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| Appointment of New Chairperson and Commissioners of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission CNW June 10, 2009 http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2009/10/c5313.html OTTAWA, June 10 /CNW Telbec/ - The Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) welcomes the appointment today of The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair as Chairperson and Marie Wilson and Chief Wilton Littlechild as Commissioners. Chairperson Justice Murray Sinclair is a member of the Three Fires Society, and a Third Degree Member of the Midewiwin (Grand Medicine) Society of the Ojibway. Manitoba's first Aboriginal judge, Justice Sinclair brings to the TRC his many years of commitment advocating for Aboriginal rights and expert knowledge of Aboriginal culture and the administration of justice. The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair was appointed Associate Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Manitoba in March of 1988 and to the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba in January 2001. Shortly after his appointment as Associate Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Manitoba in 1988, Justice Sinclair was appointed Co-Commissioner, along with Court of Queen's Bench Associate Chief Justice A. C. Hamilton, of Manitoba's Aboriginal Justice Inquiry. Commissioner Marie Wilson has dedicated her career to living and working in a cross cultural environments within Canada and internationally, as an educator, award-winning journalist, broadcast trainer, program director, and regional executive in both the public broadcast and public service sectors. She has a wide breadth of experience working with Aboriginal, church and political organizations at the operational, executive and political levels, and is fluently bilingual in English and French. She also has deep personal knowledge of the residential school legacy through her immediate family and community ties. Commissioner Chief Wilton Littlechild is from Maskawacis Cree Territory of Treaty No. 6. He was the first Treaty First Nations person to receive his law degree from the University of Alberta in 1976. He is a strong advocate for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and a former residential school student. Chief Littlechild organized a coalition of Indigenous Nations that sought and gained consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. He was re-appointed by the E.C.O.S.O.C. President to represent North America and has completed his second and final term as the North American representative to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. With the appointment of the Commission, the TRC looks forward to launching its mandate activities as soon as possible. The TRC's mandate is to inform all Canadians about what happened in Indian Residential Schools (IRS). The Commission will document the truth of survivors, families, communities and anyone personally affected by the IRS experience. The aim of the TRC is to guide and inspire Aboriginal peoples and Canadians in a process of reconciliation and renewed relationships that are based on mutual understanding and respect. Over its five year mandate the Commission will create an accurate and public historical record regarding the policies and operations of the former IRS, as well as what happened to the children who attended them, and also what former employees recall from their experiences. The TRC was established on June 1, 2008. Backgrounder attached. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Backgrounder ------------------------------------------------------------------------- INDIAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION The Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established on June 1, 2008, with a mandate of 5 years. As a component of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the TRC is an independent body that will oversee a process to provide former students and anyone who has been affected by the Indian Residential Schools legacy, with an opportunity to share their individual experiences in a safe and culturally appropriate manner. Canada's TRC is unique from other commissions around the world in that its scope is primarily focussed on the experiences of children. Its focus of research spans more than 100 years, one of the longest durations ever examined. It is also the first court-ordered truth commission to be established. As such, the court plays an ongoing role in the implementation and supervision of the commission. Over the course of its five year mandate, the Commission will: Historical Overview Indian Residential Schools date back to the1870's. The policy behind the government funded, church-run schools attempted to "kill the Indian in the child". Over 130 residential schools were located across the country, with the last one closing in 1996. More than 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were taken from their families and placed in these schools. Many were forbidden to speak their language and practice their own culture. Today, there are an estimated 80,000 former students still living. While some former students had positive experiences at residential schools, many suffered emotional, physical and sexual abuse, and others died while attending these schools. The unresolved trauma suffered by former students has been passed on from generation to generation. The 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) report recognized that the future must include a place for those affected by Indian Residential Schools, so as to enable them to stand with dignity, to remember, to voice their sorrow and anger and to be listened to with respect. Following the RCAP report, Gathering Strength, Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan was unveiled. This included a Statement of Reconciliation acknowledging the Government of Canada's role in the development and administration of Indian residential schools. In 2001, the federal Office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada was created to manage and resolve the large number of abuse claims filed by former students against the federal government. In 2004, an Assembly of First Nations Report on Canada's Dispute Resolution Plan to Compensate for Abuses in Indian Residential Schools lead to discussions to develop a holistic, fair and lasting resolution of the legacy of Indian Residential Schools. This resulted in the negotiated Settlement Agreement that was approved by all parties and implemented on September 19, 2007. The IRSSA was approved by the Courts and came into effect on September 19, 2007. It includes the following individual and collective measures to address the legacy of the Indian Residential School system: - Common Experience Payment to be paid to all eligible former students who resided at a recognized Indian Residential School; On June 11, 2008, the Prime Minister, on behalf of the Government of Canada, issued an apology in the House of Commons to former students, their families and communities. The apology is considered by many as a step towards reconciliation. The work of the TRC will further contribute to a forward looking process of truth, healing and reconciliation. For further information: Kimberly Phillips, Spokesperson, Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, (613) 219-5872; Nancy Pine, (613) 316-5654 |
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