School (23:31) 2021 | Telling our Twisted Histories
For over 150 years, Indian Residential Schools were one of the primary means by which the government assimilated us in order to “kill the Indian in the child.” These compulsory schools shattered our families, our languages and our cultures. This great pain was passed down from generation to generation and impacts our communities tothis day. Together, we will decolonize the word SCHOOL and share our truths about learning.
Stolen Children: Truth and Reconciliation (40:06) 2010
June 2010 marked the first national hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, aimed at addressing the painful legacy of residential schools in Canada. First Nations, Métis and Inuit survivors began putting their stories on the official record as the Commission commenced its complex work. This collection of six documentaries from The National profiles Justice Murray Sinclair, Manitoba’s first Aboriginal judge and the head of the Commission; uncovers the personal stories of survivors both on the ground in Winnipeg and across Canada; and gets up-close with 11-year-old Wanekia Morning Star Cooke to hear the younger generation’s take on the residential school experience.
A residential schools reckoning, again (27:51) 2021
Elamin and Rosie explore the state of Canada’s path to reconciliation with the help of CBC colleague Duncan McCue. Many people across the country have reacted with shock and horror at the preliminary discovery on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., where the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation said they found the potential remains of possibly as many as 215 children in an undocumented burial site. But is the news surprising, when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission told Canadians more than five years ago it had documented the deaths of at least 3,200 Indigenous children, with likely thousands more yet to be acknowledged? The three take stock of the reaction across the country this week, and what it says about Canadians’ understanding of the reality — and the urgency — of the issue of residential schools.
Why don't residential school survivors just get over it?: Murray Sinclair (1:32) 2017
To those who ask why Indigenous people don't just "get over" the residential school experience, Senator Murray Sinclair has this response: "My answer has always been: Why can't you always remember this?" Sinclair was speaking at one of The Current's public forums on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).
Residential Schools: Truth and Healing (18:19) 2010
For more than 100 years many native children were taken away from their families and forced to stay at residential schools. Two years ago, the Canadian government apologized for the suffering and the abuse many experienced. Now a Truth and Reconciliation Commission is hearing from some of those affected. In this News in Review story, we look at the work of the Commission and what it hopes to accomplish.
Intergenerational Trauma: Residential Schools
Learn how the effects of residential schools continue to manifest into the present day.
According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, there are approximately 80,000 living Survivors of the Canadian residential school system. For many, the trauma of the mental, physical and sexual abuse they suffered at the schools hasn’t faded.