What is the TRC?
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada is mandated to inform Canadians about the Indian Residential Schools (IRS) that existed for over 100 years in Canada with the goal of indoctrinating Aboriginal children into Canada’s dominant Euro-Christian society and weakening their connection to their family and culture, forcing their assimilation. These institutions were vital to Canada’s policy of cultural genocide.
The TRC has two primary purposes: to document the truth of all survivors, families, and communities affected by the residential schools system, and to guide all Canadians together through processes of reconciliation in a spirit of respect and understanding.
In 2015, the TRC released 94 Calls to Action (PDF): 94 recommendations for actions that Canada must undertake to move forward on its journey toward reconciliation.
What is TRCtalk.ca?
TRCtalk.ca hopes to be a centre for discussing these 94 Calls to Action and foster a dialogue accessible to all Canadians about our shared and individual responsibilities in moving this process forward. We recognize the vitality of open and honest dialogue in reconciliation and hope that the resources presented here can serve as a starting place for those important conversations. Our target audience is all of Canadian society: Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, educators, activists, industry leaders, journalists, researchers, civil society and policy-makers.
How did this project come to exist?
TRCtalk.ca is a collaborative project undertaken by students of Dr. Cynthia Alexander at Acadia University, inspired by and based on the work of artist, director and activist John Houston.
Contact
Dr. Cynthia Alexander: calexander142@gmail.com
John Houston: john@johnhouston.ca