In my school experience, we were never really exposed to Indigenous stories or their way of life. It was the same repetition over and over; the Europeans came and drove them out. We dabbled into learning about Residential Schools, but only from reading a novel. It was super sad to hear students in the hallways after class laughing about their stories and making fun of it. That is when I realized, it isn’t something to just talk about for a day.
Fortunately, I am lucky to be a descendant of First Nations so I have a lot of first hand experiences of their culture. For example, my family on my dad’s side is Cree. We learn how important the land is and that is something my family takes pride in. We are respectful of what we take and mindful of what we put back. I have some great aunts and uncles who are RS survivors and I have heard the ugly truths.
The TRC booklet is a great resource for those who want to deepen their knowledge on Residential Schools and rebuilding trust. It dives into true stories that are unfiltered so that readers have that first hand experience of what really went on. You can read about steps to repair relationships and learn about what part you play in that rebuilding. The booklet mentions ‘we can’ a lot and that symbolizes all of human kind. Also that words mean nothing in this situation. Just saying sorry doesn’t cut it. It is about the actions you make.