The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada recently released the executive summary of its findings.
Here are five facts about the TRC and some UBC connections.
- The TRC was established in 2008 as part of the settlement of the class action lawsuit brought by survivors of Indian residential schools in Canada.
- The mandate of the TRC is to tell Canadians about the history of the residential schools in part through the statements of those whose lives were affected by them; the TRC received testimony from about 7,000 people.
- Universities Canada, representing UBC and 96 other universities, released a set of principles to support reconciliation and opportunities for Indigenous students.
- There is a YouTube channel where people narrate the executive summary. Sara Komarnisky, who recently received her PhD in Anthropology from UBC, narrated the post-secondary education section.
- UBC is moving toward the creation of an Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.
More than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children attended more than 130 residential schools in Canada beginning in the 1870s.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission