The Indian Residential School System, which existed from 1831 until 1996, subjected about 150,000 children to physical, sexual and emotional violence, malnutrition, and forced labor. From 2009 to 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) investigated their fate. The findings were released in a landmark report ten years ago. It exposed the devastating legacy of the Indian Residential School System: The goal was not the education of children, but “to kill the Indian in the child”. Its 94 Calls to Action were framed as a blueprint achieving healing, justice, and reconciliation.
But a decade later, how many of those calls were taken up? Has the political will endured – or has it quietly faded into silence? Whether reconciliation advances or remains mired in symbolism and piecemeal tactics now depends on the newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney and his government. The ninth TraCe Policy Brief by Rita Kopp revisits the commission’s work, political progress, and ongoing challenges.
The English language Policy Brief is available for download (PDF).
Rita Kopp is TraCe Associate Fellow, based at Peace Reseach Institute Frankfurt (PRIF). Her work focuses on the historical colonial violence in Canada and is located in the Research Area Interpretations.