Residential school legacy not 'whole story': Global experts warn of gaps in Canada's reconciliation efforts

Delegatesparticipating in the Nelson Mandela Dialogues in Edmonton are warning that historical atrocities against Indigenous Canadians must be fully acknowledged for the reconciliation process to succeed.

The conference from June 26 to 30drew nearly 40 participants from countries which have also had to grapplewith the horrors of their own past, such as Germany, Cambodia and South Africa.

Delegates examined the 94 recommendations made two years ago by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission aimed at helping Canada heal from the residential school era.

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"The residential school system in Canada is a very, very important focused area of a truth commission, but it's not the whole story," said Shirley Gunn, 62, a commander and freedom fighter duringSouth Africa's anti-apartheid struggle, who has been speaking with Indigenous Canadians.

"And what I've seen as well is that storyof residential schools must go way deeper. Not everyone's had a chance to come forward, not everyone's ready in atime of a limited window."

That storyof residential schools must go way deeper ... not everyone's ready in atime of a limited window.- Shirley Gunn, South African revolutionary

Gunn recalled testifying during South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation process after apartheid ended in 1991.

She told the commissionabout her time locked up in solitary confinement, whensecurity policecruelly apprehended her baby for a time, even though she was breast feeding.

Gunnpointed to the limitations of her own country's reconciliationprocess, such as a short window "hell-bent on putting this thing behind us," labelingthose testifying as victims, andfocusing on questions about the atrocities they faced.

"Peopledidn'tknow how to answer that question. From the moment they opened their eyes they had been abused by structural violence of apartheid, so the full story was never told," Gunn said, drawing comparisons toCanada's process.

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The Nelson Mandela Dialogues,launched in 2013 in South Africa, has been held in locations such as Cambodia and Sri Lanka.This year's event inEdmonton was hosted by Native Counselling Services of Alberta and Enoch Cree Nation.

The dialogues took place duringthe same week tensions ran high in the run up to Canada Day celebrations.

Protests eruptedas many Indigenous Canadians demanded the federal government take action on issues gripping their communities such as youth suicide, the disproportionate number of children in foster care, poverty, unemployment and addiction.

When participants toured Blue Quills First Nations College, German psychologist Jan Wessler was surprised by the lack of evidence on the site acknowledging thefacility'sresidential school past.

"The truth had not been documented ... it was not easily available at the sites where it happened and these sites are all over the country," Wesslersaid.

Their stories were considered crimes against humanity, but yet the actions taken against my family and my people were not.-Jamie Bourque, Metis filmmaker

"And I think to make the memory more vivid and also make learning much easier. These facts should be all over the place, so that you can see it, you can know, 'Oh here's where it happened.'"

Wessler explained it's important to be able to emotionally connect to those markers tolearn from thepast so it won't happen again.

How to move forward as one nation?

Edmonton Metis filmmaker Jamie Bourque has participated in the dialogues since their inception. But as he learned more about the Holocaust, Khmer Rouge and South Africa's apartheid, he grew angry.

The stories he heard sounded similar to his own, said Bourque, who isfrom the Buffalo LakeMtisSettlement.

"Their stories were considered crimes against humanity, but yet the actions taken against my family and my people were not," he said.

Bourque said the residential school system is only part of thehistorical injustices faced by Indigenous Canadians. He criticized what he sees as a failure toacknowledge the full extent of thebrutality duringearly contact, the signing of treaties,and the reservation system.

"There's so much more buried underneath the residential school era that needs to be acknowledged,"Bourque said.

He said he hopes the film he's currently working on The Stark Truth an exploration of his family's history andhow truth and reconciliation worked in other countries, will help unearth the real story.

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Bourque pointed to persisting issues for Indigenous people, such as deficits in education funding and overrepresentation in the justice system.

"If we don't acknowledge the past, then how are we supposed to move on to a brighter future?" he asked,explaining thattrauma lives on in all Canadians.

"How are we supposed to move forward as one nation?"

andrea.huncar@cbc.ca

@andreahuncar