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This week marked a historical event in Canada, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) held national conferences throughout the nation in hopes of rectifying the illegitimacies of the residential schools. The after effects of these institutes continue to impact the First Nation’s community along with many other Canadians. Now, as one nation we are able to come together and begin the healing process. I was able to partake in a couple of the events that were held at UBC. I visited the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) where they displayed an exhibition on the victims of the St. Michael’s Indian Residential School. They showcased testaments of former students, along with formal apologies delivered by the churches, RCMP and the Government of Canada. In addition, I went to the Belkin Art Gallery to observe the artwork created by those affected or victimized. Upon seeing both of the displays, I was disturbed to say the least. I was left unsettled by the violence and cruelty that these individuals suffered and I felt a sense of pain which left me feeling uneasy. I was unable to attend the actual conference where they were showcasing the witness statements from former students of the residential schools. However, I was still overwhelmed with emotion just by the various art works, short films and reading testimonials of those involved in the cultural genocide.

What was pro-founding to me was how much impact the art and plain text had over my emotions. Simple forms of media, yet so influential. I underestimated the impact these exhibits would have, I assumed that only when I attend the conference to bear witness of personal stories or watch them on live television, would I be truly affected. Why was I led to believe this? It seems as though I, along with my generation, are desensitized to aspects of realism. To elaborate, we are surrounded by technology and media and in order to confirm legitimacy we need to ‘see it to believe it’. For example, the news is never just the report, they will display explicit imagery and/or videos as validation, Global News, when you report that there was a fatal motorcycle accident, I believe you! I do not need to see paramedics moving the body.

We see this in video games, television shows and movies, especially with sexuality. What is the significance of showing explicit imagery when the act is already implied? As if the audience is incapable of coming to the same conclusion… why the added sultry display? Maybe it is the shock-value that provides certainty.

Returning back to topic of the TRC, as mentioned earlier I was under the impression that I would not be able to grasp the full nature of the events without observing first-hand, the dark and painful personal testimonies (relying on shock-value). Yet, when I attended the MOA, reading the statements allowed me to visualize and react to the suffering that each individual endured. Furthermore, my encounter in the Belkin Art Gallery, upon seeing the various artwork I was most moved by the pieces created by the artist Gina Liang – as a part of her rehabilitation – depicted her experience of sexual and physical abuse through her paintings. Although attending the TRC conference would have added more depth to my experience, I am grateful for what was available to me. It was through reading plain text and interpreting art that I found true appreciation and understanding of our First Nation’s hardships. We are living in a time of overexposure and sometimes we need to remind ourselves that less is more.