Reconciliation Week

Imagine: more than 150 000 children kidnapped from their families; taken kilometers from their homes and incarcerated in cement buildings, infested with diseases and physical and sexual abuse; being taught that they, and their families, were not human.

It sounds like a Saw movie, but this was the reality for 80% of Aboriginal children in Canada, who were coerced into the Canadian Residential School System, from as early as Canada’s creation in 1867 until the last residential school closed in 1998.

Assimilation was the backbone of the Residential School System. It was purposely designed to “kill the Indian to save the man”; as if to be human you could not be Aboriginal. These intentions were public and clear: “all the Indian there is in the race should be dead”. This propaganda has been argued no different than that of the Third Reich.

The sexual and physical violence that plagued the Canadian Residential School System is perhaps the most well-known consequence of the Residential School System. The effects of this abuse still reverberate throughout the Aboriginal community. Over the past couple of months, new atrocities have come to our attention. Aboriginal students of the system were purposely subjected to experiments on the effects of withholding nutrition. These examples are only a snapshot of the horrific treatments afflicted on Aboriginal children.

In 2007, former residential school students won a class action suit against the federal government. It forced the feds to officially recognize the scars of the residential school system. During the investigation, it became evident that there needed to be a forum for sharing common experiences and for a shared healing journey, between Canadian Aboriginal community members and between Canadians of European descent.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was initiated as the platform for this communication. It was also designed to bring public awareness to the issues and to create a “comprehensive historical record” about Canada’s darkest chapter. It is held in various communities around Canada throughout the year.

This week (September 16-22) Vancouver has officially declared “Reconciliation Week”. The week will begin with lighting the Fire of Reconciliation at Ambleside Beach, followed by an All Nations Canoe Gathering. The rest of the week will be dedicated to the sharing and learning of survivors’ stories. The week concludes with a Walk for Reconciliation, introduced by key-note speaker, Dr. Bernice King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in the 50^th year since the delivery of his “I have a dream” speech.

I could write 10 000 words about Residential Schools (and I have… I wrote my thesis on them…), but I think that I will leave the stories of history, hurt and healing up to you to discover. As a Canadian of European descent, it is easy to sit back on my privilege and chalk it all up to “good intentions” and stereotypes. Perhaps it is a bit of guilt, but I am so tired of hearing “they should get over it”. When we consider the residual effects that still plague our society today, like the “Highway of Tears”, the “Stolen Sisters”, and the disproportional high rates of incarceration, we know that the targeted racism and hatred is not forgotten and not something “to get over”.

I hope that everyone takes advantage of the opportunities that Reconciliation Week offers. For all Canadians to move towards forgiveness and inclusivity, we need education and understanding. As Martin Luther King Jr. said: “We cannot walk alone. And as we walk we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead”. This is a journey we need to take together.

- Lisa