A Long Time Coming...
A last week Prime Minister Harper issued a formal apology for the treatment of First Nation's children in residential schools, and for the premise of the schools themselves and to commence the work of the commission for truth and reconciliation. I applaud the conservative government's willingness to finally take some proactive steps. Certainly motives are never quite what they seem in politics, but this was a long time coming and I'm glad the conservatives have started this process.
I am saddened that Canadian churches have not taken on much of a role in this commission unlike the part the churches played in Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. Not that there aren't some wonderful programs run by denominations aimed at forgiveness and restoration out there... I'm just disappointed that we don't often discuss such things from the pulpit, or in religious educational institutions. We don't properly understand how we came to such a point - to the point of fully participating in an institution that was so rotten to the core.
Approximately a third (and many claim up to a half) of children who attended residential schools never returned home and often parents were not informed of their deaths until years later. Residential schools were places of institutional abuse, where children were shamed because of their language and culture and where they were ultimately robbed of the the love and attention that only a family can provide, which is probably the most significant effect of the residential school policy.
Unless we rightly understand the past, it will be impossible to understand our present situation. Hopefully this commission will lead to a greater understanding and from that, a greater sense of responsibility and compassion. I know for myself, Canadian history did not make sense (and did not come to life) until I began to understand the complex and often injustice relationship between Aboriginal people and the newcomers. I'd encourage everyone to follow the progress of this commission and to discuss it with your family, friends and coworkers.
Labels: residential schools, truth and reconciliation commission
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