Missing Children and Burial Information - TRC Calls to Action 71-76

So far, well over 1000 unmarked graves have been discovered. This should not be news to us. Families knew. Survivors knew. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Calls 71-76 already alerted all Canadians to the reality of the deaths of children in residential schools and the unmarked graves that are now being revealed. Let us do better and heed these calls in full now. 

71. We call upon all chief coroners and provincial vital statistics agencies that have not provided to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada their records on the deaths of Aboriginal children in the care of residential school authorities to make these documents available to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

72. We call upon the federal government to allocate sufficient resources to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to allow it to develop and maintain the National Residential School Student Death Register established by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

73. We call upon the federal government to work with churches, Aboriginal communities, and former residential school students to establish and maintain an online registry of residential school cemeteries, including, where possible, plot maps showing the location of deceased residential school children.

74. We call upon the federal government to work with the churches and Aboriginal community leaders to inform the families of children who died at residential schools of the child’s burial location, and to respond to families’ wishes for appropriate commemoration ceremonies and markers, and reburial in home communities where requested.

75. We call upon the federal government to work with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, churches, Aboriginal communities, former residential school students, and current landowners to develop and implement strategies and procedures for the ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration, and protection of residential school cemeteries or other sites at which residential school children were buried. This is to include the provision of appropriate memorial ceremonies and commemorative markers to honour the deceased children.

76. We call upon the parties engaged in the work of documenting, maintaining, commemorating, and protecting residential school cemeteries to adopt strategies in accordance with the following principles:

    i. The Aboriginal community most affected shall lead the development of such strategies.

    ii. Information shall be sought from residential school Survivors and other Knowledge Keepers in the development of such strategies.

    iii. Aboriginal protocols shall be respected before any potentially invasive technical inspection and investigation of a cemetery site.

Museums and Archives - TRC Calls to Action 67-70

Regarding Residential School archives, the  NCTR - National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is mandated to be the national repository of all relevant records from organizations that ran Residential Schools. 

67. We call upon the federal government to provide funding to the Canadian Museums Association to undertake, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, a national review of museum policies and best practices to determine the level of compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to make recommendations.

68. We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, and the Canadian Museums Association to mark the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation in 2017 by establishing a dedicated national funding program for commemoration projects on the theme of reconciliation.

69. We call upon Library and Archives Canada to:

    i. Fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Joinet-Orentlicher Principles, as related to Aboriginal peoples’ inalienable right to know the truth about what happened and why, with regard to human rights violations committed against them in the residential schools.

    ii. Ensure that its record holdings related to residential schools are accessible to the public.

    iii. Commit more resources to its public education materials and programming on residential schools.

70. We call upon the federal government to provide funding to the Canadian Association of Archivists to undertake, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, a national review of archival policies and best practices to:

    i. Determine the level of compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Joinet-Orentlicher Principles, as related to Aboriginal peoples’ inalienable right to know the truth about what happened and why, with regard to human rights violations committed against them in the residential schools.

    ii. Produce a report with recommendations for full implementation of these international mechanisms as a reconciliation framework for Canadian archives.

Youth Programs - TRC Call to Action 66

 

Youth Programs

66. We call upon the federal government to establish multiyear funding for community-based youth organizations to deliver programs on reconciliation, and establish a national network to share information and best practices.

Education for reconciliation - TRC Calls 62-65

Education for reconciliation

62. We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators, to:

        i. Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’                 historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for                 Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students.

        ii. Provide the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to             integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms.

        iii. Provide the necessary funding to Aboriginal schools to utilize Indigenous knowledge and             teaching methods in classrooms.

        iv. Establish senior-level positions in government at the assistant deputy minister level or higher         dedicated to Aboriginal content in education.

63. We call upon the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada to maintain an annual commitment to Aboriginal education issues, including:

        i. Developing and implementing Kindergarten to Grade Twelve curriculum and learning resources         on Aboriginal peoples in Canadian history, and the history and legacy of residential schools.

        ii. Sharing information and best practices on teaching curriculum related to residential schools and         Aboriginal history.

        iii. Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect.

        iv. Identifying teacher-training needs relating to the above.

64. We call upon all levels of government that provide public funds to denominational schools to require such schools to provide an education on comparative religious studies, which must include a segment on Aboriginal spiritual beliefs and practices developed in collaboration with Aboriginal Elders.

65. We call upon the federal government, through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, post-secondary institutions and educators, and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and its partner institutions, to establish a national research program with multi-year funding to advance understanding of reconciliation.

Church Apologies and Reconciliation - TRC Calls to Action 58-61

Residential School Apology & Sunday Homily June 27, 2021

The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Anglican and United Church of Canada were involved in operating residential schools. All the churches, except the Roman Catholic Church have apologized at an institutional level. While, many Roman Catholic religious congregations and RC Dioceses have issued sincere apologies, neither the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, nor the Head of the Roman Catholic Church has issued a formal apology on behalf of the institution. The hierarchical branch of the Roman Catholic Church rationalizes this by strict adherence, in this particular situation, to its decentralized structure. For the RC Church to issue a formal apology from the hierarchy is an important step in reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, many of whom are baptized Catholics. The video above represents the opinion of many Catholics in Canada. 

