The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has filed its interim report.
For the past few years, officials with the TRC have criss-crossed the country taking down statements from residential school survivors.
Today in Vancouver, the commission held a press conference to discuss its progress.
The commission says it has been hampered by lengthy processes and regulations, normally associated with much larger departments, but it has learned valuable information.
It also has published a historical report, detailing many of the statements from survivors about what happened to them at the institutions.
Lead commissioner Murray Sinclair says the commission wants Canada’s school system to begin teaching students everywhere about how the schools impacted students and society.
The commission says educators should look at the report and begin to discuss how the subject could be taught.
Meantime, assistant commissioner Marie Wilson says residential schools spread a lot of disinformation during their existence — and people who went to public school haven’t been informed about what really went on:
“And we have all been the losers for lack of that knowledge and understanding. It has led us to a place of stereotypes and judgment, and often, an inability to connect the dots between the realities in our country today and the 130-year history of contributing factors that led to it.”
In addition to the request for the residential school legacy to be taught, the commission has laid out other recommendations.
Some of these include that the government and churches produce all relevant materials still in their possession, and for funding to be restored to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
There are also calls for support for health and healing of all survivors, the need for culture and language programming, and for parenting supports.