National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2024: ‘We have not come as far as many would have hoped,' Indigenous issues advocates, experts warn Canadians
On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Indigenous history experts remind Canadians of the travesties First Nations Peoples continue to go through even in today's modern Canada
A First Nations leader and experts on Indigenous history and culture are using the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to remind people that Canada has a long way to go in making things right with the country’s Aboriginal people, especially when it comes to education and healthcare.
Sept. 30 honours the children who died while being forced to attend church-run and government-funded residential schools, those who survived, as well as the families and communities still affected by the lasting trauma.
Serpent River First Nations native and Ontario’s Indigenous Trustees Council chair Elaine Johnston took this opportunity to wind back time and send Canadians a reminder on how the youth in her community continues to face instances of discrimination and racism, which presumably many might ignore as the ghosts of the country’s troubled past with not much relevance to modern-day Canada.
It’s been over 150 years since the Europeans first came to this country and there were lots of things done to us as the Indigenous peoples of this country. We are the first people of this country and it’s still happening.OPSBA First Nations Director Elaine Johnston
“I’ll give you an example. My sister told me about her grandson, who is my great nephew, and said he was bullied in school because he has long hair. The school asked him to leave and not the bully, because he has long hair,” Johnston told Yahoo News Canada during a phone interview.
Johnston said she thought such issues were a thing of the past at Canadian schools, however, members of her community continually facing acts like bullying at schools serve as a wake up call that there’s a lot more work needed before these matters can be put to rest for good.
Johnston, who is also the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association First Nations director, believes instances like the one involving her great nephew don’t mean the schools are asleep at the wheel, however, it does mean Canada has “ways to go” before Canadians can be truly reconciled with the Indigenous populations of the country.
“There is still racism in schools and that’s why I am a school board trustee.”
“I am not saying school boards are not trying. There are some school boards that are doing some great things. I do see some improvement but I do think we have a ways to go and to educate people about our history,” Johnston added emphatically.
Anti-Indigenous racism can be ‘fatal’: Indigenous People’s health expert
Jaris Swidrovich, whose speciality lies in exploring pathways to reconciliation in health care, agrees that while there are people, communities, and organizations doing incredible work, the rest of the country has not caught up.
Swidrovich told Yahoo News Canada the country continues living in a reality where anti-Indigenous racism can be, and certainly has been, “fatal” and believes educating the masses the right way is what it will take before Canada can claim to be truly reconciled with the Aboriginal groups.
“Former Justice and Senator, Murray Sinclair, said, ‘Education is what got us into this mess and education is key to getting us out of it.’ It is remarkable how much the average Canadian is uninformed or misinformed about First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples,” Swidrovich shared in an email interview.
On reconciliation through health care, Swidrovich said it’s time for Canada to start working on closing the gap by training health care workers to better understand the links between Indigenous and Canadian history while acknowledging that there exists “willful ignorance” on the part of the system in doing so.
Our systems – including education and healthcare systems – have absolutely unprepared people and health care workers with respect to Canada’s history, Indigenous history, and the current state of affairs in Canada. Having said that, such systems are created by people and, with the unlimited access to information now available, willful ignorance and its impact on hindering progress must be named and addressed.Indigenous Peoples' health expert Jaris Swidrovich
Reconciliation is an ‘on-going’ process and involves multiple stakeholders: Indigenous law expert
Indigenous self-governance expert John Burrows, whose work also explores the role of the law in reconciliation, takes a slightly more measured approach on assessing Canada’s reconciliation efforts as he shares the signs of improvement visible in Canadian communities in handling First Nations issues much better than, say, a decade ago.
I think the first step to reconciliation is understanding and I think there has been a developing understanding over the past ten years. I have seen that in the students that come into the law school, having more information, more prepared to discuss that. I see that in the community work that I do. There’s more awareness on First nations issues. I see that increasingly in the media as well. So, it is important to develop understanding and I think that’s a great step to say that we are further along than we were ten years ago.Indigenous law expert John Burrows
Burrows acknowledges that there’s still a long way to go before Canada has fully reconciled with the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples but urges that “progress is being made” in the process which requires many sides to get along.
“Where we are on that path is understanding that reconciliation is a process and not necessarily just a destination. That process requires different levels of involvement from governments, corporations, arts institutions, universities, healthcare providers, justice systems and I think activities are happening in those spaces at different rates and different success but we are on the path,” Burrows told Yahoo News Canada in a phone interview.
'Less than comfortable with the word reconciliation,' religion expert says
Mark McGowan, who explores the role of religion in reconciliation, understands the necessity behind assigning an official date to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation since it serves as a useful reminder to an important issue but urges that there’s a lot more recognition and acknowledgement that must be incorporated in the Canadian way of life.
I am less than comfortable with the word reconciliation only because I think you need conciliation in order to be reconciled. Since treaties were violated willy nilly, since they were first printed and agreed to, it’s hard to talk about reconciliation when conciliation, really, was somewhat arbitrary.History expert Mark McGowan
McGowan agrees there have been efforts from all stakeholders involved and it is now “officially in the consciousness of most Canadians” on what restitutions should be made for the damage done by violated treaties, the residential school system and systematic discrimination throughout many institutes in Canada.
A recent example of such an effort would be Canadian physicians formally apologizing for causing harm to Indigenous People who sought medical help, while committing to righting their wrongs.
However, Indigenous Peoples’ health expert Jaris Swidrovich — who agrees there have been improvements, emphasises that true reconciliation continues to be ways away.
“Although we have certainly witnessed reconciliation improvements since the publication of the TRC Calls to Action in 2015, we unfortunately have not come as far as many would have hoped. In fact, zero Calls to Action were completed in 2023 (Yellowhead Institute, 2023). In 157+ years of Canada’s existence, this is where we are. So, if it is possible to truly be reconciled, I imagine it will take several more decades.”
