09/30/2025
What Truth and Reconciliation Is to Me
Truth is the pursuit of what is real, authentic, and verifiable. It is the foundation of justice, healing, and understanding. But truth can also be complex—shaped by perspective, memory, and historical context. In a courtroom, each person may claim to hold their truth. In the media, facts are presented through the lens of perspective. But when we speak of the residential school system in Canada, we are not dealing with competing opinions—we are dealing with documented, undeniable history. The truth is not subjective here. It is supported by testimonies, government records, and the lived experiences of survivors and their families. The truth is that Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes, subjected to abuse, and stripped of their language, culture, and identity in an organized system of cultural erasure.
Truth, in this context, means acknowledging the systemic cultural genocide carried out through these institutions. It means recognizing that these were not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate, state-sanctioned effort to assimilate Indigenous peoples by destroying their communities, values, and way of life. The slogan “kill the Indian in the child” was not just a metaphor—it was a policy. It was carried out through violence, neglect, and the suppression of Indigenous knowledge, rights, and autonomy. Facing the truth means no longer asking whether it happened, but understanding how it happened, to whom it happened, and why it was allowed to happen.
This leads us to reconciliation—a word often used, but not always understood. Reconciliation is not a quick fix or a symbolic gesture. It is a long-term process of repairing relationships that were broken through colonial violence and systemic oppression. It involves the restoration of dignity, the return of rights and land, and the recognition of Indigenous sovereignty. Reconciliation asks us to confront uncomfortable truths and take meaningful action toward justice, healing, and mutual respect. It is both personal and collective, requiring individuals, institutions, and governments to reflect, take responsibility, and commit to real change.
Imagine for a second: you were raised in a small town in northern Ontario with your family and community. You know the bank teller and the cashier at the grocery store. You often talk to them about their family, and you know their children. You even have dinner together sometimes. Your children attend school together, and they learn to be children. You think about your next fishing and hunting trip and make plans with your partner. Unbeknownst to you, the police, the government, and your direct trade partners are getting together to remove your children to be sent to another school outside the region. You will not be able to see them and teach them for many months, sometimes years. You hear promises of a better future, then you lose your hunting license, your fishing license, and your driver's license. At least, you have your home. Think twice, you just learned that you are displaced to a small parcel of land where new rules abound and there is no financial compensation for any of them. You want to hire a lawyer, but a law has been passed that you are not allowed to hire a lawyer, or the lawyer loses their license. You want to become a lawyer yourself, but going to university will make you lose your status and right to be with your family. You decide to stay home and help what is left of your family. You try to find purpose, but alcohol and to***co are available and abundant. You fall into the trap and begin to use and abuse. You find yourself involved in the criminal justice system, and it is much stricter on you than others. You find yourself in and out of jail, just like your neighbors, and quickly you feel the weight on your shoulders when the outsiders want nothing to do with your kind, when your family does not return from the residential school, when there is no support program, when hunting and traditions no longer bring joy and purpose.
How do you find help?
How do you reconcile this experience with yours?
How do you break the generational cycle of abuse and dependence?
Thank you for taking the time to read these few words. I hope it encourages you to reflect on your experience as a Canadian and encourages you to research the different parts of the story below. The information found in the story is based on facts and can be found online. It might not be every Indigenous person who faced this level of combined trauma, but I can assure you that the generational impact of the residential school system is still present in communities and in our society.
Seek the truth and seek to reconcile. Learning and sharing are the best ways to do both.
