Flutterby said
"This was very disturbing for me to hear. I have wanted to say something, but wasn't ready...I didn't know what to say even though my heart was heavy. I feel that I am now ready.
I had arranged for my kids to learn directly from a residential school survivor friend after she shared her personal story with me, but then the first covid lockdown came and derailed our important visit. I hope that we can still follow through at some point.
To hear first hand from a survivor of any such still very raw experience is important for them to heal, for us to truly learn, and for us to better know how to compassionately help...one individual at a time. It makes the depth of the tragedy (no fault of their own) personal and living and gives it a physical and spiritual face that we can interact with...reminding us that each one is very important.
One thing to remember, it is easy to issue an empty apology or throw money at such a situation, but it really contributes little if anything and is an aloof gesture. The federal government was never innocent in this and did knowingly and purposefully destroy many families, while peddling lies so that the parents would trust them. Specific (not all) church organizations also bear the same weight of guilt.
Not to take away from what happened, but to add even more weight to my statement here, the government tried milder forms of dividing families & stripping culture away on various immigrant populations as well in the early through mid 1900s. The Japanese, Italians...who were given a recent easy apology, Ukrainians & Mennonites are the ones that I am aware of. There may be more. All these despicable actions are relatively recent history.
It is good to remember that abusers rarely change, often apologize and/or give lavish gifts to cover themselves, lie for the same purpose saying they will change, and usually repeat their wrongs, even if in slightly different ways. For this very reason, it is wise to be wary of government and their agendas. They certainly had one in each of those situations, to control & make the specific people to conform to their purpose and erase who they were. They are not an innocent organization that always has the people's best interests in mind, but instead, their own. That has been repeatedly proven. This recent additional discovery & new knowledge is a very stark, horrific & present reminder of that. We should never forget the past and keep wary even today and into the future. Be aware & active...not passive.
Some of us were not involved (born later or immigrated later), some were aware and some not. But, each person that is aware now can contribute to the healing process. I feel that those who committed these crimes and still live, should very much be held personally responsible, whether they made the policies or enforced them. It is the simple principle of consequences for actions that even little children can understand.
I received some resources through my email today that may be helpful to those who wish to learn more, teach their kids, and contribute to those who still suffer, to help them to start to heal. I will put these links below.
To echo some of what the email's content was and add to what I said above, we can learn about the cultures of the people around us and learn to respect their heritage.
Here is a course from the University of Alberta:Â https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/indigenous-canada/index.html
Many resources for teaching children can be found here:Â https://thecanadianhomeschooler.com/indigenous-education-resources/
As written in the email, & I can't word it any better:
"We can write to our members of parliament for change, for action, for justice. Ask for clean water for Indigenous communities to be a priority. Ask for more investigations at other schools."
Additionally, if you wish to donate to a survivor's fund that offers practical services like counselling and health support, there is the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, https://www.irsss.ca/
Let's be active participants in the healing by listening to each story...connect with at least one breathing human being...and genuinely be angry alongside with & cry with them. Let's each be active to try to understand the pain, erase the hate, ask how we can help even just one survivor in a personal way & make sure their stories are not forgotten. Let's put love into action.
I hope that I can make a difference. I am certainly trying.
Thank you for reading. "Government needs to ensure that the thousands of indigenous students that are forced to leave their communities to get a high school education can be educated at home, supported by their families and in their communities.
A disproportionate number of indigenous children continue to be taken from their families by the CFS system. And, too many are placed in situations that are not much better than what they left.
The damage caused by IRS and the government's deliberate genocidal policies continues today and are inter-generational . I'm appalled time after time how little is offered by the Canadian system to our indigenous neighbours in terms of supporting indigenous developed solutions. When indigenous people speak up against pipelines and the destruction of old growth forests, salmon fisheries, water pollution and fish lobster they are arrested and vilified by a legal system that was designed to continue the theft that started before and with Confederation.
The children who died at Indian Residential Schools are the ancestors of the people who are trying to establish a future for their children and future generations that is based on respect for their lands, individual and collective sovereignty and rights as Nations of peoples. Until we recognize that we have not shared, but taken and that we continue to take, we will be unable to truly stop the continued carnage.
We have so much more to gain by concretely acknowledging and living WITH our indigenous neighbours as sovereign people than continuing to do what we have done since the start of colonialization.
You are right. We need to iisten, learn and commit to living differently with respect for HOW indigenous people define their sovereignness.
Thanks for sharing.