Phil Fontaine, the former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada last week. The honour, “recognizes a lifetime of achievement and merit of a high degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large”.
Fontaine, the longest-serving Chief, is honoured for his work leading to the settlement of the 150-year Indian residential school tragedy.
Indian residential schools were the misguided attempt by Canadian authorities to assimilate First Nations, Inuit and Metis children into the dominant mainstream culture. Beginning in the 1830’s until as late as 1996, these children, some as young as four, were forcibly taken from their families and communities, and put into “residential” or boarding schools. Punished for speaking their native tongues, the experiment left generations of adults dealing with a legacy of abuse.
In June 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologized to former students of the Indian Residential Schools. A system of financial compensation was provided and the Truth & Reconciliation Commission established. The commission’s mandate, to hear the stories of survivors, many speaking of their experiences for the first time, create opportunities for healing, and educate other Canadians about this history, has been extended until June of 2015.
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