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Articles on Indian Residential School System

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A rock with the message ‘Every Child Matters’ painted on it sits at a memorial outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, in Kamloops, B.C., in July 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

We fact-checked residential school denialists and debunked their ‘mass grave hoax’ theory

Contrary to what some ‘denialists’ believe, research shows that Canadian media outlets did not help circulate a ‘mass grave hoax’ regarding unmarked graves at former Indian Residential Schools.
Ceremonial tipis sit in front of the former residential school, Blue Quills, now the home to Blue Quills university run by seven First Nations. (Terri Cardinal)

Residential school deaths are significantly higher than previously reported

The author led a search for unmarked graves at the site of Blue Quills, a former residential school. She found more areas of interest (potential graves) than the official record shows.
Former Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Shane Gottfriedson, left, speaks as hiwus (Chief) Warren Paull, of the shíshálh Nation, listens during a news conference, in Vancouver, on Jan. 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canada’s $2.8 billion settlement with Indigenous Day Scholars is a long time coming

This new agreement finally allows First Nations to decide for themselves how the funding will revitalize their language and culture independently of the government.
A rare photo from an Indian Residential School in Fort Resolution, N.W.T. These systems have been labeled a form of genocide by the Canadian House of Commons. (Department of Mines and Technical Surveys/Library and Archives Canada)

Residential school system recognized as genocide in Canada’s House of Commons: A harbinger of change

Canada’s recent resolution to label the Indian Residential School system as genocide (and not cultural genocide) is not a mere alteration of words, it is a significant and consequential change.
Rally participants hold up signs and wear orange shirts as they march in support of residential school survivors and the families of missing and murdered Indigenous children in Winnipeg on. July 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma

Ignore debaters and denialists, Canada’s treatment of Indigenous Peoples fits the definition of genocide

A better understanding of what most genocide scholars believe can help people understand how Canada’s Indian Residential School system fits with the definition of genocide.
Protesters march to Parliament Hill in Ottawa in response to the discovery of unmarked Indigenous graves at residential schools on July 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

National Day for Truth & Reconciliation: Universities and schools must acknowledge how colonial education has reproduced anti-Indigenous racism

It is important for people who are part of educational institutions to honour the year-round significance of the new National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30.
Orange flags fly representing children who died while attending Indian residential schools in Canada, at Major’s Hill Park in Ottawa, on July 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

When ‘good intentions’ don’t matter: The Indian Residential School system

Variations on the myth of “good intentions” are invoked as a tool against the truth that the legacy of the IRS tells. Here’s why that needs to stop.

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