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The “secret” to reconciliation and mutual respect between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians lies in how parents and teachers educate their children, Manitoba Justice Murray Sinclair told a packed audience at the University of Ottawa Saturday.
Sinclair’s speech, which received a prolonged standing ovation, was a prelude to four days of activity in the National Capital Region to mark Tuesday’s release of the Truth and Reconciliation report into the treatment of aboriginal children at residential schools.
Sinclair chaired the commission.
For generations aboriginal children were taught that they were inferior to children of European immigrant families, he said.
“But it also had the effect of educating non-aboriginal children to believe that their cultures and ancestors were superior,’ he added, “when in some cases aboriginal societies were far superior in the way they functioned.”
The abuse suffered by tens of thousands of aboriginal schools has had a lasting effect not only on the survivors but deep into the fabric of aboriginal life in Canada, said Sinclair.
The federal government funded the church-run Indian Residential Schools for more than 120 years during which children were systematically stripped of their language, culture and traditions.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established following the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
Sinclair did not reveal any of the report’s recommendations but gave a clear indication Saturday of what to expect when it is tabled:
The ongoing disappearance, abuse and murder of young aboriginal women is a direct result of an ingrained attitude dating back to the fur trade.
“It was part of the normal way of things, and that belief has permeated the thinking of many men is western Canadian society and western society generally: To think about indigenous women as being less than their counterparts. Victimization of young girls in residential schools occurred at a much more significant rate than young boys although victimization of both was serious.”
“The question now,” said Sinclair, is ‘what do we do about all of this?
“The first step is a need to inform ourselves,” he said. “The secret to reconciliation is how we educate our children to make sure they have a proper understanding. The ultimate goal is establishing a relationship of mutual respect. We have a lot of work to do.”
Post-secondary institutions have a special responsibility to ensure “that the academic freedoms they stand so proudly in defence of are extended to addressing the academic knowledge of indigenous people.”
Sinclair signaled that the commission report will be inadequate in its estimation of the numbers of missing children who attended residential schools.
“Children who were not able to make it home because they died in the schools or died in the way home,’ he said. “We have attempted to determine the numbers as best we can but our report is very incomplete.
“There is a crying need for more research into the question of how many children actually died in the schools so that we can help the aboriginal community – and non-aboriginal community — come to terms with this treatment in a meaningful way.
“Residential schools can’t be looked at in isolation,” he added. “They were part of an overall approach (of government and society) to force the assimilation of indigenous people into Canadian society.”
A ‘Walk for Reconciliation’ begins at noon Sunday from Gatineau’s École Secondaire de l’Île and will end at Marion Dewar Plaza at Ottawa City Hall via Portage Bridge and Victoria Island.
“Reconciliation is a process that involves everyone from all sectors, that is what this walk is about,” Sinclair said in an earlier statement. “It will take time and it will not be easy, but we need to start this journey today, so that our children and future generations can finish it.”
For more information on the entire four-day program go to www.trc.ca
Related
ccobb@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/chrisicobb
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Sinclair’s speech, which received a prolonged standing ovation, was a prelude to four days of activity in the National Capital Region to mark Tuesday’s release of the Truth and Reconciliation report into the treatment of aboriginal children at residential schools.
Sinclair chaired the commission.
For generations aboriginal children were taught that they were inferior to children of European immigrant families, he said.
“But it also had the effect of educating non-aboriginal children to believe that their cultures and ancestors were superior,’ he added, “when in some cases aboriginal societies were far superior in the way they functioned.”
The abuse suffered by tens of thousands of aboriginal schools has had a lasting effect not only on the survivors but deep into the fabric of aboriginal life in Canada, said Sinclair.
The federal government funded the church-run Indian Residential Schools for more than 120 years during which children were systematically stripped of their language, culture and traditions.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established following the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
Sinclair did not reveal any of the report’s recommendations but gave a clear indication Saturday of what to expect when it is tabled:
- Children were physically and sexually abused and their health neglected. Diseases were rampant in the schools and many children died.
- Residential schools destroyed relationships between the resident children, their families and their communities.
- Children were often disbelieved by their parents when they told them of abuse and many parents who did believe their children told them ‘don’t tell anybody because if you tell anybody you’re going to get even more punishment.’
- Those people lost trust and sense of belief in their families, said Sinclair. “You can’t grow up in an institution – from being a young child to becoming a young adult — and have a sense of family. So knowing how to function in a family setting was a significant challenge for many.”
- Children of survivors have also been affected. The commission heard many reports of lack of affection and love; of parents emotionally incapable of showing love to their children — sometime fearful of showing love. Some survivors told the commission that they were afraid to hold their child because it reminded them of how they were held by the people who abused them.
- Substance abuse, mental illness and poverty were, and are, common in survivor families.
- Survivors’ lack of faith in the education system has been passed through generations often resulting in a lack of education and lack of family support for subsequent generations.
The ongoing disappearance, abuse and murder of young aboriginal women is a direct result of an ingrained attitude dating back to the fur trade.
“It was part of the normal way of things, and that belief has permeated the thinking of many men is western Canadian society and western society generally: To think about indigenous women as being less than their counterparts. Victimization of young girls in residential schools occurred at a much more significant rate than young boys although victimization of both was serious.”
“The question now,” said Sinclair, is ‘what do we do about all of this?
“The first step is a need to inform ourselves,” he said. “The secret to reconciliation is how we educate our children to make sure they have a proper understanding. The ultimate goal is establishing a relationship of mutual respect. We have a lot of work to do.”
Post-secondary institutions have a special responsibility to ensure “that the academic freedoms they stand so proudly in defence of are extended to addressing the academic knowledge of indigenous people.”
Sinclair signaled that the commission report will be inadequate in its estimation of the numbers of missing children who attended residential schools.
“Children who were not able to make it home because they died in the schools or died in the way home,’ he said. “We have attempted to determine the numbers as best we can but our report is very incomplete.
“There is a crying need for more research into the question of how many children actually died in the schools so that we can help the aboriginal community – and non-aboriginal community — come to terms with this treatment in a meaningful way.
“Residential schools can’t be looked at in isolation,” he added. “They were part of an overall approach (of government and society) to force the assimilation of indigenous people into Canadian society.”
A ‘Walk for Reconciliation’ begins at noon Sunday from Gatineau’s École Secondaire de l’Île and will end at Marion Dewar Plaza at Ottawa City Hall via Portage Bridge and Victoria Island.
“Reconciliation is a process that involves everyone from all sectors, that is what this walk is about,” Sinclair said in an earlier statement. “It will take time and it will not be easy, but we need to start this journey today, so that our children and future generations can finish it.”
For more information on the entire four-day program go to www.trc.ca
Related
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission events in Ottawa
- More coverage of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
ccobb@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/chrisicobb
查看原文...
