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A day to honor the truth and commit to reconciliation

 

 

The truth hurts, but silence kills.

Rachelle Dominique, Innu of Pessamit

Reference: Anne Panasuk, Auassat : à la recherche des enfants disparus, Édito, 2021

 

On September 30, 2022, Canada honours the missing children and thousands of survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. For over a century, these institutions have been a central instrument of Canadian Indian policy. A policy of "cultural genocide," according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, whose main objectives were to eliminate Indigenous governments, ignore Indigenous rights, end treaties and, through a process of assimilation, ensure that Indigenous peoples ceased to exist as legal, social, cultural, religious and racial entities in Canada.

Between 1831 and 1996, the federal government operated 140 residential schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission recalls that "Canada separated children from their parents by sending them to residential schools. This was not done in order to provide them with an education, but essentially to break the connection with their culture and identity." About 150,000 students would have attended these institutions, some of whom never returned. Since May 2021, over 1,100 unmarked graves have been discovered near former residential schools, bringing renewed pain to families and communities. And the searches are still going on, within the framework of this painful quest for truth.

The second edition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation gives us another opportunity to listen to the stories and testimonies of those directly or indirectly affected by the legacy of residential schools. An opportunity to learn about this tragic part of our history and to better understand the harmful and lasting impact of residential schools, which span several generations, including those born after these institutions were closed. Today is an opportunity to reflect, to commit ourselves further to the long road of reconciliation and healing.