~Sherry Telford (Co-keeper TRC Community Bobcaygeon)

On June 16 th , painted river rocks to honour and remember the 215 children who died at the Kamploops Indian Residential School in British Columbia went on display on the wall outside the Bobcaygeon library and Boyd Heritage Museum. The story behind these rocks – how the project came to be, who painted the rocks and how one might use the rocks to begin difficult conversations, can be found in earlier postings.  

This post focuses on the message we heard from a special guest to the exhibition’s launch, Michi Saagiig Language Activist, Anne Taylor of Curve Lake First Nation.
Standing in circle with those who gathered to begin the exhibition in a good way, Anne shared difficult stories of how the Indian Residential School system has impacted her and her family and friends. In fact,
as Anne says “There is not an Anishinaabeg person who has not been impacted by the residential school system in some way.” These impacts vary from direct lived experience to the continued challenges of intergenerational trauma and the ongoing energy required to try to be heard by governments and to demand justice. It is exhausting and Indigenous people in Canada should not have to bear the burden of making things right. “Indigenous women have laid their hearts on the ground,” said Anne, and …”it is time for settler Canadians to step up as never before”.

“There is not an Anishinaabeg person who has not been impacted by the residential school system in some way.”

“Indigenous women have laid their hearts on the ground … it is time for settler Canadians to step up as never before”.

The river rocks on display with their beautiful hearts and their numbers can only be the beginning of conversations and actions. As Anne says, there is so much more to be done and non-Indigenous people in Canada need to do more. All Canadians need to know Canada’s real history and be aware of what systemic and discriminatory obstacles continue today. 

And, speaking as a Settler Canadian now, we need to do something about it.
 

What can we do?

  • We can write letters to the government supporting calls to find and identify the children who did not return from Indian Residential Schools when that is the wish of their communities.
  • We can pressure governments and businesses to respect the will of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.
  • If we haven’t already done so, we can read the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Summary Report (published more than 5 years ago!) and work to ensure its 94 Calls to Action are met.
  • We could also read the very comprehensive Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples published in 1996.

Both of these reports were commissioned in response to violent systems faced by Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the apparent ignorance of most Settler Canadians to these realities. These reports document and describe in considerable detail a more truthful history of our nation than most Settler Canadians seem to be aware of. Anyone who mourns the deaths of the thousands (yes, 1000s – read the TRC report) of children who are known to have died at Indian Residential Schools, would do well to read these documents, learn and advocate for change.

In short, as Settler Canadians, we need to educate ourselves. We need to listen when First Nations, Métis and Inuit people share their frustrations, their dreams, their messages and we need to support them … walking along side or behind them. We need to carry more of the burden of our violent colonialism and work for justice and sincere change. Speaking for myself, it seems like the very least we can do.