69. We call upon Library and Archives Canada to:
i. Fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Joinet-Orentlicher Peoples, as related to know the truth about what happened and why, with regard to human rights violations committed against them in residential schools.
ii. Ensure that its record holdings related to residential schools are accessible to the public
iii. Commit more resources to its public education material and programming on residential schools.
“If the rest of the country is not willing to entertain the truth of what happened in this era then how are they going to be able to appreciate the contemporary reality of indigenous communities?” – Wab Kinew
This recommendation calls the Library and Archives of Canada to make records on residential schools and the human rights violations which occurred. Additionally, this recommendation calls for the institution to make these records more accessible, provide a greater degree of education on the data and how material on these topics can be researched and accessed. One of the most common challenges surrounding Archives especially is the lack of knowledge surrounding what Archives can be used for. More promotion of how Archives can be used in uncovering and education on Canadian history, particularly the original records from minority groups such as first nations groups are necessary in establishing these institutions as research tools. In 2012 Library and Archives Canada released a guide to the records of Indian and Inuit Affairs Program. This is the link to the Library and Archives Canada page on the information and access to the records.
Further Reading:
The following sources provide readers with existing data and research on aboriginal residential school, the goal of this recommendation is to further establish this material to make it more accessible to the public in ways that are more easily understood and useful.
- http://www.baclac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/conducting-research-residential-schools.aspx
- http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/the-public/005-1143-e.html
Compiled by: Emily Macleod