Prime Minister Harper's Apology
As part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established. Before its work got under way, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a public apology on June 11, 2008, on behalf of the Canadian government. The apology is part of the process arranged by the government and the First Nations as parties to the agreement, part of an overall attempt to address the government’s role in the history of the Indian Residential Schools.
Truth and Reconciliation
Since the beginning of its work in 2010, the commission has been collecting information about what was done to survivors in the residential schools and has worked to make this information public. From this process, the survivors receive public, communal acknowledgement and support for years of injustice and suffering.
Vérité et réconciliation
En 2010, la Commission pour la vérité et la réconciliation a commencé à recueillir des renseignements concernant l'expérience des Survivants et des Survivantes dans les écoles résidentielles et a déployé des efforts pour rendre ces renseignements publics. Ce processus a fourni aux Survivants et aux Survivantes une reconnaissance publique et commune de leurs nombreuses années d'injustice et de souffrance.
The Charge of Genocide
In the 1990s, residential schools scholars and many indigenous leaders began to argue that the efforts of the Canadian government to assimilate the Indigenous Peoples in the residential schools embodied the principle of cultural genocide: assimilation was intended to destroy the Indigenous Peoples as culturally distinct group.
L'accusation de génocide
Dans les années 1990, des chercheurs sur les pensionnats et de nombreux leaders autochtones ont commencé à affirmer que les efforts du gouvernement canadien pour assimiler les Peuples Autochtones dans les pensionnats incarnaient le principe du génocide culturel : l'intention de détruire les Peuples Autochtones en tant que groupe culturel distinct.
Prime Minister Harper’s Apology
The apology is part of the process arranged by the government and the First Nations as parties to the agreement, part of an overall attempt to address the government’s role in the history of the Indian Residential Schools.
Les excuses du premier ministre Harper
Les excuses faisaient partie du processus organisé par le gouvernement et les Premières Nations en tant que signataires de l'entente; il s'agissait d'une tentative d'aborder le rôle du gouvernement dans l'histoire des pensionnats autochtones.
Public Art as Form of Participation
Use these slides to help students analyse the Battle of Cable Street Mural and reflect on the role of public art to commemorate, educate, and build community.
We Need a New American Founding
Scholar Eddie S. Glaude draws from the history of Reconstruction and the the Civil Rights movement to call for a “new American founding.” This reading is available in Spanish.
We Need a New American Founding (en español)
In Spanish, Scholar Eddie S. Glaude draws from the history of Reconstruction and the the Civil Rights movement to call for a “new American founding.”
Unit Overview Grid: Teaching An Inspector Calls
Get a birds-eye view of the materials, topics, and activities covered in this Unit.