Latest news with #ResidentialSchools
National Post
2 days ago
- General
- National Post
Greg Piasetzki: John A. Macdonald's return to Queen's Park an opportunity for historical literacy
This summer, the Ontario government will remove the box that has, for several years, concealed the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald at Queen's Park. It was in 2020 — after several statues across Canada had been painted, toppled and even beheaded — that Macdonald's likeness in Ontario's capital was boarded up. Article content Uncovering the statue is a welcome move. But if that's all we do, we are likely to find ourselves back here again before long. Until Canadians are willing to revisit the actual historical facts — and in particular Macdonald's relationship with Indigenous-Canadians — the cycle of erasure and outrage will continue. Article content Article content Article content The most widespread and damaging misunderstanding is the idea that every Indigenous child was forced by law to attend a residential school, was taken far from home, kept for years and subjected to routine abuse. This narrative has become almost universally accepted in Canada. Article content Article content However, the reality is that, in many years, the majority of Indigenous children who attended school went to day schools and most of the students dropped out after Grade 1, whether at day or residential schools. These facts were well known at the time. They were discussed in Parliament and reported in mainstream newspapers. Article content For example, in 1946, decades after the first residential schools were built, the Globe and Mail reported that, 'Of the 128,000 Indians in this country, only 16,000 last year received formal schooling. Of this number, few stayed more than a year and only 71 … reached Grade 9.' Article content A populist movement towards compulsory education had begun in the 1870s in Canada; by the 1940s, most Canadian children were required to attend school till at least age 15. However, the government in Macdonald's day, and through many subsequent prime ministers, respected the wishes of Indigenous families, who were not forced to keep their children in school beyond the early grades. Article content Article content Clearly, neither Macdonald's government, nor any succeeding one, was engaged in genocide, cultural or otherwise. There were also a number of initiatives of Macdonald's governments that likely saved tens of thousands of Indigenous lives and are equally inconsistent with the notion that he had any interest in genocide. Article content Article content Smallpox killed thousands of Indigenous people in Canada in some pre-Confederation years and Macdonald's governments, in the colonial era, and later when he was prime minister, ran programs to ensure that every Indigenous person in Canada, no matter how remote their location, was vaccinated against it, thus ending the threat. Article content Similarly, when the buffalo population collapsed, Macdonald immediately initiated what was certainly the largest famine relief operation in Canadian history. Moving supplies across the county when no railway existed was an enormous undertaking, and it had the usual missteps associated with a hastily organized program of this scale. However, the program likely saved thousands of lives and avoided a human catastrophe across western Canada.
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Reconciliation takes more than students in orange shirts. But these schools are making progress
Schools are incorporating TRC's calls to action, but it's 'not enough progress' 6 hours ago Duration 1:58 Social Sharing When Niigaan Sinclair visits schools, he always asks, "How many of you have an orange shirt in your closet that you pull out at least once a year?" He considers it progress that nearly every hand goes up these days. "I'm seeing more conversations, more curriculums, and probably most important of all, the change in school culture," said the author and indigenous studies professor at the University of Manitoba. Ten years since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)'s final report, more students are marking Orange Shirt Day each September. Also known as Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, many spend at least part of the day learning about residential schools, where Indigenous children were forced into government-funded, church-run schools to strip away their culture. Yet Sinclair, also a former high school teacher, notes it's just one day set aside to talk about the impact of residential schools. "Can we do it for the other 364 days?" he said from Yellowknife. Teaching K-12 students about residential schools is just one step toward reconciliation, according to Sinclair and other educators. Sinclair believes many areas with a high Indigenous population — across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Northwestern Ontario, for instance — absolutely understand working together to achieve the TRC's recommendations, which spell out ways to address the legacy of residential schools. Schools talking about reconciliation, but more work needed 10 hours ago Duration 1:39 Yet "in many corners of the country, we're still having a conversation about the why, not about the how," said Sinclair, whose father was the late Murray Sinclair, the judge and senator who chaired the commission. "Virtually every school district in Canada has in some way or another adopted principles of reconciliation. Whether they've committed to the calls to action is a little bit different." WATCH | Urgency needed as Canada lags on 94 calls to action, says Indigenous advocate: 