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Beyond 94 -
Working with the Calls To Action

Hello, everyone.

Adrienne has found some great stuff that I have found really interesting and easily digestible for the last bit of the semester, leading us up to the end of course conversations. 

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We will take a look at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action through a great site Adrienne found called “Beyond 94.”  On this site, the guide for teachers has some great questions focusing on specific Calls to Action.  We will look at a couple of these to wrap up the semester.  Adrienne and I feel that these questions/activities fit in nicely with the conversations we were having about the “First Contact” series.  Some of these activities extend the conversations and also allow you a direction to look to if you want to know more about residential schools and their impact. 

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We will concentrate on only 2 or 3 activities and if you are in BC First Peoples and English First Peoples with us, you will only have to do the assignments once.  These activities have more to them than meets the eye and, I have found, led me into many other areas outside of the questions themselves.  If you love invitations to “rabbit holes,” welcome to it! 😊

Introduction to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the 94 Calls to Action.  This will be a reading/link to a video where Justice Murray Sinclair (the chair of the committee) will explain where the TRC came from and why the Calls to Action are important for Reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island.

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THE HISTORY OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION

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The history of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: What is it and where did it come from?

This information is taken from the following TRC site:

https://nctr.ca/about/history-of-the-trc/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-of-canada/

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“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was created through a legal settlement between Residential Schools Survivors, the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit representatives and the parties responsible for creation and operation of the schools: the federal government and the church bodies.

The TRC’s mandate was to inform all Canadians about what happened in residential schools. The TRC documented the truth of Survivors, their families, communities and anyone personally affected by the residential school experience. This included First Nations, Inuit and Métis former residential school students, their families, communities, the churches, former school employees, government officials and other Canadians.

The TRC concluded its mandate in 2015 and transferred its records to the safekeeping of National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR).

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The Work of the TRC

The TRC carried out extensive research, including hearing from Residential Survivors, their families, members of their communities, former staff of residential schools and others. 

 

The TRC also hosted national events in different regions across Canada to promote awareness and public education about the residential school system and its impacts. The NCTR was also established as part of the TRC mandate as a permanent resource for all Canadians.

In addition, the TRC supported community events designed by individual communities to meet their unique needs. The TRC was also advised by a 10-member Indian Residential Schools Survivor Committee, made up of residential school Survivors from across Canada.

The TRC supported a Commemoration Initiative that provided funding for activities that honour and pay tribute in a permanent and lasting manner to former residential school students.  

The TRC prepared a comprehensive report on the policies and operations of the schools and their lasting impacts. The final report included Ten Principles for Reconciliation and 94 Calls to Action that speak to all sectors of Canadian society. 

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Through the TRC, the NCTR was also established as a permanent resource for all Canadians.

Throughout its five-year mandate, the TRC appreciated the patience and understanding of Canadians, particularly Survivors. They recognized that many Survivors were  elderly and that they needed to move forward as quickly as possible to receive statements from anyone affected by the legacy of residential schools.

The TRC  included ways of sharing that ensured people could describe their experience in a safe, respectful and culturally appropriate manner. For example, some people shared their experience through one-on-one interviews, some via written statements and others at public forums.

The NCTR is now the safe and secure space for the stories collected by the TRC and other Indigenous histories and materials for communities. We continue to invite Survivors, their families, and others whose lives have been impacted by residential schools to share your truths and experiences in any form you wish.”

Link to video about the history of Truth and Reconciliation on the Beyond 94 website. Scroll down page to video...there is no direct link to just the video. Sorry

Beyond 94 -
Working with the Calls To Action

Link to Survivors' Stories

Activity #1: “In Their Own Words” – hearing from survivors. 

 

The recommendation from the folx who put together this work is that we hear from the survivors of residential school first. We will do that. 

 

A) Go to the Beyond 94 website and locate the interviews with the nine residential school survivors.  The link is posted above

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B) Choose a minimum of 2 elders from whom you would like to hear their story. I will include a PDF which is a run-down of each person’s story which include questions about their experience. This will allow you to manage your choices around your own experience with trauma so that you are not triggering yourself by hearing details which are too much for you. Please choose according to what you know you can hear today. Answer the questions relating to your chosen Elders.

