It was a historic moment this week on Parliament Hill when Prime Minister
Stephen Harper apologized for the wrongs perpetrated by the Canadian government
against the original inhabitants of this land.
He apologized for the misguided policies and thoroughly orchestrated implementation of Residential Schools in which more than 150 000 Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and communities, in an effort to assimilate them to the “superior” dominant culture.
Remarkably, Harper stated, “The burden is properly ours as a
government, and as a country.” In order to assume responsibility for the
rectification of 150 years of unconscionable discrimination, such words require
leaders to act with vision, courage, humility, and commitment.
Although many native peoples expressed hope upon hearing Harper’s words, for
many survivors of the abuses and alienation suffered in these schools, a
government apology rings hollow.
Perhaps the apology is too little, too late;
and it will soon be forgotten unless it is followed up with significant
redemptive resources poured into the reconstruction of communities,
strengthening Aboriginal initiatives to re-educate the current generations in
relevant cultural identity, history, vision and values.
Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine astutely recognized that
“the attempt to erase our identity hurt us deeply, but it also hurt all
Canadians and impoverished the character of this nation.”
And although it will
be difficult to fulfill our duty as a nation to rectify the wrongs that have
cascaded into the current generation as a consequence of Residential Schools,
what is required to heal and rebuild Aboriginal communities would enrich Canada
as a whole: reviving and embracing a vision of life that includes the
transcendent and the various realms of Nature, building society around timeless
values such as honour, courage, respect, and compassion, and developing a
justice system that aims to restore individuals and communities.
Despite the challenges, let all peoples of Canada join together as Chief
Fontaine exhorted, in a spirit of reconciliation, so that our land can really be
the “true North, strong and free.”
