CANADA
CBC News
By Michael Champagne, for CBC News
All Canadians are victims of Indian residential schools — whether you attended one of the schools, whether you’re an inter-generationally affected relative, a parent left behind or a non-aboriginal person in Canada who was fed a false history.
It’s important to also acknowledge much of the 96 per cent of Canada’s population that isn’t aboriginal have had their perceptions of indigenous people and communities altered in a negative way, because they haven’t grown up knowing the role their government played in killing the Indian in the child. The government that they learned about in school was a lot more mean spirited and malicious than many Canadians could ever imagine.
This weekend is the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and has many people asking the question: “What next?” The spotlight will shine on the courage and resilience of survivors and I hope the rest of Canada is paying attention.
When the TRC began, only 49 per cent of Canadians knew about residential schools. Over six years later, I hope the hard work of the commission can be articulated with clear recommendations for community and for government to realize together. When I think of what our next collective step is I believe there are a few answers.
1) There can be no reconciliation until our women and children are safe:
This means we have to work together to address the normalized violence that has led to the astronomical number of missing and murdered indigenous women.
The solutions must include the voices of our women. It also means addressing the alarming rate of kids in the care of Child and Family Services in Manitoba — over 10,000 kids need our help to get healthy or back to their family.
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