Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

292 • Truth & Reconciliation Commissionnations the Europeans met, about their rich linguistic and cultural heritage, aboutwhat they felt and thought as they dealt with such historic figures as Champlain, LaVérendrye, and the representatives of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Canadians needto learn why Indigenous nations negotiated the Treaties and to understand that theynegotiated with integrity and in good faith. They need to learn about why Aboriginalleaders and Elders still fight so hard to defend those Treaties, what these agreementsrepresent to them, and why they have been ignored by European settlers or governments.They need to learn about what it means to have inherent rights, what thoseare for Aboriginal peoples, and what the settler government’s political and legal obligationsare in those areas where Treaties were never negotiated. They need to learnwhy so many of these issues are ongoing. They need to learn about the Doctrine ofDiscovery—the politically and socially accepted basis for presumptive Europeanclaims to the land and riches of this country—and to understand that this same doctrineis now being repudiated around the world, most recently by the United Nationsand the World Council of Churches.Survivors have also said that knowing about these things is not enough. Our publiceducation system also needs to influence behaviour by undertaking to teach our children—Aboriginaland non-Aboriginal—how to speak respectfully to, and about, eachother in the future. Reconciliation is all about respect.The Commission’s 2012 Interim Report made three recommendations directed atprovincial and territorial governments:Recommendation 4: The Commission recommends that each provincial andterritorial government undertake a review of the curriculum materials currentlyin use in public schools to assess what, if anything, they teach about residentialschools.Recommendation 5: The Commission recommends that provincial andterritorial departments of education work in concert with the Commission todevelop age-appropriate educational materials about residential schools for usein public schools.Recommendation 6: The Commission recommends that each provincial andterritorial government work with the Commission to develop public educationcampaigns to inform the general public about the history and impact ofresidential schools in their respective jurisdictions.At various times, the Commission met with provincial and territorial educationministers from across Canada. In July 2014, the Council of Ministers of Education,Canada (cmec) gave us an update on the status of curriculum-development commitmentsacross the country. 108 The Commission was encouraged to see that progress hasbeen made. We note, however, that not all provinces and territories have yet made