There may or may not be a method to this madness.

residential schools

marywhal:

as a cree person who worked in residential school research for multiple years, i want to emphasize to non-indigenous people that educating yourself about residential schools is better than relying on your indigenous friends/coworkers/colleagues/classmates to do the educating for you.

it is also important that you don’t get all of your information from social media. i see non-indigenous people, particularly canadians, reblogging and retweeting a lot of posts about residential schools and it always makes me wonder “are you doing anything else?” if you want somewhere else to get information and you’re not sure where to start, read the truth and reconcilation reports. even the executive summary is going to provide you with a lot of additional information and education.

you can find all of the trc’s reports, including the report on missing children and unmarked burials, online, for free, here: http://www.trc.ca/about-us/trc-findings.html.

if it’s easier for you to listen to the report, there is a video series of people reading the executive summary that was created in 2015, when the reports first came out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCffE1UIqX23NvDpVXipSVVA.

the news coming out about unmarked burials at residential schools is tragic, but i don’t know any indigenous people who are surprised by it, particularly those of us who have family members who attended residential school or for survivors themselves. there is a reason we use the word survivor. i’ve been to the cemetery on the site of the school my family attended. i’ve seen graves that are only marked because our communities marked them, graves with no names attached because the church and government officials working at the school didn’t think these children were important enough to have their names recorded.

if you are non-indigenous and you’re upset/angry/horrified by the number of unmarked burials coming out at these schools, i am begging you to do more than share social media posts. we have been talking about this for decades. we have always known. educate yourself, because the resources are free and they’re out there.

(via kimabutch)

New Brunswick cities scrap Canada Day events over graves found at residential schools

atlanticcanada:

It will be a quiet Canada Day across much of New Brunswick after several communities cancelled celebrations in light of the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

Fredericton, Bathurst, Saint John and Cap-Pele are among the municipalities that have chosen to scrap the traditional festivities in favour of what many are calling a day of reflection.

The City of Fredericton said in a news release earlier this week the city’s Canada Day committee had already rolled back plans because of the COVID-19 pandemic but has now decided not to hold any events at all. “Given the situation regarding our Indigenous communities, a quiet day of reflection may be the best way for our community to spend the holiday,” co-chair Paul Wentzell said in a statement.

Instead, the city will light city hall in orange – the colour associated with efforts to remember Canada’s residential school history – and is urging citizens to spend the day learning about Indigenous communities and reflecting on how best to work toward reconciliation.

There have been calls to cancel Canada Day celebrations after the remains of what are believed to be 215 children were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia last month. Those calls intensified this week after Cowessess First Nation announced that ground-penetrating radar had detected 751 unmarked graves at another site in Saskatchewan.

The City of Saint John announced late Thursday it would lower its flags at city hall to half-mast, and would cancel all Canada Day activities in solidarity with mourning Indigenous communities.

“We encourage everyone to view this time as a critical point in our history, and a time to reflect – as individuals, a community and a nation – on our past and the course we can set for a better future,” the city said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the City of Moncton said officials had decided in March to cancel the main Canada Day celebrations because of the pandemic. In a phone interview, Isabelle Leblanc said the city feels that both the pandemic and the discovery of the unmarked grave sites make this a good time for people “to reflect on the history of Canada and what kind of country we want to live in going forward.”

The New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council said in a statement on Thursday that the discovery of the 751 graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School was “a reminder of the ongoing atrocities committed against Indigenous people.”

Barry LaBillois, the organization’s president and chief, urged leaders to turn Canada Day into a day of truth and reconciliation. “Canada Day is an opportunity to heal as a nation – it gives us a day to reflect and draw attention to our relationship with one another,” he said.

“It is a time for leadership to demonstrate to Canadians how to talk about these issues – that Canada Day can be a day of truth and reconciliation.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday acknowledged the abuses that took place at residential schools, saying that for many, Canada Day is “not yet a day of celebration.”

July 1, Trudeau said, would be an opportunity to think about the country’s achievements, but also on how to make Canada a better place going forward.

Other Canadian cities, including Victoria, B.C., and St. Albert, a city northwest of Edmonton, have already announced plans to cancel some or all of their Canada Day events.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2021.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/3xRZw3b

GJ NB.

mary-winchester:

if you have a couple of bucks to spare, consider throwing them to The Indian Residential School Survivor Society (IRSSS). they provide counseling and other forms of support to first nations people who are residential school survivors. this is a list of other charities that support first nations people, this list is a mix of charities and ways to learn more about first nation activism and history, and this is a link to a free online college course called Indigenous Canada

(via allthecanadianpolitics)

abpoli:

Canada is a colonist nation built on the graves and oppression of Indigenous people. That legacy will continue as long as reserves don’t have access to clean water. As long as Indigenous women and girls are murdered and disappear. As long as we keep teaching kids the John A MacDonald was the “founder” of this nation. As long as we ignore Indigenous voices and calls for meaningful reconciliation.

Just because Canada’s racism can look different than the USA’s, doesn’t mean this isn’t a nation founded and built on racist ideals and policies.

(via allthecanadianpolitics)