'This is a living history': Conversations about unmarked graves at residential schools encouraged to continue as searches carry on
As First Nation communities across Saskatchewan continue the process of searching for unmarked graves around the sites of former residential schools, some people involved in the searches are emphasizing the importance of continuing the conversations about the history.
Sarah Longman, chairperson for the Regina Indian Industrial School, has been involved with that school’s search since 2012.
She said as stories have surfaced across Canada over the past few months, the history of residential schools has been brought to light for about half the population.
“A lot of the survivors and a lot of the descendants, those stories have been passed down for a number of years and unfortunately they went unheard. It took something like the Kamloops situation to really highlight the significance of this history,” Longman said.
Although the conversations are difficult, she said they need to continue.
“This is a living history, this is not something that has been put in the past,” she said. “The story is going to continue. The story is probably going to get a whole heck of a lot more painful than it is right now, but we can’t allow ourselves to disengage from this conversation if we’re going to move towards truth and reconciliation in its most authentic form.”
Longman emphasized the importance of sharing and absorbing accurate information from reliable sources.
“The big piece that we forgot about the [truth and reconciliation commission] is the part about truth. That truth needs to be shared by Indigenous voice and it needs to be accepted by non-Indigenous ears,” she said. “That’s where we need to move. It’s going to be very difficult. It’s going to be painful. It’s going to be emotional. But it’s going to take both parties here to move together in this space to come to a common understanding of respect.”
Sarah Longman reviews the survey history at the Regina Indian Industrial School on Pinky Road. (Stefanie Davis/CTV News)The
Sarah Longman reviews the survey history at the Regina Indian Industrial School on Pinky Road. (Stefanie Davis/CTV News)
Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) said the spreading of misinformation and the importance of keeping the conversation going comes down to respect for the people who lived the difficult experiences.
“This is not going to be on the back burner. We are going to keep up the constant advocacy and the voice for the residential school survivors and all those people. This is part of Canada’s ugly history,” Chief Bobby Cameron said.
The FSIN has been dispersing provincial and federal funding for residential school site searches to First Nations in Saskatchewan over the past several weeks.
Chief Cameron said it has been a difficult journey for those involved.
“The findings that will be revealed is obviously going to be a tremendous amount into the hundreds or it could be into the thousands,” Cameron said. “We don’t know the exact number.”
Cameron said additional funding announced on Tuesday from the federal government for community searches and initiatives will help in the process.
As individual communities work in their own ways to navigate the past, Longman said it’s important to keep moving forward together.
“There’s a unique aspect I think to every community and every search and ever process,” she said. “I think the journey is just beginning.”
--
If you are a residential school survivor in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.