


A Stranger at Home: A True Story by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton. Annick Press, 2010 (Grade 5+)


Fatty Legs: A True Story by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton. Annick Press, 2010 (Grade 5+)


As Long As the Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie with Constance Brissenden. Groundwood Books, 2002 (Grade 4+)


Kookum’s Red Shoes by Peter Eyvind- son. Pemmican Publications, 2011 (Grade 6+)


Good for Nothing by Michel Noel. Groundwood Books, 2004 (Grade 7+)


Residential School – With the Words and Images of Survivors by Larry Loyie with Wayne K. Spear and Constance Brissenden. Indigenous Education Press, 2014 (Grade 8+)


16 ETFO VOICE | SPRING 2016


ing any spiritual or cultural practices was for- bidden and resulted in harsh discipline. The meals were simple, bland and never enough. In some residential schools disturbing nutri- tional experiments were conducted on chil- dren. Each day would begin with prayer and a few hours of school work, then children did manual labour and chores. Residential schools were not good places


for children. Thousands of survivors have reported sexual abuse, physical violence and emotional traumas they still carry today. Some children attempted to run away from school and go back to their communities. When found, these children were returned and punished. Some children were never found or seen again. Six thousand children died while attending residential schools, their bodies never returned to their families. The odds of an Aboriginal child dying while in the care of the federal government was one in 25. Compare that to the one in 26 odds of Canadians dying during WWII. Although the residential school system


ended in the late 1960s, the last residential school didn’t close its doors until 1996. It is estimated that 150,000 Aboriginal children attended residential schools in Canada and 70,000-80,000 survivors are still alive to- day. The effects on multiple generations of Aboriginal people have been devastating, touching every aspect of individual and community life.


practices and traditional knowledge and way of life. Children who attended these schools were not provided parenting skills and were shown very little affection. Speaking a na- tive language and performing any cultural and traditional practices were banned and grounds for punishment. The intergenera- tional impacts are too many to count. In addition, Aboriginal peoples live with ongoing negative misconceptions,


stereo-


types and racist attitudes directed at them. In the face of all this, First Nations, Métis and Inuit people have demonstrated their strength, unity and resilience. “Canada needs to move from apology to action if reconcili- ation with Aboriginal Peoples is to succeed, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said in its landmark report… Reconcilia- tion… is not a one-time event, but a ‘multi- generational journey that involves all Cana- dians’ in schools and beyond.” Healing and reconciliation needs to hap-


pen for all people living in Canada. So where do we go from here?


RECOMMENDATIONS


With the objective of reconciliation and re- newed relationships between Aboriginal peoples and Canadians, the TRC completed their journey and produced a fi nal report of their fi ndings in June 2015. Ninety-four rec- ommendations for governments at all levels and for various sectors such as child welfare, health, justice and education are included in this report. The recommendations call for change to policies and programs that histori- cally or currently impact Aboriginal peoples. These calls to action are intended to redress the legacy of the residential schools and move the journey forward into reconciliation for all Canadians and Aboriginal peoples.


THE CANADIAN PRESS/ADRIAN WYLD


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