Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

Commission activities • 37In the final year of its mandate, the Commission organized two events to gatheradditional information for its report. It held a Traditional Knowledge Keepers Forumto learn how traditional Aboriginal knowledge can contribute to reconciliation. It alsoorganized, with the support of Égale Canada Human Rights Trust, a forum with membersof the Two Spirit community to discuss the impacts of residential schools andwhat needs to be done to support reconciliation and healing in that community.Commemoration and community events fundingThe Settlement Agreement allocated $20 million for commemoration initiatives.These were defined as initiatives that would honour, educate, remember, memorialize,and pay tribute to former residential school students, their families, and theircommunities. The Commission issued two separate calls for commemoration projectproposals. The maximum funding award for a project advanced by a single group was$50,000. Up to ten communities could collaborate on a submission for a maximumcontribution of $500,000, and a commemoration project of national scope was eligiblefor a contribution of up to $2 million. The Commission recommended 152 projects tothe federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development for funding,and 143 projects were approved. 11It is important to note that the Commission’s work inspired others to undertakecommemorative projects using their own resources. One example is the Governmentof Canada’s decision to memorialize the legacy of Indian residential schools throughthe permanent installation of a stained-glass window in the Centre Block of ParliamentHill. The design selected for the window was created by Aboriginal artist ChristiBelcourt and is entitled Giniigaaniimenaaning or Looking Ahead.The Commission issued a separate call for proposals for community events andallocated funding to approved projects up to a maximum of $15,000 per event. The trcsupported seventy-five community events, which were designed to promote healingand reconciliation by developing collective community narratives about the impact ofthe residential school system on former students, families, and communities.Interim reportIn February 2012, as part of its mandate, the Commission issued an Interim Reportwith findings and recommendations, along with a short history of residential schools,entitled They Came for the Children. Because recommendations in the Interim Reportdealt with gaps in school curricula, the Commission made it a priority to meet withprovincial and territorial education ministers to advocate for the development of