September 11, 2024
The information in this report may be upsetting for some because it contains relating to the deaths and forced disappearances of children at former Indian Residential Schools and other institutions. If you require immediate support, please contact:
The Indian Residential School Survivors Society’s 24/7 Crisis Support line:
1-800-721-0066
The 24-hour National Indian Residential School Crisis Line:
1-866-925-4419
THE HONOURABLE CHIEF JUSTICE MARCHAND, WRITING FOR THE PANEL ABOUT RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL DENIALISM in R. v. Dick, 2024 BCCA 272, said at paras. 43 to 48:
[43] Residential school denialism is generally understood to involve the rejection or misrepresentation of basic established facts about the operation of residential schools in Canada. By denying or minimizing the impact of the removal of Indigenous children from their families and communities, and of the crimes committed against many former students, deniers seek to undermine widespread efforts to advance reconciliation in Canada.[1] I acknowledge the hurt and harms denialism causes, especially to Indigenous people in Canada, including Ms. Dick and her community.
[44] The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (“TRC”) recognized, rightly, that for reconciliation to become a reality, there “has to be awareness of the past, acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour.”[2] Without an acknowledgement of the truth, there cannot be reconciliation.[3]
[45] Following an exhaustive review of the historical record and of thousands of statements of former students, their families and others who wished to share their knowledge of the operation and legacy of residential schools[4], the TRC identified the stark truth about the central role played by residential schools in Canada’s destructive assimilationist policies:
For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada. The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as “cultural genocide.”[5]
[46] The TRC also described the reality of the residential school experience for many former students:
For children, life in these schools was lonely and alien. Buildings were poorly located, poorly built, and poorly maintained. The staff was limited in numbers, often poorly trained, and not adequately supervised. Many schools were poorly heated and poorly ventilated, and the diet was meagre and of poor quality. Discipline was harsh, and daily life was highly regimented. Aboriginal languages and cultures were denigrated and suppressed. The educational goals of the schools were limited and confused, and usually reflected a low regard for the intellectual capabilities of Aboriginal people. For the students, education and technical training too often gave way to the drudgery of doing the chores necessary to make the schools self-sustaining. Child neglect was institutionalized, and the lack of supervision created situations where students were prey to sexual and physical abusers.[6]
[47] The consequences of Canada’s assimilationist policies and operation of residential schools is hardly surprising. Huge gaps remain between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians by almost every socio-economic measure. Former students have struggled with emotional and mental health issues, addictions, poor educational outcomes, poverty, parenting difficulties, violence, vulnerability to further victimization, and negative interactions with the criminal justice and child welfare systems. The intergenerational impacts continue to reverberate through many Indigenous families and communities.[7]
[48] More to the point of Ms. Dick’s bias argument, the TRC devoted an entire volume of work to “Missing Children and Unmarked Burials.”[8] Among other things, the TRC documented 3,201 student deaths at residential schools, including approximately 580 student deaths in British Columbia.[9] These deaths represented a far higher mortality rate than was experienced by school-aged children in the general population during the same time frame.[10] The burial sites for many of the deceased children are unmarked or unknown. The TRC’s work on identifying student deaths and burial locations was incomplete and it recommended its work be completed.[11] Since the TRC published its Final Report, many Indigenous communities have taken up the TRC’s Calls to Action to complete this work.[12]
In footnote 12, the Chief Justice created a pinpoint reference to “Why is there a need for an Independent Special Interlocutor in Canada?” consisting of Part 1 of Sacred Responsibility: Searching for the Missing Children and Unmarked Burials Interim Report (Ohsweken, ON: Office of the Independent Special Interlocutor, 2023), which begins:
The existence of unmarked graves and burial sites of children who died while being forced to attend Indian Residential Schools in Canada is a stark reality of the ongoing harm of coercive, assimilative government laws and policies that have targeted Indigenous Peoples.
The following is written on the next page of the July 2023 report:
interlocutor noun
(in-ter-loc-u-tor)
Definition: one who takes part in dialogue or conversation.
Etymology: The word interlocutor traces back to the Latin word Interloqui, meaning “to speak between”. – Merriam-Webster Dictionary
The role of the Independent Special Interlocutor is to take part in conversations with Survivors, Indigenous families, and communities who are leading the Sacred work of recovering the missing children and unmarked burials. It involves speaking directly with those leading search and recovery work and with governments, churches and other individuals and organizations to help identify and remove existing barriers. Listening, hearing, and considering all input provided is required to inform recommendations about how to support Survivors, Indigenous families, and communities moving forward.
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We acknowledge that the land on which we work is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.