First Nations Voice

PAGE 6 • MAY 2014 In Edmonton, from March 26 till March 30, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission conducted their final national event and statement-gathering concerning the Indian Residential Schools. I and my children are victims, indirectly, of those schools, and the devastating legacy of a federal policy that had long, generational impact on First Nations people. My father, my aunts and uncles and my grandparents went to Indian Residential Schools. My father was a stereotypical Indian, down on his luck, the quintessential violent alcoholic. He had failed out of his dream of law school and in the process failed his family and children. Life was hard with a lack of food and insecurity in housing. Over those four days I have heard testimony that makes your hair stand on end concerning sexual, physical, and mental abuse suffered by children as young as 5, who are now referred to as survivors. During the five-year mandate of the commission, it has travelled to every province to hear what the survivors and other CanadianshavetosayaboutIndianResidential Schools. While the federal government made an apology in 2008, it seems that little has changed in the relations between Aboriginal peoples, Canadians, and their government. Perhaps a better question is, "does anyone really care?" It should be remembered that the apology and commission are not the result of good will, but due to a negotiated settlement in the Superior Court of Ontario that has resulted in the largest payment in a class action lawsuit in Canadian history. This is, perhaps, the sorriest part of the Canadian mosaic that will now become part of official history as recorded in multi-million dollar archives to be housed at the University of Manitoba. This era, though, is a living history with effects that are still being felt today in every city and province of Canada with the children and grandchildren of survivors suffering the effects of over 100 years of sexual, physical, and mental abuse. Many say, just get on with it and get over it; however, until one has walked in a survivor's moccasins and experienced the same types of pain, it is far too easy to say this without looking for real solutions or change. The epicentre of the long-term effects of residentialschoolsisinWinnipeg.Winnipeghas the largest concentration of Aboriginal peoples in Canada, numbering 68 000, and suffers many social ills that not only disproportionately affect the Aboriginal population, but also affect the standard of living of all citizens. The major question being asked at the TRC event in Edmonton is "Has it been worth the effort?" While it seems that there has been great success in determining the truth surrounding the Residential Schools, the reconciliation has yet to be truly understood, defined, or have a plan of action implemented. In my conversations with non-Aboriginal people they are aware that these crimes against children were committed in our country and that it was perpetuated by our federal government in their name, but many wonder what they can do as simple citizens. During the five year mandate of the TRC I have never heard any politician talk about practical solutions except to vaguely refer to more understanding and working together. Many will often suggest having more education in schools and universities, but most of my students at the University of Manitoba in the Faculty of Education are only too aware of what happened in IRS. The issue is far deeper in Winnipeg; it concerns how we live together. Many, but not all, view the Aboriginal population as being crime-ridden, poor, uneducated, involved in CFS, bad parents, and the list could go on, but Indigenous peoples in Winnipeg also view the non-Aboriginal population in an equally harsh manner as being privileged, over-bearing, not understanding, and as having obtained their positions in society on the backs and lands of Indigenous peoples. Reconciliation is tough when viewed at these extremes. Perhaps it is not realized, but when you drive through our city, it is a very divided city, separated by railway tracks, by rivers, by languages and cultures, by poverty, and by wealth. We have created mutually exclusive spaces which we share only during Jets games. Winnipeg needs strongcivicleadership to rethink our city and how it is designed, to determine how we can live together so that reconciliation is not about empty words but rather about slowly changing the layout of how we interact with each other with the goal of improving the socio-economic status of more of our fellow citizens. We need to destroy the ghettos in the inner city and in the suburbs that have created large pockets of poverty, unemployment, fear of the other, and feelings of hopelessness that we can't change the situation. People are looking for civic leadership in politicians; it is not about the lowest common denominator, or simple buzz words, but about those willing to risk their political careers in the ideals of service, the common good, and practical common sense ideas that can obtain support and getting buy-in on bridging the great divide, from all Winnipeg citizens. This is my vision of truth and reconciliation for our Winnipeg. Dr Robert Falcon Ouellette is a program director with the Aboriginal Focus Program at the University of Manitoba and a proud father of 5 beautiful children. DOES ANYONE REALLY CARE? Winnipeg epicentre of abuse Dr Robert Falcon Ouellette

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