those schools that have been added to the list under specific criteria.
Former students who attended schools or residences not included in the Settlement Agreement have told us they underwent the same deprivation of language and culture, imposition of religious practices, and physical and sexual misconduct by teachers and boarding-home parents or supervisors as experienced by students covered by the Settlement Agreement. Because the schools they attended are not on the list, they are not eligible for compensation under the Settlement Agreement. They say that, once again, they are being abused, injured, or traumatized because they have been left out and isolated.
In particular, the Commission has heard such concerns of exclusion from specific groups of former students:
- The Inuit and Innu of Labrador. None of the boarding schools in Labrador were included in the Settlement Agreement.
- Students who attended the same schools by day as students living in the residences, but who lived in home settings. In many cases, these 'day scholars' did not stay in their own homes with their own families, but in billeted accommodation.
- Hostel students in the northern territories. Community hostels provided housing for students whose parents were away making a traditional living off the land. Some hostels are included in the Agreement; others are not. There is no clearly understood reason why.
- Students who attended boarding schools where the federal government did not have responsibility for the operation of the residence and the care of the children resident there.
- Students who attended non-residential schools, as directed by the federal government, but who also were subjected to cultural denial, and harsh emotional and physical treatment.
The exclusion of these students is a serious roadblock to meaningful and sincere reconciliation.
Recommendation
- The Commission recommends that the parties to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, with the involvement of other provincial or territorial governments as necessary, identify and implement the earliest possible means to address legitimate concerns of former students who feel unfairly left out of the Settlement Agreement, in order to diminish obstacles to healing within Aboriginal communities and reconciliation within Canadian society.
Impact and Reach of Apology from Canada
On June 11, 2008, the Prime Minister of Canada issued a "Statement of Apology to Former Students of Indian Residential Schools." While not all survivors accept the apology, many have told the Commission that hearing the government's apology has been very important to their healing.
Many of the people who have addressed the Commission have made reference to the Commission's commitment to act "For the Child Taken; For the Parent Left Behind." Often, they have mentioned their own parents, noting that no one had ever apologized to them. For their part, some parents have said they felt they had been left out of the apology.
The apology does talk about the impacts of the residential schools, not just on the students, but also on their families and communities. However, there appears to be limited awareness of its actual wording.
The Commission continues to face huge challenges in raising awareness, among non-Aboriginal Canadians, of the residential school history and legacy. This presents an enormous limitation to the possibility of long-term understanding and meaningful reconciliation. The Commission believes the Canadian school system has a major role to play in re-educating the country about this part of our long-term, shared history, with its present-day implications. Making the apology available to all Canadian students in their schools would be a positive step in this direction.
Recommendations
- The Commission recommends that, to ensure that survivors and their families receive as much healing benefit as the apology may bring them, the Government of Canada distribute individual copies of the "Statement of Apology to Former Students of Indian Residential Schools" to all known residential school survivors.
- The Commission recommends the Government of Canada distribute to every secondary school in Canada a framed copy of the "Statement of Apology to Former Students of Indian Residential Schools" for prominent public display and ongoing educational purposes.
Establishing a Framework for Reconciliation
There is a need for analysis, by governments at all levels and by churches, of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), in order to deepen understanding of, and appreciation for, the value of the Declaration as a framework for working towards ongoing reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.