Church Apologies and Reconciliation

58. We call upon the Pope to issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run residential schools. We call for that apology to be similar to the 2010 apology issued to Irish victims of abuse and to occur within one year of the issuing of this Report and to be delivered by the Pope in Canada.

59. We call upon church parties to the Settlement Agreement to develop ongoing education strategies to ensure that their respective congregations learn about their church’s role in colonization, the history and legacy of residential schools, and why apologies to former residential school students, their families, and communities were necessary.

60. We call upon leaders of the church parties to the Settlement Agreement and all other faiths, in collaboration with Indigenous spiritual leaders, Survivors, schools of theology, seminaries, and other religious training centres, to develop and teach curriculum for all student clergy, and all clergy and staff who work in Aboriginal communities, on the need to respect Indigenous spirituality in its own right, the history and legacy of residential schools and the roles of the church parties in that system, the history and legacy of religious conflict in Aboriginal families and communities, and the responsibility that churches have to mitigate such conflicts and prevent spiritual violence.

61. We call upon church parties to the Settlement Agreement, in collaboration with Survivors and representatives of Aboriginal organizations, to establish permanent funding to Aboriginal people for:

    i. Community-controlled healing and reconciliation projects.

    ii. Community-controlled culture- and language revitalization projects.

    iii. Community-controlled education and relationship building projects.

    iv. Regional dialogues for Indigenous spiritual leaders and youth to discuss Indigenous spirituality,         self determination, and reconciliation.

Professional Development and Training for Public Servants - TRC Call to Action 57

A free course called Indigenous Canada is offered to all. Register at https://www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada?action=enroll

The TRC Call to Action 57 calls upon employers to require professionals to be trained in skills for intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism. This training does not replace the need for hiring equity for Indigenous persons. 

Professional Development and Training for Public Servants

57. We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to provide education to public servants on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

National Council for Reconciliation - TRC Calls to Action 53-56

Learn how the Government of Canada is responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action 53 to 56. Indigenous Peoples and Canadians are still waiting for the establishment of a National Council for Reconciliation. Initial and interim efforts were made, but the link above to the Government of Canada's response indicates that we are still waiting for legislation and the appointment of an independent oversight body. 

National Council for Reconciliation

53. We call upon the Parliament of Canada, in consultation and collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to enact legislation to establish a National Council for Reconciliation. The legislation would establish the council as an independent, national, oversight body with membership jointly appointed by the Government of Canada and national Aboriginal organizations, and consisting of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal members. Its mandate would include, but not be limited to, the following:

    i. Monitor, evaluate, and report annually to Parliament and the people of Canada on the Government of Canada’s post-apology progress on reconciliation to ensure that government accountability for reconciling the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Crown is maintained in the coming years.

    ii. Monitor, evaluate, and report to Parliament and the people of Canada on reconciliation progress across all levels and sectors of Canadian society, including the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.

    iii. Develop and implement a multi-year National Action Plan for Reconciliation, which includes research and policy development, public education programs, and resources.

    iv. Promote public dialogue, public/private partnerships, and public initiatives for reconciliation.

54. We call upon the Government of Canada to provide multi-year funding for the National Council for Reconciliation to ensure that it has the financial, human, and technical resources required to conduct its work, including the endowment of a National Reconciliation Trust to advance the cause of reconciliation.

55. We call upon all levels of government to provide annual reports or any current data requested by the National Council for Reconciliation so that it can report on the progress towards reconciliation. The reports or data would include, but not be limited to:

    i. The number of Aboriginal children—including Métis and Inuit children—in care, compared with non- Aboriginal children, the reasons for apprehension, and the total spending on preventive and care services by child-welfare agencies.

    ii. Comparative funding for the education of First Nations children on and off reserves.

    iii. The educational and income attainments of Aboriginal peoples in Canada compared with non-Aboriginal people.

    iv. Progress on closing the gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities in a number of health indicators such as: infant mortality, maternal health, suicide, mental health, addictions, life expectancy, birth rates, infant and child health issues, chronic diseases, illness and injury incidence, and the availability of appropriate health services.

    v. Progress on eliminating the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in youth custody over the next decade.

    vi. Progress on reducing the rate of criminal victimization of Aboriginal people, including data related to homicide and family violence victimization and other crimes.

    vii. Progress on reducing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in the justice and correctional systems.

56. We call upon the prime minister of Canada to formally respond to the report of the National Council for Reconciliation by issuing an annual “State of Aboriginal Peoples” report, which would outline the government’s plans for advancing the cause of reconciliation.