Gov't must address issue of those left out of settlement
By: Marites N. Sison
staff writer
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/news-update-items/article/govt-must-address-issue-of-those-left-out-of-settlement-9895.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information on the TRC, go to www.anglican.ca/trc
Inuvik-Unless the federal government addresses the issue around the exclusion
of some Metis and aboriginal students from the Indian Residential Schools
Settlement Agreement, healing and reconciliation may not be possible, the chair
of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) has warned.
As commissioners we have significant concerns about the prospects of
reconciliation when so many feel so excluded," said Justice Murray Sinclair in
his address at the opening ceremonies of the second national TRC event here.
"Controversy still clouds the situation of many aboriginal students who
attended church-run and government-funded schools not included in list in the
agreement."
This was a matter that the TRC would address in its final report, said
Sinclair.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Metis have attended schools not recognized in
the agreement as eligible for compensation, said Metis National Council
President Clement Chartier, who also spoke at the ceremonies. These schools
were church-run but were either funded by provincial governments or religious
orders and were not part of the federally-funded schools system.
"The intent was the same, to assimilate citizens of the Metis nation," said
Chartier. "Metis survivors endured the same forced separation from family and
community, the same attacks on culture and way of life, many instances were
victims of same physical and sexual abuse."
Chartier, who attended the Ile-a-la-Crosse residential school in northern
Saskatchewan, said he can personally attest to the horrors that some children
experienced there. "I attended for 10 years and can speak in honesty and can
testify that many of us were physically and sexually abused. We suffered
horrendous conditions in those schools, we suffered psychological trauma in
those schools," he said. "Yet we are excluded from the agreement and therefore
excluded from the June 11, 2008 apology by Canada, excluded from the Common
Experience Payment."
Other former students also spoke at the opening ceremonies held just a few feet
away from the now-defunct Sir Alexander Mackenzie residential school.
Among them was John Banksland, who brought his wife, Annie, and his
five-year-old grandson, Terry, to the gathering. His voice choked with emotion,
Banksland recalled he was the same age as his grandson when he attended the
Catholic-run Immaculate Conception residential school in Aklavik. "There's no
way this little boy is going to go through what I went through," declared
Banksland.
Banksland, who spent 15 years in two residential schools, said he has no memory
of his life as a little boy, but he recalls being beaten and shamed at the age
of 10. "I lost my language, my culture and my family. I can't speak my language
and I hardly know my brothers and sisters," he said. But he is moving forward.
"I'm 69 and this is the first time I've had the courage to wear my traditional
clothing," he said. "It's time to let go," Banksland urged his fellow students.
"It's time to start yourself. You're a Canadian citizen. That's all we want-to
be regular Canadian citizens."
Mary Simon, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, urged more government
support for promoting the mental health of native communities. Urgent action is
needed "to deal with the unresolved grief and trauma, and the escalating
violence and suicide" resulting from the trauma of residential schools, she
said.
TRC Commissioner Marie Wilson, meanwhile, urged survivors to begin
strengthening their families "right here, right now." During the four months
that the TRC spent conducting hearings in northern communities, a common
sentiment expressed by survivors was that their greatest challenge was
relationships at home, said Wilson. "One shared the poignant words, 'We fed our
experiences to our children,'" she said.
Wilson noted that on July 1, Canadians will be celebrating the birth of their
country and singing the national anthem. "Leading up to that, I want us to
learn from the courage of the truth that will be shared at this national event.
The truth can help us all heal and find our way home to the true values of the
great country we always thought we were," she said. The North has a lot to
teach the rest of the country, she added, "and we can all measure up to our
words when we sing, Oh Canada, the true north strong and free."
For his part, Chief Winton Littlechild, also a TRC commissioner, urged former
students to think about forgiveness. "As we heal, we begin to forgive and as we
forgive we experience new healing," said Littlechild, who himself spent 14
years in residential schools.
The opening ceremonies featured opening prayers from representatives of the
Gwich'in, Inuvialuit and Metis peoples and the lighting of the Qulliq, a
crescent shaped oil lamp traditionally used by Inuit. It also featured Eastern
Arctic and Dene drummers.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Native News North
List info{all lists}:
http://nativenewsonline.org/natnews.htm
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NatNews-north/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NatNews-north/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
natnews-north-dig...@yahoogroups.com
natnews-north-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
natnews-north-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
