Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
19 November 2010
Abuse of Inuit
Inuit are among Aboriginal Canadians
who have been gravely used and abused
A commission has begun work on unravelling a dark chapter of Canada’s history. Between the 1950s and 1980s, the Inuit suffered mistreatment as a result of federal policies. During this period, the people were forced off the land and into permanent settlements, administered by government officials.
Social Problems Blamed on Relocation
It was a devastating shift for the semi-
As an article in The Economist (May 2007) put it: “When Canada felt the need to assert its sovereignty in the 1950s, Inuit families from northern Quebec were relocated to unfamiliar terrain in the high Arctic. Many of these ‘human flagpoles’ sickened and died.”
The commission has been established by the Iqaluit-
Killing of Sled Dogs
In addition to the brutal relocations, many Inuit also allege the RCMP killed 20,000 of their sled dogs as a way of speeding up the settlement and assimilation of the Inuit.
Traditionally, sled dogs have been the main source of transportation in the Arctic (some say they should be used again because the dogs are able to sense thinning ice, something a snowmobile can’t do).
The RCMP deny the allegations: a 2006 report by the force says the Mounties only killed the dogs for public safety or health reasons. But the research involved few Inuit, who want to investigate the events further and settle what they see as a mass slaughter.
Also, the commission is interested in learning first hand about other issues such
as housing, health, and education. The commission’s final report is expected to be
ready by mid-
Abuse of Aboriginal Children
Meanwhile, there is also the horrible business of abuse of Aboriginal children at the residential schools. Another Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is beginning its work on this issue.
Aboriginal people have spent decades fighting to have the government recognize the
abuses in the church-
In early March 2008, the spiritual leaders of the Anglican, Presbyterian, and United
Churches, along with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, and the National
Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, took part in a multi-
“The Truth and Reconciliation process is an opportunity for us to hear the truth about, and begin to break, the enduring chains created by Indian Residential Schools,” says the Rt. Rev. Dr. David Giuliano, the Moderator of The United Church of Canada. The Remembering the Children tour included stops in Ottawa, Vancouver, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.
The church leaders believe that one of the most important aspects of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s work will be as a forum for former residential school students and their families to tell their stories.
Residential Schools Settlement
Hearings across the country are expected to process about 12,500 victims claiming
compensation by 2013. The program is part of a multi-
The settlement was negotiated by the federal government, Aboriginal groups, churches,
and lawyers representing former students. It included a lump-
The average payment is about $28,000 with a maximum amount of $245,000 depending on the extent of abuse. In some cases, where claimants can prove income loss, the final amount can be increased to $430,000. A small amount, say some, for destroyed lives, but perhaps a beginning to the healing process for victims and their families.
The Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) points out that much attention has been given to the compensation payments that form part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. While payments will relieve some immediate needs, AHF says “our Elders remind us that money soon disappears and that we need to look for things of lasting value. The knowledge that the voices of our injured relations have been heard, memorials to the resilience of those who survived and remembrance of those who died, and the ongoing work of community healing will have lasting value.”
In its 2008 report, Truth and Reconciliation: Transforming the Legacy of Residential
Schools, the AHF explains, “The truth-
“The healing that is envisaged through a public process of truth-
Sources
“Anxiously Watching a Different World, The Economist,
May 24, 2007.
“Truth and Reconciliation: Transforming the Legacy of Residential Schools.”
© Canada and the World, May 2008
All rights reserved
HOW DID
I GET HERE?
“I was literally thrown into St. Mary’s Residential
School at four years of age after my father died and my mother took sick immediately thereafter. She would spend the rest of her life in and out of the hospital.
“My very first memory of my entry into the school is a painful flashback. For whatever reason, I am
thrown into a kneeling position. My head is bashed
against a wooden cupboard by the boys’ supervisor.
“Instant shock, the nauseating smell of ether, more spanking, then numbness; sudden fear returns at the sight of the man. Was this discipline or just outright cruelty?
“This had never happened to me before. Where is my dad? Where is my mother? They’re not here. Where are my three older brothers?”
Fred Kelly, an Aboriginal leader and residential
school survivor, as told in From Truth to Reconcilia-
by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in 2008
Canadian Arctic Resources Committee
Relocation of Aboriginal Communities, Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
REPAIRING THE DAMAGE
The Aboriginal Healing Foundation says there is no standard definition or model for reconciliation but there are some common elements to the healing process.
One article, by Hizkias Assefa, in AHF’s report, Truth to Reconciliation: Transforming the Legacy of Residential Schools, includes a brief list of what experts say is needed for an effective reconciliation process. They include:
- Honest acknowledgment of the harm/injury each party has inflicted on the other;
- Sincere regrets and remorse for the injury done;
- Readiness to apologize for one’s role in inflicting the injury;
- Readiness of the conflicting parties to ‘let go’ of the anger and bitterness caused by the conflict and the injury;
- Commitment by the offender not to repeat the injury;
- Sincere effort to redress past grievances that caused the conflict and compensate the damage caused to the extent possible; and,
- Entering into a new mutually enriching relationship.
In the summer of 1953, the Canadian government relocated seven Inuit families from Northern Quebec to the High Arctic. They were told they could go home after two years if things didn’t work out, but when the time was up they were not allowed to return. Instead, they were joined by dozens more. All were seriously deprived and suffered from extreme cold, hunger, and sickness.
Research has shown that for residential school survivors who were forcibly divested of their language, recovering their language was a profoundly healing experience. For Inuit, going out on the land and engaging in traditional survival and harvesting activities was often key to healing.