Five million electronic records from Canada’s residential schools will soon be at people’s fingertips at the University if Saskatchewan.
On Tuesday, the U of S signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NTRC). Through that partnership, all of the NCTR’s database will be available at the U of S. Currently, only 40,000 articles are available to the public.
More than 100 people attended the signing ceremony at Convocation Hall, where the NCTR’s director Ry Moran spoke. He said agreements like this will develop a change of perspective on the history of Canada’s First Nations people and build on the work by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
Residential School survivor Eugene Arcand also spoke to the crown, saying all he asks for is understanding of his experience.
This partnership will help end ignorance of what First Nations people went through in residential schools, said U of S President Peter Stoicheff.
“One of the reasons why the country’s in the situation it’s in now – tragic – is because it’s been uninformed. It hasn’t had the information that it’s needed or when it’s had that information it hasn’t been disseminating it through the education system and at the university. So it’s huge to be able to have this kind of access,” he said.
He said the steps made with the MOU will also aid research into reconciliation.
Eight other universities have already made similar commitments, which Moran said is necessary to implement the TRC’s calls to action.
“What’s really exciting that I’m seeing across the board right now, really in all areas of the country, is institutions really wrestling with some of the calls to action and exploring ways that they can implements some of the ideals that have been exposed by the TRC in their institutions and in their work,” Moran said.