Content Warning: This post discusses the Residential School System in Canada. If you are a Survivor and need support, a national crisis line (the Residential School Survivor Support Line) is available 24 hours a day at 1-866-925-4419.
In 2006, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement between the government of Canada, The Assembly of First Nations and Inuit Representatives, along with various Christian church governing bodies was released. It is the largest class-action lawsuit in Canadian history, which included the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The Commission operated from 2007 to 2015, gathering stories from survivors through forums across Canada. Their findings and documents are now hosted in the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Nationally, there were over 130 residential schools, and throughout Ontario, there were 15. The residential school system took Indigenous children from their families and aimed to destroy Indigenous culture. The impact of this system is still felt today.
In November 2010, the Commission made a three-day stop in Thunder Bay to hear survivors' stories. In a quote to the Chronicle Journal on November 27, 2010, Justice Murray Sinclair said of the Commission:
“Ultimately, our obligation as a Commission is to archive all these documents and make them available for future research so generations to come will have the opportunity to learn about this experience and ensure that we don’t repeat any of the lessons learned from it.”
Justice Sinclair also stated that sharing stories is the survivor's first step towards healing. The stories collected through these forums helped create the basis for the TRC reports and Calls to Action, which are now archived in the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
In December 2012, another two days of TRC forums were held in Thunder Bay. Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief at the time, Alvin Fiddler, emphasized in a media statement the importance of releasing historical records from the federal archive. He stressed that the TRC wouldn’t be able to carry out its mandate of preserving the history of what happened in the residential school system without this information. Over 4,000 NAN youth attended residential schools between 1880 and 1996.
The TRC released their Final Report and Calls to Action on June 2, 2015, in Ottawa. The report deemed the residential school system a cultural genocide, with over 150,000 children attending the schools and 5%-7% dying while in the school system. Abuse was suffered by all who attended, at the hands of the staff, including teachers and religious clergy. Survivor and NAN Grand Chief at the time of the report’s release, Harvey Yesno, said the residential school system should simply be called a genocide without the descriptor “cultural.” In a media release, Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy stated:
“Reconciliation can only begin when Canada recognizes its current and historical disregard for Indigenous sovereignty, and when all Canadians call on the federal government [to] move to work with us to restore a relationship based on mutual respect and recognition of our sovereignty.” (Chronicle Journal, June 3, 2015).
The reaction to the TRC Recommendations from politicians was immediate. Then Prime Minister Stephen Harper committed to reviewing the recommendations before making any final decisions. In contrast, Liberal Leader at the time and current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, accepted the recommendations and committed to implementing all of them. According to the Yellowhead Institute, an Indigenous-led research and education center at Toronto Metropolitan University, only 13 of the 94 Calls to Action laid out in the final report of the TRC have been achieved by the Federal Government, with no new calls to action being achieved in 2023.
TRC Recommendation #80 led to the establishment of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which was first recognized in 2021. The day is also referred to as Orange Shirt Day, established in 2013 to honor Residential School Survivor Phyllis Jack Webstad, who wore an orange shirt on the day she was taken from her family to attend residential school. Several events were held throughout the city to commemorate the day. The City of Thunder Bay held a Tree Planting Ceremony at Vickers Park to memorialize the children lost to the residential school system. Nishnawbe Aski Nation held a sacred fire on the site of the former St. Joseph’s Residential School, now where Pope John Paul II Senior Elementary School stands. A two-day Pow Wow was also hosted in Fort William First Nation.
If you would like to learn more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Indigenous communities in our area, contact us at research@tbpl.ca.
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