


Terry Cullen
Sep 30, 2022
Canada
Categories:
Indigenous People, Restorative Justice, Society
Today marks Canada's second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. The day honors the children who never returned home and survivors of the residential school program.
Residential schools were government-sponsored religious schools designed to assimilate First Nation people into European/Canadian culture. Initially started in eastern Canada by the French in what was known as New France (Quebec) in the 17th century, the Canadian government formalized the program following Confederation in 1867. The federal government funded the development and operation of 140 boarding schools from 1867 to 1996, with Christian churches running the education programs and administering the schools.
In 1894, the Canadian government made it compulsory for all First Nation children to attend a residential school. Children were forcibly removed from their homes and sent away to live at these schools. An estimated 150,000 children attended these schools in the program's 150-year history.
First Nations peoples know the tales of abuse towards these children and the disappearance of many. Only recently has it come to widespread public attention with the discovery of mass, unmarked graves adjoining some schools. Estimates of how many children died in these residential schools vary widely from 3,000 to 30,000.
First Nations people led a grassroots movement to create Canada's National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. The day honors the survivors and those that died in those residential schools. The federal government has negotiated a settlement agreement with the First Nations, apologized, and created a Commission and a National Center for Truth and Reconciliation.
Today, people are encouraged to wear an orange shirt to note their remembrance and support of truth and reconciliation. Truth and reconciliation is a concept used extensively in Latin America and Africa and is gaining recognition as a strategy to address victims of war and human rights abuses. It is rooted in an approach called "restorative justice" (as opposed to "adversarial and retributive justice"). Restorative justice seeks to daylight truth, acknowledgment, mourning, forgiveness, and healing.
You may be of a race, class, or culture that enjoys the privilege of power within your society. And you may find it difficult to empathize with those not part of that group. And you may not even know the pain and suffering others have and continue to endure. Whether you live in a powerful, wealthy country or not, every society has a past to reconcile. Restorative justice is not for nations only, it can be used in our local communities too.
Here's a suggestion. Please find a way to start a conversation today, whether it be with your family and friends around the dinner table, your neighborhood, your religious institution, or your hometown. Just start. How? Education is an excellent place to begin. Daylight your community's truth through conversation, connection, and building positive relationships with everyone that calls your hometown their hometown. Let patience and persistence guide you. Make a small start today.
Picture by Truth and Reconciliation - Canadian Association for the Performing Arts capacoa.ca
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0922.100.04.093022