Sunrise Ceremony for Indian Residential School Survivors - June 11, 2009

CBC News, Thursday, June 11, 2009

A sunrise ceremony was held in Ottawa Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the federal government's historic apology to residential school victims.

The ceremony was one of many planned across the country, which brought politicians, aboriginal leaders and residential school survivors together to mark both the anniversary and the relaunch of Canada's Truth and
Reconciliation Commission.

The commission was formed to probe the abuse and assimilation of aboriginal children during the time of residential schooling in Canada and was officially launched on June 1, 2008. It was put on hold after members of the commission, including the chairman, resigned last October over issues of infighting and concerns about political interference.

The long wait for the commission to resume had some elders worried, said Aboriginal leaders, but commemorating the first anniversary of the apology was nonetheless an important and symbolic event.

Chief Robert Joseph, a residential school survivor from British Columbia, said Thursday that the apology has motivated many people to rebuild their lives and communities. "The apology last year, for me, was a very transforming moment," said Joseph. "I had waited all of my life to hear somebody accept responsibility for the sadness in my life — for the loss in my life, for the dysfunction and the anger and the rage. It helped to hear the prime minister of this country say, 'I'm sorry.'"

The moment that Prime Minister Stephen Harper said those words on June 11, 2008 was an emotional one for many.

"The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history," Harper said as part of his statement of apology. "Far too often, these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled and we apologize for failing to protect you."

Even with the apology, however, Mike Cachagee, the director of the National Residential School Survivors Society and a former student himself, said survivors of the residential system have been frustrated by the delay.

"We're hoping that with the naming of the new commission and getting it up and running, that things will improve because there's serious, serious concern among the survivors about the delay," said Cachagee.

The government hopes that giving the Truth and Reconciliation Commission a new life, Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said after Thursday's ceremony on Parliament Hill, will help the healing process —
post-apology — to continue.

Strahl officially relaunched the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Wednesday with the appointment of three new members, including Justice Murray Sinclair of Manitoba, who will now chair the panel. "Everything from the budgets to the length of the commission's mandate — all that's been settled ahead of time," Strahl said Thursday. "And so, we can get right to work on gathering testimony from the survivors and allow the commission's work to start almost immediately. It's all been negotiated with the facilitator in place and I think that's going to allow it to get off to a good start."

Strahl said he's sensitive to the time constraints many former students feel the process of truth and reconciliation is under. "Of course, survivors are eager to do this quickly, because many of them are getting elderly," said Strahl. "We want to get that done."

Sinclair said he's also eager to become part of the process. "It's a daunting task, almost scary. I don't think there's any greater honour that an individual can have in life than to be able to help somebody else," said Sinclair.

Ovide Mercredi, a politician and First Nations activist, said the new chair won't let the same problems bog the commission down this time.

A native lawyer from Alberta and a former CBC North executive will work with Sinclair as commissioners.

"Murray wouldn't be where he is today if he weren't a crusader for Aboriginal people," said Mercredi.

"We need someone who understands both the Aboriginal community and the white community, but also knows the importance of justice and reconciliation."

Sinclair has worked to heal the rift between Manitoba's Aboriginal community and the justice system when he led the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry in the early 1990s.

Some survivors, however, have said that the commission needs to go beyond seeking truth and should begin to address the intergenerational effects of residential schools.

The commission will run for five years and will cost $60 million.