'Greatly concerning' that only 13 calls to action completed: Rose LeMay | Canada Tonight 8 months ago Duration 21:41 In 2023, the Yellowhead Institute, an Indigenous-led research and education group, reported that only 13 calls to action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had been addressed in the nearly 10 years since they were introduced. Rose LeMay, CEO of the Indigenous Reconciliation Group, says all 94 need to be addressed 'within a generation.' Also, Isabella Kulak, 14, shares the origins of Ribbon Skirt Day and talks about what the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation means to her and her family. Theme of education The theme of education runs throughout the recommendations, from calling for federal support to eliminating educational gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. For K-12, the TRC called upon federal and provincial governments to collaborate with Indigenous groups and educators to develop mandatory, age-appropriate curriculums about residential schools, treaties and Indigenous contributions, plus training for teachers. While all provinces and territories do include residential schools in their overall curriculum now, exactly where it appears, how deeply, and whether it's even compulsory varies across regions. According to non-profit group Indigenous Watchdog, which tracks progress of the calls, none of the education-related calls are fully complete. Still, progress inches forward at individual boards and schools. Building intercultural respect and understanding among K-12 students, for instance, is a part of Call 63 that resonates northwest of Toronto at the Peel District School Board, Canada's second largest and with one of the most diverse student populations. Hundreds of PDSB students, staff and community members gathered Friday at the board's Maawnjiding Wiigushkeng Centre for Indigenous Excellence and Land-Based Learning in Cheltenham, Ont., for its second annual powwow. Students spent a glorious spring day taking in dancers in vibrant regalia, drum circles and cultural pavilions that ranged from storytelling and traditional animal hide preservation to street art and Indigenous DJs. For some attendees, the joyful event built on what they learn every day. At SouthFields Village Public School, Indigenous perspectives are blended into different subjects and school-wide events. Students learn about residential schools, but also the value of time outdoors in nature and saying "thank you to what nature has given us," said Grade 4 student Ryka Gill. "Some people [who] are Indigenous, in the past, their culture was taken away," she said. "In this generation, I think it's important to learn about Indigenous culture." Gill's teacher, Laura Gibson, says educators today must "carve out spaces for voices not my own." Seeking ongoing training and development means she's more able to bring Indigenous voices to her students and spark connections. She and her colleagues incorporate Indigenous learning across different spaces. Attending the annual powwow is one example, but there are also school trips to a longhouse and Indigenous speakers regularly invited into their classrooms. Experiences like this weren't available to previous generations, according to PDSB's Indigenous education lead Nicole Reynolds. "That we can share this with students from various backgrounds and from diverse identities is really important.... They are learning with Indigenous people." 'An education system that includes us' At Yukon's First Nation School Board, engaging local First Nations has been a vital pillar of the new school authority, which started in 2022 following decades of Indigenous leaders decrying the "devastating" schooling of their children, according to Melissa Flynn, FNSB executive director. "When the education system hasn't been meeting the needs of our children ... it's not the family and the children that need to change, it was the education system and how it's being delivered," she said from the board's head office in Whitehorse. "It is changing the education system [from] a system that is happening to us as learners and families, to an education that includes us." That's meant changes to how kids are taught, like adopting structured literacy for learning how to read, more trips out on the land and developing high school courses on more resonant topics, like food sovereignty. In just three years, Flynn is heartened to see improved literacy at the board's 11 schools and every time a family reaches out to say their children now feel excited to attend school. The involvement of nine different First Nations governments, as well as Indigenous elders and knowledge-holders, has been key, she said. They consult on everything from school growth plans to next steps after the latest literacy and numeracy data is gathered to building students' sense of duty to the community. "Every single generation has a responsibility in the education of our children," Flynn said, adding that tapping into a traditional practice of multi-generational learning, mentoring and support benefits not only students, but teachers and staff, as well. "How do we bring it back into the learning system where no one learns alone?" Flynn has an eye to improve Indigenous language programs next, but feels confident overall that responding to what Indigenous students and communities need is the right approach to addressing the TRC's calls to action in education. "We all live on the territory of an Indigenous group. What a gift it would be for everyone across Canada to see this is what education looks like: It is guided by the people and the land that you live on."
