How people who aren't Indigenous can honour Truth and Reconciliation day
CBC
When Robyn Bourgeois sees her three children, aged seven to 12, she sometimes thinks about what her grandfather was doing at that age at a residential school in Alberta.
When he was that age at the school, she says, he dug graves.
"I think about him being that age and digging graves for other kids like him," she says, "and also wondering, 'okay, if this is happening to them, could this happen to me?'"
Her grandfather, Johnny Bourgeois, spent most of his childhood at the Grouard Residential School. Johnny passed away over 20 years ago, but his family is still going feeling the consequences of his experience today.
Bourgeois is Cree from Treaty 8 territory, she's the vice-provost of Indigenous engagement at Brock University, and part of her research involves the inter-generational impacts of the residential school system.
She said the "very punitive, very shameful, very violent," experiences her grandfather faced at the school were passed on to his children, who passed it on to their children in a cycle of abuse.
"I think most of us who are the grandchildren of my grandpa don't have relationships with our parents," she said.
"Our parents don't know how to be parents because my grandpa didn't know how to be a parent either."
Monday, Sept. 30 marks the fourth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
"To me, truth is about knowledge," Bourgeois said.
Although the painful history of residential schools is more well-known now, people who don't know the full scope of violence for Indigenous people need to learn, she said.
Bourgeois recommends:
"Once you know better, you can do better," said Bourgeois. "And that's the second part... reconciliation."
Bourgeois said it's important those new to Canada learn the history as well. She said organizations should do a better job of educating new immigrants.
