“Education got us into this mess and education will get us out of it.” - The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Education has played a unique and powerful role in Canada’s history in both perpetuating systemic oppression of Indigenous peoples and in helping to advance reconciliation. It was a key element addressed often by members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in their work and within the TRC calls to action.
With the discoveries of numerous unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools and the marking of the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in September 2021, Canadians of all ages began to learn more about Indigenous histories, the intergenerational impact of the country’s residential school system and survivors’ stories. As the nation continues to embark on a process of reflection and learning, join us for a critical conversation amongst Indigenous leaders on the connection between education and reconciliation, and the impact of steps being taken to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing in the classroom and beyond.
Chief Cadmus Delorme - Cowessess First Nation
Dr. Tracy Bear - McMaster Indigenous Research Institute, Dept. of Sociology, Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University
Kory Wilson - British Columbia Institute of Technology