Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

The challenge of reconciliation • 333residential school system] involved, but I had no real idea because I had notbeen able to witness it before ... the multi-generational emotion that is involvedin what has happened to so many of the victims of the residential schools....[Today] I heard, “We are only as sick as our secrets.” That is an incentive to allthat have kept these emotions and this history too secret, too long, to show thecourage that so many of you have shown, and let those facts be known....There are cross-cultural difficulties here as we seek reconciliation, thereconciliation of people who have not been part of this experience withthose who have. We are going to deal with cultural differences, but no onewants to be torn away from their roots. And there are common grounds hereby which consensus can be built.... Reconciliation means finding a way thatbrings together the legitimate concerns of the people in this room, and theapprehensions, call them fear ... that might exist elsewhere in the country....Among the things we have to do is to ensure that not only the stories of abuseas they touch First Nations and Aboriginal people, but also the story of theircontribution to Canada, and the values that are inherent in those communities ismuch better known. 202Joe Clark’s observations reinforce this Commission’s view that learning happensin a different manner when life stories are shared and witnessed in ways that connectknowledge, understanding, and human relationships. He pinpointed a key challengeto reconciliation: how to bridge the divides between those who have been part of theresidential school experience and those who have not, and between those who haveparticipated in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s proceedings and thosewho have not.The former minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, the lateHonourable Andy Scott, was inducted as an Honorary Witness at the 2012 AtlanticNational Event in Halifax. He then served to welcome new inductees to the HonoraryWitness circle at the Saskatchewan National Event, and to reflect on his experience.His comments reinforce the Commission’s conviction that relationship-based learningand ways of remembering lead to a deeper knowledge and understanding of thelinks between the Survivors’ experiences and community memory and our collectiveresponsibility and need to re-envision Canada’s national history, identity, and future.He told us,When I was invited to become an Honorary Witness, I thought I was prepared,having been involved in the Settlement process and having already met andheard from Survivors. I was not. In Halifax, I heard about not knowing what itmeant to be loved, not knowing how to love. I heard about simply wanting to bebelieved that it happened, ‘just like I said.’ ... We heard about a deliberate effortto disconnect young children from who they are. We heard about a sense ofbetrayal by authority—government, community, and church. We heard about