Chief Wilton Littlechild says education and understanding are keys to addressing the long-term harm caused by the residential school experience.
Littlechild delivered the inaugural lecture at a symposium at the University of Regina.
It examined the impact of the Harper government’s new crime bill on the aboriginal community.
Chief Littlechild is a commissioner on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
He says the legacy of residential schools has led to addictions, suicide and crime.
“So it was the schoolhouse in a way that got us here, and we feel quite strongly now – because of that it’s also going to be education that gets us out.”
The one-day symposium looked at the Harper government’s new crime bill and how it could end up putting more aboriginal people behind bars for longer periods of time.