The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) is holding its last event in their pan-Canadian events to deal with the legacy of the abuses of Aboriginal children in so-called “residential schools” in the western city of Edmonton from March 27 to 30.
About 150,000 Indigenous youth were taken from their families and sent to the church-run residential school system which existed from the 1870s until the 1990s.
At one of the Commission’s hearings in 2013, former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said the residential schools engaged in “cultural genocide”: “Let us understand that what happened at the residential schools was the use of education for cultural genocide, and that the fact of the matter is – yes it was. Call a spade a spade.”
This TRC National Event in Edmonton is the seventh and final National Event mandated by the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
The event allows both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians “to hear first-hand the experiences of those who attended the schools, to bear witness to the legacy of the residential school system, and to celebrate Aboriginal culture.”
Activities will include panels, film showings, advice on how to share memories, sharing circles, and private statement gathering.
More information:
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada – Details on Edmonton event – here
RCI – At least 4,000 died in Canada’s aboriginal residential schools, says commission – here
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