Truth and Reconciliation Commission National Event: September 18, 19 and 20
UBC is committed to developing a better awareness and understanding of the Indian Residential School system that operated in Canada from 1875-1996, and how its effects are still with us today. For much of this history, governments forcibly removed Aboriginal children as young as five years old from their families for relocation to distant schools that were operated by various religious denominations. The impacts of residential schools have been devastating on Aboriginal people, families and communities and as a just society we must acknowledge that we are all inheritors of this legacy.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was established in 2008 in a settlement agreement that derived from the largest class-action suit in Canadian history. The Commission’s mandate is to gather testimony from survivors, gather materials documenting the schools and policies that produced them, and establish means to further educate and inform Canadians about the schools, their history, and their effects, with the intent of contributing to a reconciliation between Aboriginal people and wider Canadian society. This is similar to reconciliation initiatives in Australia and South Africa that aim to redress past social injustices.
The acknowledgement and understanding of this history is necessary to the development of more functional and productive dialogues about our future that benefit all Canadians. For this reason, the University will be suspending most classes on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 so that students, professors, and other members of the university community may more fully participate in this historic event.
There are a range of events taking place on campus. Please find below links relevant to events and information related to the residential schools.
Where are the Children? Healing the Legacy of Residential Schools
http://www.
Aboriginal Healing Foundation
http://www.ahf.ca/
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
http://www.trc.ca/websites/
http://irsi.aboriginal.ubc.ca
Event: Indian Residential School Histories and New Nunavut Curriculum
September 17th, 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the First Nations House of Learning
Other Events on Campus: http://irsi.