From Reconciliation to ReconciliAction
Nancy Dyson, Dan Rubenstein, Aline Castañeda Cadena
Volume 23, Number 1 (2025) 23 (1): 64-72, 74-82
Keywords Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), Residential Schools, Indigenous Peoples, Cultural Genocide, St. Michael's Indian Residential School, Survivors, Reconciliation, ReconciliAction, Forced Assimilation, Intergenerational Trauma, Canada, Denial
Abstract
This personal reflection details the authors' experiences as childcare workers at St. Michael's Indian Residential School in 1970 and their subsequent journey toward understanding and advocating for truth and reconciliation in Canada. Witnessing the pervasive abuse, neglect, and cultural genocide within the residential school system, the authors initially remained silent for fifty years. Their compelling narrative recounts their renewed commitment to share their story following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's (TRC) reports in 2015 and the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools. The abstract highlights their efforts to challenge residential school denial and emphasize that these institutions were instruments of forced assimilation, not education. It concludes with a powerful call for "ReconciliAction," transforming the concept of reconciliation into active, ongoing engagement by all Canadians to address the tragic legacy of residential schools and foster respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Nancy Dyson
Dan Rubenstein
Aline Castañeda Cadena
Published August 15, 2025
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2023 Nancy Dyson, Dan Rubenstein (Author); Aline Castañeda Cadena (Translator)
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
The Fourth World Journal (FWJ) is an open-access, peer-reviewed international journal published by the Center for World Indigenous Studies, USA. FWJ is a platform for international scholars and activists, and political and cultural leaders.
Submissions
