From the Editor: The importance of recognizing Canada’s dark past

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Editor’s Note: This article discusses details that may be sensitive to some readers. For those that need support, a national 24-hour crisis line provides support for Survivors and those affected at 1-866-925-4419. A B.C.-based line is available day and night at 1-800-588-8717. 

Canada carries a dark history, one people are starting to become more aware of in recent years. For most of my education, I was told a different version of the country’s history, one that was about discovering and exploring the land for new opportunities and profit.

I knew this to be false from my own research outside of my classes, but it wasn’t until I attended post-secondary that I learned more than I could imagine about Canada’s dark past. 

Sept. 30 marks the third year of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day that “honours the children who never returned home and the Survivors of residential schools as well as their families and communities.” 

Events and ceremonies are put on every year to commemorate the tragic legacy of residential schools. Orange Shirt Day also takes place on this day, which began in 2013, where people wear orange shirts for the same cause. The movement was created by Phyllis Webstad, a member of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation and a residential school Survivor. 

While a statutory day at many schools and workplaces, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is not just a day off but a day for Canadians to understand, recognize, and reflect the ideas and structures that were put in place against Indigenous Peoples that made Canada what it is today. 

Many of these ideas and structures led to genocide and discrimination against Indigenous communities, including residential schools, missing and murdered Indigenous People, and the disproportinate number of Indigenous People in Canada’s prison and foster care systems. 

Residential schools were government-funded religious schools designed to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian society by stripping them of their language and culture from 1831 to 1996. Amendments were made to the Indian Act in 1894, which authorized the government to remove Indigenous children from their homes if they weren’t being cared for or educated by settler standards. 

By 1920, it was compulsory to attend residential schools from 7 to 15, and many children were physically, sexually, and psychologically abused. It is estimated that 150,000 Indigenous People attended these schools over this time period, and at least 4,130 have died. 

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) released a report with 94 Calls to Action to help with the progress of reconciliation. These calls to action include child welfare, education, language and culture, health, justice, and reconciliation.

In the eight years since the report was released, only 13 have been completed, 31 are in progress, 32 were proposed, and 18 have not started. However, there is no information if any calls to action have been completed this year. 

There is still a long way to go in reconciling with Indigenous communities. Children are still being taken away from their homes and put into the foster care system, many reserves don’t have access to clean drinking water or resources, and hundreds of reported cases of missing Indigenous People go unsolved every year. 

While a lot of work still needs to be done, there is some progress being made, especially at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. In June, the university announced they will waive tuition fees this fall semester for current and new students part of the First Nation communities the campuses reside on including the Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Musqueam, Tsawwassen, Qaywayt, and Kwikwetlem First Nations. 

This is a great step towards making post-secondary education accessible to everyone and reducing barriers for Indigenous communities who wish to pursue education. Also at KPU, we have the Gathering Place, the Elder and Cultural Advisor Program, the χʷəχʷéy̓əm Indigenous Collection at the KPU Surrey Library, and an Indigenous Studies Department set to launch later this month. 

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a good start to meaningfully reconcile with Indigenous communities, understand, and reflect on the flaws in Canada’s history. However, it’s important for Canadians to listen to and support Indigenous People every other day of the year too. Every one of us plays an important part in uplifting Indigenous communities.