Truth and Reconciliation Commission gears for national gathering
INUVIK, NWT – Sometimes healing needs to start with listening, says commissioner Marie Wilson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
So she looks forward to the day when every Christian across Canada can name one Aboriginal friend whose story they know.
The TRC was established in 2008 by the parties to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, as part of a response to the abuse and neglect experienced by Aboriginal children. Included in its mandate were a series of seven national events where the individuals, families and communities affected by the residential schools could share their stories.
Wilson has been attending public meetings in communities across northern Canada in advance of The Northern National Event, which will be held in Inuvik from June 28 to July 1.
Canada's northern communities have the highest percentages of families affected by the policy of forced assimilation, Wilson says.
She adds Inuvik was chosen for the Northern Event because the area experienced "all of the complexities of the schools" including inter-denominational conflict, isolation and children who were taken very long distances from home.
"It is kind of a microcosm," Wilson says, "of all that was playing out in the North and in many parts of the country."
Hearing and recording the stories of residential school survivors is a focal point of the four-day event. Survivors will have the opportunity to share their stories either privately or through public forum. Professional counselling and emotional support will be also available. Wilson says they hope to hear from the parents of survivors as well.
"All of the national events have a similar mandate," Wilson says, "to provide an opportunity for a representative number of survivors to share their experiences, in support of other survivors [and also] to create an opportunity for the general public to learn more about the schools.
"What [the sharing of stories] really shift are levels of awareness and compassion," she adds. "Members of the community are able to get an understanding of what happened to the people they may very well have known all their lives, but didn't know this about them.
"When people get a better understanding of happened to their parents and grandparents, friends and neighbours, it shifts their opinion, and they are able to see things from an understanding heart instead of from a judging heart."
The event will also include theatre, art, displays and traditional ceremonies that TRC says "will be relevant and respectful of traditional protocols of the North."
Gestures of reconciliation will occur on behalf of the governments, churches, the business sector and community members.
Wilson adds, "I think it's the most important issue of living out faith as Christians in Canada today… because it is the greatest example of glaring injustice in our country.
"I think the thing that Canada needs to realize is that this is not an Aboriginal story. This is a Canadian story. This is a story about something Canada did, and what Canada is now doing. We can't just walk away from it, as if it had nothing to do with our country.
"If we don't start talking to each other, if we don't start engaging, what mistakes are we going to make again?"
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
