Photo in poster courtesy of The Catholic Register by Michael Swan
The new ‘Truth and Reconciliation’ display is now up at UBC’s Education Library in time for the new term in September.
The display features DVDs and books related to the human rights abuses in the Canadian Indian residential school system and related Aboriginal issues.
UBC is suspending classes on September 18 to allow the campus community to participate in activities related to Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) final national event on the West Coast that day.
More from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada website:
“Residential schools for Aboriginal people in Canada date back to the 1870s. Over 130 residential schools were located across the country, and the last school closed in 1996. These government-funded, church-run schools were set up to eliminate parental involvement in the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual development of Aboriginal children.
During this era, more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were placed in these schools often against their parents’ wishes. Many were forbidden to speak their language and practice their own culture. While there is an estimated 80,000 former students living today, the ongoing impact of residential schools has been felt throughout generations and has contributed to social problems that continue to exist.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has a mandate to learn the truth about what happened in the residential schools and to inform all Canadians about what happened in the schools.”