CBC
23-05-2025
- CBC
'Colonial mindset' preventing return of child's remains to her community, says N.W.T. MLA
WARNING: This story contains details that may be distressing. Some N.W.T. MLAs pressed the territory's culture minister on Thursday to waive legislation that they say is holding up efforts to return a deceased child's remains to her home community. The child from Fort Smith, N.W.T. — identified only as Alma by the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation — died while at residential school in the 1940s, according to the First Nation. Under the territory's Archaeological Sites Act, Alma's remains are considered artifacts since it's evidence of human activity from over 50 years ago and that means a permit would be required to move them. "Insisting that the remains of Indigenous children are subject to Archaeological Sites Act reveals the same colonial mindset that led to the creation of the residential school to begin with," Richard Edjericon said, MLA for Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh. Chief Louis Balsillie of Deninu Kųę́ First Nation has said that his community has been searching for unmarked graves of students of the former St. Joseph's residential school in Fort Resolution. It's a possibility people have talked about for years in the community. Balsillie said earlier this year that they've figured out where Alma was buried, and that the community wanted to help Alma's sister fulfil a promise of returning Alma to Fort Smith to be buried alongside her mother. Edjericon, along with Yellowknife MLA Robert Hawkins, pressed the minister to issue a directive to override the Archaeological Sites Act and instead invoke the Coroners Act to allow the territory's coroner to exhume the remains for the purposes of an investigation — something Edjericon says is warranted since he believes "there are serious reasons to doubt" that Alma died of tuberculosis, as indicated on her official death certificate. The Deninu Kųę́ First Nation said in a news release this week that the cause of death for residential school students was often said to be tuberculosis, a "catch-all category." "However, these deaths are questionable according to elders (survivors) and archival records," the release states. Indigenous people not 'property of the state,' MLA says Hawkins says that under the Archaeological Sites Act, Alma is considered a "thing." "And if she is a thing, she becomes a property of the state. And if she becomes a property of the state, what symbolism does that represent, that Indigenous people are a property of the state?" Hawkins said. Caitlin Cleveland, the minister of Education, Culture and Employment, emphasized that neither she nor her department wants to stand in the way of Alma's remains, or those of anyone else, being returned to their community. But she said she needs to follow the law and she doesn't have the authority to issue a directive as suggested by Edjericon and Hawkins. The Archaeological Sites Act came into force in 2014 and Cleveland said the territory is in the process of updating the legislation. She said it wasn't drafted to addresses cases like these but the territory is working to make improvements. "This act does use the term 'artifact,' but in no way, shape or form is the respect or dignity of this process, or the importance of this process, diminished because of that," she said. "There is a desire to ensure that respect is being afforded to all Indigenous people of this territory and Nunavut who may have family who are buried at the sites of our residential schools in this territory." Cleveland also said that if the community knows the identity of the individual and it is clearly marked, the Archaeological Sites Act does not apply. It's not clear how the community would prove that individual's identity. Edjericon said that he was "saddened" by Cleveland's response and said that government policies were overriding treaties and Indigenous values. Caroline Wawzonek, acting as premier in R.J. Simpson's absence, called a point of order on those comments. She said Edjericon had overstepped and made inferences about the minister's intentions and the process, imputing negative motives when the issue is important to all of the assembly's members. "It's not a characterization of work that's happened on this file, that's been described in this House today," Wawzonek said. "It's not fair and it's not proper." Speaker Shane Thompson agreed with Wawzonek in his ruling and Edjericon retracted his comments. A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
What does Canada mean to you in 2025? Share your perspective and story
From poutine, maple syrup and beaver tails to mountains, prairies and the sea, people around the world have some fairly defined ideas of what "Canada" is — if they think about it at all. But within Canada, pride and identity have shifted over time, whether it was after the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools or through the displays of the Canadian flag and talk over rights during the Freedom Convoy. This year saw a resurgence in Canadian pride as people got their " elbows up," bought Canadian products and pushed back against U.S. President Donald Trump's musings about Canada becoming a 51st State and tariff threats. Then there was a federal election — a fast and furious campaign that ended with some frustrated western Canadians talking about separation. It's led many to feel like there's a national existential crisis amid the ongoing effort to understand the values that define our nation. CBC wants to explore what makes residents and citizens from all backgrounds feel rooted in this country as we approach Canada Day. We're looking for First Person columns to publish in the lead-up to Canada Day, exploring Canadian identity from multiple perspectives. What's the personal experience you've had that defines what being Canadian means to you, in this moment in time? How did it come to mean what it does to you, whether that's good or bad, or like some relationships, complicated? Perhaps you want to tell us about a special place in this country that defines what it means to be Canadian for you. Maybe you want to write about a moment that you came to feel a real connection — or a sense of disconnection — from Canada. Perhaps you want to write about a Canadian tradition that you practise and you hope continues in future generations. Here are some examples of columns we've published that might get you thinking about your own experience: Send a 200-word pitch to firstperson@ including the deeply personal experience you've had that clicked into place what being Canadian means to you. Please also include where you live. This is a paid writing opportunity and you don't have to be a professional writer. You'll work one-on-one with a CBC editor to produce your piece. Want to see previous First Person columns we've published? Check out our website and FAQ here.