 

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C) The folx who have put together this work have asked us to:

 

1. Consider the broad themes addressed by the TRC Calls to Action: Child Welfare, Education, Language & Culture, Health, Justice, Reconciliation

 

2. Note the connections you can make between the videos and the themes

 

3. How would you/could you use the videos to draw attention to the need to acknowledge Canada’s past – assuming that not many people have read the 94 Calls to Action. Make a point form list of your ideas and brainstorm more ideas.

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Beyond 94 -
Working with the Calls To Action

We know it is important for folx to know the history of this country and its attempted genocide and assimilation of Indigenous peoples through residential schools.For this reason, we have to become knowledgeable about where the residential schools were near our communities.

 

  1. As part of learning about the past in your area, research the answer to this question:

What residential school operated closest to where you live/work/go to school?

 

Beyond 94 has guided us to an interactive map to locate the residential schools nearest our communities. Go to:

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  1. Make point form notes on the following questions:
    1. What were the years of operation for that school?

2.  Check to see if there are any images available for that school.  If the school operated so long the school had to be rebuilt/re-located (like St. Mary’s did in Mission), copy and paste images of the “old” schools and the “new” schools.

3. How many “students” “attended” the school?

4. What communities did the students come from?

5.  What other information, connected to this school, did you find out about. For example, at many schools, experiments were conducted on the students, torture devices (such as electric chairs) were discovered to have been used.

 

Check out these resources, used by the folx at Beyond 94 to create this section, to provide you with more information:

 – Recognized Indian Residential Schools –

www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100015606/1100100015611

– FAQ: A history of residential schools in Canada –

www.cbc.ca/1.702280

– Where are the children? Healing the legacy of the residential schools – http://wherearethechildren.ca/en/

Interactive map of residential schools across Canada

Info about the schools on this site

Beyond 94 -
Working with the Calls To Action

Activity #4: Calls to Action in Education – Finding Evidence, Analysis, and Recommendations

 

Across Turtle Island, schools have been looking to find ways to explore the truth about residential schools and are creating ways to bring awareness to the issues around the impact of residential schools by making this part of the school curriculum.

These changes are attempting to answer #62 in the Calls to Action from the TRC report. Specifically: “ 62. Develop and fund Aboriginal content in Education.”

 

HOW HAS THIS CALL BEEN ADDRESSED IN YOUR SCHOOL/SCHOOL BOARD/COMMUNITY/PROVINCE?

 

Answer the following questions in point form:

 

  1. Finding evidence: SCHOOL

    1. Do you do a land acknowledgement?

    2. List the names of Indigenous Studies courses offered in your school.

    3. List the names of other courses you have taken where Indigenous world views have been taught.  What did you learn?

    4. Have you attended any events in your school where an Indigenous speaker was invited to come from Indigenous communities and speak with the class/school? Describe.

  2. Finding evidence: Community

    1. Using social media, analyze your community’s participation in truth and reconciliation. Has your community held events to draw attention to the Calls to Action?

    2. Access your local library (online). In what ways have they brought Indigenous world views as well as contemporary Indigenous issues to light? If the community library does not have enough information, look at your school library.

    3. Check out some websites in your community. Do they acknowledge or promote learning about Truth and Reconciliation?

  3. Finding evidence: Province

    1. Start with the basics. Does your province have a ministry which works with Indigenous peoples (eg: Ontario has a Ministry of Indigenous Affairs)?

    2. Broaden your search, how has your provincial government promoted awareness of Truth and Reconciliation?

 

What other examples of reconciliation can you identify as having occurred in your area? Examples might include: a sports team name change, community event, returning artifacts to local Indigenous communities, and so on.

 

Analysis:

After reviewing educational activities/content already developed in your school, community, and province, how would you say improvements could be made?

 

With whom could you share these suggestions?

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