If the discovery of thousands of unmarked graves in locations of former Residential Schools across the country, hasn't opened your eyes to the horrific treatment Indigenous people in Canada endured, are currently still healing from, and have been irreversibly changed by, then I can't imagine what will.
If you still haven't heard about the history of Residential Schools in Canada, check out this New York Times article for more information. Or, watch this short clip by Anderson Cooper of 60 Minutes to educate yourself, and SEE it for the first time. (Warning: Information in the article and the video could trigger buried traumas, please take care, and if worried about how you may be affected, don't open them!)
Many of the graves being discovered by ground penetrating radar, are of children who were made to attend these church-run institutions, paid for by the Canadian government. Many never returned home to the people who actually loved them. Our leaders were determined to create a Canada in their vision, born of their worldview. There would be no room for other worldviews. "Kill the Indian in the child" were the actual words used by leaders when talking about the purpose of Residential Schools. Why? What were they so afraid of that they felt they had to kill it? And are we still afraid?
How can we remain blind to the reality of this situation? We have been raised with a colonizers worldview, one that has and continues to perpetuate extreme racism and the dehumanizing of others. We all need to wake up, see our country for what it is not what we hope it will be, or think it is. We are not the best country in the world with this hanging over us, but we can be better.
With TRUTH comes the power to reconcile, to begin to understand, to begin to listen. If we are the Canadians we think we are, then we have the ability to come together and make a real difference not only for the survivors and their families, but for ourselves. It starts by individuals choosing this path, taking the "road less travelled" so to speak, and decolonizing their lives. By learning how the colonial worldview has affected Indigenous people is a must to move forward in a good way, but understanding how it has impacted non-Indigenous people is important as well.
If, as a non-Indigenous person, these stories don't break your heart and make you angry at the leaders of the institutions that paid for, delivered, and supported this abuse, I'm sincerely worried for you. If you don't believe these stories, I'm even more worried for you. But if you are still defending the actions of our government, churches and official agents, as being justified then you have a long journey ahead of you. It's not going to be easy, you're going to have to work hard to get your head out of that sand pile, but it is possible. With hard work and an open mind, anything is possible.
It takes a lot of work to reprogram our minds, critically analyze our values, and reflect on how we came to be standing at this particular crossroad. Which way you travel from here is up to you (blue pill or red pill). You can choose to continue to stay in your safe, comfortable space and continue to move in the direction you are travelling. Or, you can allow yourself to become uncomfortable. To struggle a little, or maybe a lot. To wonder, to question, to grapple with someone else's version of our shared history. You may decide to accept that your worldview may not be all its cracked up to be. Maybe through this hard work (individually and as a society), we can come out the other side, stronger, more resilient, and ready to take on, together, all that the future Canada will demand of us.
I don't know about you, but I choose to believe, I choose love over hate. I choose to live my life to respect diversity, encourage collaboration and actively seek out and learn about other ways of being and knowing. It is in this way I hope to be a Truth and Reconciliation accomplice, one who stands side by side with Indigenous people and takes cues from them as to what is needed for real and lasting reconciliation to occur.
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