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Marie Wilson, one of three member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, says that document the stories of residential school survivors is a large part of her group's mandate. (Photo Joe Fries)
By Joe Fries
As the United Church of Canada continues to look at ways to make amends for its part in the residential school tragedy, delegates to the General Council in Kelowna learned first-hand about the long-lasting impact of the horrors.
About 400 delegates representing 13 regions are in the city for a weeklong convention, much of which will deal with church policy. Those gathered this afternoon heard from three survivors, as well as one of three people appointed to a reborn Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
James Scott, the church’s senior adviser for residential schools, noted that since the church first apologized in 1998 to aboriginals for its part in residential schools, the aim of which was assimilation of native children, it has been a leader in education and awareness about the matter.
Members have learned about “not just the harms that were done in the schools to the individuals… but the harms that were done to a whole people through the systems we are a part of,” Scott said.
Survivor Ben David told the crowd, “When you remove a language from people, you remove a culture.”
“You totally removed my identity and well-being.”
Jeff Seymour, who attended a residential school in Kamloops from 1960 to 1970, said he’s still coming to grips with what happened and how he coped with it later.
“I abused alcohol. I abused drugs. I’ve had enough of that. I’m living now.”
But in a nod to the theme of reconciliation, he added, “In order to heal you have to dig up the past to put it to rest.”
First Nations kids today, he said, are still suffering from the fallout of the schools, because they never inherited an identity from their parents.
“You’ve got to break that chain,” Seymour implored. “We’ve got to be able to forgive each other.”
His mission, he added, is “to let you know what happened.”
It’s the job of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to hear from survivors like Seymour and document what they say happened.
Commissioner Marie Wilson was appointed to the role in January. The committee, which was created to fulfill part of the government’s obligations under the settlement deal, was all but disbanded last year when the chairman resigned amid complaints that his authority was not being respected.
Wilson, a United Church member and former CBC reporter who lives in Yellowknife, did not touch on that, other than to say the new group is committed to seeing the job through.
She said the general council is “one of the most important spiritual gatherings in our land.”
The five-year mandate of the commission, she continued, is to gather and document the otherwise undocumented history of the residential schools, “however shameful, however disturbing we may find parts of that history to be,” and then report those findings to the public. The commission will also make recommendations arising from the work.
“Perhaps as a nation, we need to heal from our own ignorance and commit to never allowing ourselves to be that ignorant again,” she said.
More importantly, the work is not about adult survivors.
“What happened in the past is about children,” Wilson reminded. “We only have to make a tiny leap to imagine if this was about our children.”
In 1988, the United Church of Canada officially apologized to First Nations people for its part in colonization efforts and for its damaging superior attitude. The residential school apology came later, but a full 10 years before the federal government said it was sorry.
The general council will this week look at two policies that pertain to First Nations: having the aboriginal community sign the church’s founding document, the basis of union; and incorporating First Nations into the church’s crest.
joe@kelowna.com/(250)575-4303
