(Toronto) The widespread shock of the discovery of what are believed to be the buried remains of 215 Indigenous children has highlighted widespread ignorance among many Canadians of one of the most sordid, but still incomplete, chapters , of Canada’s national history, say experts and observers.
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Much of this amazement, they say, is due to education systems reluctant to tell about the horrors of the residential school system. For some, the recent discovery could be the tipping point for a long-awaited change.
“The events in Kamloops were only a real eye-opener for the average non-Aboriginal Canadian,” says Sean Motheith, an Aboriginal education advisor with the Ontario School Boards Association. “Most Canadians ignore this shared history. It is undoubtedly more a question of ignorance than of a voluntary choice. ”
In a recent statement to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Premier John Horgan alluded to this situation by lamenting that he had never heard of a victim of the system in a high school. It is crucial to change the content of teaching, he said.
PHOTO CHAD HIPOLITO, THE CANADIAN PRESS
British Columbia Premier John Horgan
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“We need to ensure that elementary and secondary students receive a full education in Canadian history, not a rosewater story, but the full reality,” Horgan said. I have history degrees from two universities, but I was unaware of the atrocities committed at residential schools in our public education system.
The “Discover Canada” guide available to those applying for citizenship talks a little about the sad reality of residential schools. It is reported that “the students lived there in poverty [et que] some even being physically abused ”, without going so far as to mention sexual assault, the thousands of deaths of children or the trauma transmitted from generation to generation.
“In today’s Canada, Indigenous peoples are regaining their pride and confidence, and they have great achievements to their credit in agriculture, environment, business and the arts,” can -on read in this document.
Norman Yakeleya, the Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations for the Northwest Territories, himself a victim of residential schools, believes that is not enough. He calls for a “strong chapter” that would tell the truth about these establishments and their repercussions.
“I feel very, very, very sad and very angry,” says Yakeleya. We have to turn all this upside down in order to write more than one paragraph about it. ”
The Canadian Association of School Boards – of which the Association of Anglophone School Boards of Quebec is a member – calls for the development of a national program for elementary and secondary students on residential schools and other subjects. Victims and other Aboriginals contribute to it. It is also necessary, she said, to fund higher education institutions to train teachers in indigenous knowledge.
Darren McKee, the executive director of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, says he heard of the Treaties of Versailles and Utrecht growing up in the province, but never of those between the Crown and First Nations.
“History is changing. There is a need to orient it towards what the majority considers important, he argues. We must recognize that the truth has not been taught. ”
Although many Canadians have learned little about residential schools, provinces and territories have recently made or are working to make changes to their curricula in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Alberta, which only referred to the residential school systems in Secondary III, intends to teach “the dark and deplorable part of Canadian history” from Kindergarten to Grade 6.e year. Topics will include the diseases, malnutrition and neglect that have contributed to the thousands of child deaths.
“What we’re proposing is a huge increase in content,” Premier Jason Kenney said.
Other provinces or territories have also made changes to focus more on residential schools. Most want to offer more content to a wider range of age groups.
In Quebec, certain aspects of the history of the First Nations are taught. The Ministry of Education has revised some content to better consider the perspective of Aboriginal people on important events such as the residential school period. ”
“Given the complexities of competence, developing a cohesive curriculum will be difficult. Different political ideologies stand in the way of a more standardized approach, ”says McKee.
He believes that the children seem to understand the importance of what happened in the country.
“The kids watch this and they seem to understand,” he says. They seem open to understanding these wrongs and making a difference in the future, but we still have a lot of work to do. ”
Either way, experts believe that no Canadian can now ignore – whether on purpose or not – what is an obvious and blatant truth for First Nations. We are witnessing an unprecedented awakening, observes Mr. Monteith.
“A movement is going to emerge for this shared history to be taught to all classrooms,” he says. This is how we will advance reconciliation, not only in our schools and classrooms, but also in our homes and communities. ”
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