Why I am not attending Tuesday's Michelle Stirling presentation
There is overwhelming evidence in federal government and other archival records documenting the Canadian government's intent and purposes in founding Indian Residential Schools across Canada - to "solve" the Indian problem in Canada.
There is ample documentary evidence of mistreatment of children attending these institutions, emotionally, physically, sexually and medically.
First Nations people in increasing numbers, began to speak out about their residential school miss-treatment in the 60s, and later went to the courts to seek recognition and redress or justice.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established as a result of an agreement between the government that instituted and funded, and the churches that ran the institutions, and the claimants in the class action suit that was working its way through the courts. That is, the government and the churches and the claimants agreed, rather than proceeding to trial where the court would decide, to settle the suit with the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, of which the TRC process was a part.
Over more than 5 years the TRC held gatherings and hearings across our nation. Just under 3,000 former students (often referred to as "survivors") testified publicly about their experiences. In addition, a number of individuals who had worked at the institutions (as administrators, teachers, cooks, maintenance workers, etc.) testified. All of this public testimony is available publicly from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (nctr.org).
Michelle Stirling, and others, have been engaged in denying the reality of this legacy, and other legacies of Canada's treatment of the Peoples who had been living in North America since "time immemorial". In my short experience with these writings, they dwell on very minor points, often exaggerating them or misrepresenting them, to spread doubt about the subject, rather than to introduce evidence that has not been considered.
Sean Carleton, from U Manitoba, has been engaged in publicly countering this type of denialist writings and speech, because it is factually and morally wrong and very damaging.
I'm not interested in giving equal time, or any time beyond what seems necessary, to these positions and arguments. I'm also not interested in hearing and discussing whether the earth is flat, or whether vaccines injure and kill thousands of people, or most of the other "conspiracy theories" that are being put forward.
Comments
Peter's post
Thank you Peter,
I continue to be disappointed in Dave O's destructive and divisive behaviour. Michelle is earning money through selling books and probably through advertising her divisive views at great cost to the very people who need our support, not our derision.
am I earning money?
Both Sean Carleton and now Rob L. suggest I am earning money from disputing the 'mass grave' and genocide residential school narrative. I do this work for free because Canada matters to me, as does the broader context of our history. My reports in pdf form can be downloaded free of charge from my website. I have also posted them on Amazon as books to reach a broader market. You'll be happy to know I am not making money on these projects. Please watch my rebuttal to "Sugarcane" - which I also did free of charge and unfunded. https://open.substack.com/pub/michellestirlingg/p/the-bitter-roots-of-su... No one is obliged to watch my presentation or mini-doc, but if we are to reconcile, then surely we should be able to talk about these things. - Michelle Stirling
Thanks for clearing this up,
Thanks for clearing this up, Michelle. You're doing important work here. As they say, no reconciliation without truth.
Thank you - Genocide claims are unproven
Thank you, Arthur. My discussion piece here: https://open.substack.com/pub/michellestirlingg/p/sean-carleton-and-clai...
"mass graves" are a distraction
Michelle's piece is focused nearly singularly on the definition and use of the terms "genocide" and "mass graves". Take those terms out of the equation and what's left?
Did Canada design the residential school system to eradicate First Nation culture, language, and traditions? Undeniable documentary evidence says it did, along with rulings from years-long court cases and TRC. As far as I know even Michelle does not dispute this.
Were First Nation's children subject to confinement, forced assimilation, unnecessary abuse, and even death in these schools? Again, the evidence is undeniable and none of the parties involved dispute these facts.
Would you accept a system where the government could send the RCMP to forcibly remove your children from their home and place them in an government-operated institution? There can be no doubt First Nations lived under such a regime for nearly 100 years. A system that is not ancient history, but operated within our lifetimes.
What more "truth" do you need? All this academic wrangling is a distraction - the "truth" about what happened is not really in question. If you are actually interested in understanding the injustices of the residential school system, leave the academics to fight among themselves and just read some first hand accounts by people who lived through it. Here's a couple starters:
https://www.pqbnews.com/news/former-qualicum-first-nations-chief-shares-...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/first-person-facing-genocide-moh...
Peter’s Post
Couldn’t agree with Peter and Rob more. Thanks gents you have said it well.
Post new comment