Canada Day: Historical Truth Reflected
Photo by Praveen Kumar Nandagiri (@pravynandas)
On July 1st, Prime Minister Trudeau ordered the Canadian flag flown on Peace Tower on Parliament Hill lowered at half-mast for Canada Day after the remains of over 1,000 Indigenous children were found buried at residential school sites. In his message, he called for Canadians to reflect on our history.
"Following the horrific discoveries of hundreds of children at the sites of former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. We all stopped to reflect on the historical and ongoing injustices, and we as Canadians must be honest with ourselves about our history in order to chart a new and better path forward. We have to recognize the terrible mistakes of our past. The truth is we have a long way to go to make things right with Indigenous Peoples, but if we all pledge ourselves doing the work, we can achieve reconciliation. We can build a better country for everyone."
The Living Peace Museum expresses our deepest condolences to the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc, the Lower Kootenay, the Cowessess and the Penelakut First Nations for the loss of their children and ancestors.
Today, the atrocities uncovered reverberate across Canada. The tragedy of discovering 1,308 lost souls is but the tip of a worldwide iceberg of unresolved colonial trauma. Since the 1800s, massacres, confiscation, forced relocation, and theft of the living, the dead, and their belonging(s) have collectively shaped Canada and Indigenous reality throughout the former British Empire.
Although some may argue we have entered a post-colonial era, today's urban-raised descendants continue living out a troubled legacy of cultural disconnection. Our Earth's Indigenous Peoples generally find themselves genealogically isolated through no fault of their own, surviving in substandard urban conditions alienated from kinship in their home communities. Canada is no exception.
The horror placed upon these children will take many lifetimes of work, listening and learning from Indigenous Peoples to understand the truth and depth of injustice and violence. We need to re-educate ourselves and consider the impacts of colonialism, neo-colonialism and the continuation of systemic racism.
Dare we imagine Canada embracing shared governance, encouraging vital conversations between Indigenous Peoples and all Canadians for healing and peace that remain critical to Indigenous Peoples, the ancestors, Elders and future generations, not just in Canada but also worldwide.
In light of the evidence of the children's graves, many of us may not know how to take steps towards a path of reconciliation, healing and peace. We encourage our board, supporters, and audience to consider steps we can all take as allies to support the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc, the Lower Kootenay, the Cowessess, the Penelakut First Nations, Residential School Survivors and all Indigenous Peoples.
Actions indicated by the Indian Residential School Survivors Society include:
Learn about the impacts of the Indian Residential School system
Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 recommendations
Contact your MPs and local officials to encourage them to take meaningful action
Actively listen to people of First Nations, Inuit and Métis backgrounds
Stand up to stereotypes, prejudice and systemic racism
Have conversations with your family and friends
Be respectful towards trauma survivors and elders
Support Indigenous-led community organizations
Be patient, empathetic and receptive
Raise awareness in your community/online (wear orange)
Resources for Indigenous people:
Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society: 1-866-925-4419
KUU-US Crisis Line: 1-800-588-8717
Tsow-Tun-Le Lum: 1-866-925-4419
Related resources:
For those in need of words of hope and directions for future actions, we draw your attention to a presentation delivered in 2019 by Senator Murray Sinclair, Former Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry in Manitoba and former Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. View recording