September 28, 2010
With comments by Jean Koning
Truth & Reconciliation Canada commissioners told members of the Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples that “there is no Aboriginal person who has not been touched by the legacy of the Indian residential schools (IRS)”; moreover, “all of us have been affected”, said Commissioner Justice Murray Sinclair. The IRS teachings which declared First Peoples' languages, traditions and spirituality to be inferior and unacceptable was “unconsciously taught in the public school system”, he said, so we grew up thinking we were “superior”. It is that “flawed relationship” which must be removed.
I also heard this from the Commissioners:
The relationship between First Peoples and the rest of us is not good; we need to fix it.
Respect is needed, beginning with self-respect. Aboriginal youth must be allowed to gain self- respect.
Large numbers of Aboriginal people have assimilated, but large numbers have not.
There is a need for education; a multi-generational approach; with long-term solutions.
In our five-year mandate, we will not accomplish reconciliation. We can only begin that process.
The “national events” do not provide enough time to hear stories of IRS survivors, so we will go into the communities to listen. The model as laid out by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) is a “restorative justice model”.
TRC has five years in which to deal with 150 years of stress. Seven or eight generations have been affected by “massive social difficulties”. The Aboriginal population has grown by eight to ten times; our children will inherit the legacy. What tools will we give them?
Common Experience Payments (CEP) and Independent Assessment Process (IAP) go only to those who resided in schools; day school attenders do not qualify.
Education is the answer; look at this in the global context. The United Nations has said our TRC is “a good model of conflict resolution”. Many eyes are watching us. There has been no progress since the apology (in June 2008) re accepting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
When “statement-gatherers” finish recording IRS survivors' stories, they ask: “What would you like us to do with this?” (so story-tellers retain control). A common theme is: “let the stories help to restore the relationships within our families – to help end the pain.”
The role of forgiveness: We accept that IRS survivors may not be able to forgive, but it seems to be important that children of survivors find a way to offer their forgiveness to family members who are IRS survivors.
Comment:
Perhaps it is important to note that, while there is a need to restore right relationships between the First Peoples and “The Rest of Us”, the IRS survivors recognize first of all the terrible damage done to family relationships within their own communities. They understand the need for young people to be able to understand why going back to the Elders for teachings and guidance (the traditional way for youth to learn) simply does not work if the Elders have been damaged by IRS assimilation policies.
First Nations community leaders know the bereavement of their people where this has happened. In particular, some Elders have been so conditioned by the Christian teachings they received that they cannot accept the traditional ceremonies, rituals and teachings that have historically been a part of their tribal culture. This leaves First Nations youth on their own, to try to find the way back to the good Red Road of traditional teachings which inform the values of the Seven Grandfathers: Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery/Courage, Honesty, Humility and Truth. We - “The Rest of Us” - need to understand and appreciate this terrible lack within First Nations communities which, I fear, only time will heal.
To continue:
Education is so important. First Peoples went through the Canadian educational system but had no idea of who they were as Aboriginal persons. This is what must change in the school systems.
Truth informs reconciliation. We are “truth-gathering”. What do we do about this? For many IRS survivors, reconciliation is personal; it happens within families.
Our ambition, realistically, is to define what reconciliation is so it can be worked at as we go forward.
The IRS policy was assimilation; what do we want to have now as our goal? Find examples of how to bring communities together to work at reconciliation.
Comment:
This may be what the Kawartha Truth & Reconciliation Support Group (KTRSG) seems to be able to achieve. We have been meeting once a month for about two years: 16 to 20 persons who are retired and active priests and ministers (Anglican and United Church, men and women); retired school teachers (men and women); working and retired laywomen (both churched and unchurched); two Ojibwe Elders (one man, one woman); and altogether, the Aboriginal members of the group number five, so they are outnumbered by “The Rest of Us”; nevertheless, we share our thoughts and our knowledge of who each of us is, which helps us to learn of the different cultures we represent.
We use the “Talking Circle” to hold dialogue, by which we are disciplined to listen to one another which means that sometimes difficult questions are asked, and we must struggle to find answers to enable one another to gain new understanding.
In many ways, we are a “work in progress”, not sure of our purpose except that we know we have developed a sense of trust in one another to enable us to continue the dialogue, and from which each of us derives benefit – I would dare to say “spiritual benefit”.
As with the TRC, we have identified the need for education of Canadian citizens to understand Aboriginal history if we are to establish right relationships between us. How to undertake that kind of education in our area may become one of our goals.
To continue:
Education of non-Canadian people is important. One big challenge is to understand that this is a Canadian problem; not an Aboriginal problem.
We are working with the immigration department to produce a video for the immigration and citizenship process which includes the story of the IRS.
There are health support systems in place – for the survivors; for statement-gatherers; for when survivors go home from telling their stories; including traditional supports. We now have one Health Canada staff person working with the TRC full-time.
If stories are too traumatic for survivors to tell a second time, transcripts from the IAP are available so they can be made available (with the survivor's consent) to the archives.
Conclusion:
The legacy of the Indian residential schools is Canada's shame; what we do through the Truth & Reconciliation Commission can become Canada's pride. - Mr. J. Murray Sinclair.
