Continuing Reconciliation
In writing this week's missive, I thought I would revisit what I wrote in Managing the Maelstrom three years ago on the eve of the first Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada.
Three years ago, the story of the Residential Schools was laid bare for everyone for the first time.? The nation was reeling as we came to grips with understanding a school system that was designed to assimilate the First Nations of our country, to strip them of language and culture, and conform them into what we saw as being Canadian.
As I write that, I am struck by the irony of that statement.
I can't speak to the mentality of 1867, when the schools were first established. As a student of history, I believe context is important. While by today's standards, the approach was abhorrent, what I find hard to fathom is that it occurred right up to 1996. In the context of the 1990's, which I remember well, it is impossible to justify the practice. The perpetrators over all those years leading up to the cusp of the 21st century should have been held accountable.
The fact that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 2008, and recommended in 2014 that there be a day of atonement, but it took another six years and the stories of the schools breaking, suggest that again we were asleep at the switch.
Three years ago I wrote and still believe "Great, we are having a Truth and Reconciliation Day. However, let's make it every day. As a nation, we need justice, not symbols; potable water, not flags; we need to do better every day. We need to learn."
So, all this brings us to today, where the issue of lack of potable water continues even as we wring our hands and make hollow land acknowledgement statements. Our Northern communities resemble the third world, and life expectancy for our "First" Nations is the lowest in the nation and only marginally improving.
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When my colleagues and I started the Ranger Foundation in 2015, I thought I was doing well by raising awareness of First Nations issues in Northern Ontario. It was to make the financial heart of Toronto aware of the work of the Rangers, who are 95% Indigenous, who protect and care for the communities and peoples of the North. The point was to show the challenges of the North and just how so many lives live by a thread, and it only scratches the surface. But getting attention here has proven much harder than I thought it would. At the same time, as you look around everywhere, not just in the North, you see the effects of the residential school system.
If we believe in Truth and Reconciliation, we need to do more. It isn't about social media posts and wearing an orange shirt on one day a year. It isn't about the corporate tick in the box; it is done. We need to live it every day if we are to reconcile.
What worries me is that this, too, will be a flash in the pan, especially in the corporate world. Corporations already show signs of tiring over diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. Will Truth and Reconciliation be next?
On this year's federal statutory holiday, I wonder how we can make this real so that we don't have to wait another three years to ensure that our people are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.
Perhaps it is a case of trying these things:
Have a reflective Truth and Reconciliation Day.