Was the Official Apology an Authentic Apology?

Hello, you absolutely amazing person, you. Different angle of my office. Just realized, what is all this? Oh, that's the microphone. Wow. ADHD much? Hi, everyone. My name is Sandy Boucher, and I have tried three different times to shoot this video for you. Sad to say, my Mac is on the way out. The new one's on its way, but we're improvising till then. And that means my new MacBook is loaded, and we're gonna give this a shot. So today, what I wanted to talk about, it's a reaction video to a TED Talk I saw that featured. I had to look for her name, Eve Ensler. She's a playwright, and she was talking about profound apologies. Well, if you know anything about Indigenous Canadian reconciliation, the official apology was a huge part of that. Indigenous people have been asking for an apology for a long time. But according to Eve, there are four parts to a profound apology. The kind of apology that makes a difference. Did the official apology fit that? Did it meet the standards? Do you even remember what the official apology said? Don't worry about it. I got you covered. So, let's talk about it. Hi, everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Treaty 3 Territory in Northern Ontario. And today, as mentioned in the opening, we're going to talk about the official apology and what constitutes a profound apology, as explained in a TED talk by Eve Ensler. Checking out my office here, my kids, so long ago. A painting that was gifted to me. A shield that was gifted to me. Josephine Mandamond, the original water walker with her little copper pail. A friend, a mentor. I miss her so much. And then another beautiful speaker's gift. I was gifted, including this kokum scarf that's on my chair. This is how I work. This is my environment. But. And this environment keeps me focused on Indigenous Canadian reconciliation and first, Indigenous empowerment, because I thoroughly believe there is no reconciliation without Indigenous empowerment. We have to heal. We have to get the supports we need to get past what was done to us. We have to be returned to the. We have to return ourselves to the position of power we once had. And mainstream has to make space for that. So let's start on this journey with the official apology. So I don't know if you were around when Prime Minister Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave the official apology. It's officially called the Statement of Apology to Former Students of Indian Residential School. June 11, 2008, is when he stood in the House and delivered this at the time you probably still can. At the time you were able to order a copy, it's English on one side, French on the other. And I got mine laminated. Seriously considering hanging this in my boardroom. And now that I've read it again, I realized that's something I believe we should all do on a regular basis. We have to remember what the federal government admitted to, acknowledged what they did, and work from there. So what I wanted to do today to start out this video was share the official apology with you. I'm going to read it because I think it's profound. And I remember I'm about to get attacked by a cat. Trust me, this setup is not my norm, but we're gonna do this. We're gonna do this. We're. We're gonna persevere. As Anishinaabe, I've definitely struggled with a lot harder challenges then my computer dying, so. And we're going to ignore the notifications. Is this week done yet? What was I saying? I remember June 11, 2008. I remember where I was working. I remember that I took the afternoon off because I wanted to be alone to watch the official apology. I figured it would be emotional, and at 100% was. I was in my office, in my office, in my apartment, in my living room, sitting on the couch, bawling my eyes out, largely because my mom did not live long enough to hear it. Now I want to be crystal clear. My mom was not a residential school survivor. Once you start delving into Canadian history, especially where anything involving Indigenous peoples, it's complicated. It's always complicated. Every family story seems to be complicated. And in my case, my mom's parents, my grandfather was disenfranchised. He gave up his status because he fought in World War II. So in the eyes of the government, this is where it gets weird. Because he was disenfranchised, he was no longer considered Indigenous. He was suddenly white. Because government policy can change who you are, I guess because he was white. Even though my grandmother was still indigenous in the eyes of the government, they did not have to take my mom and her sisters and her brother because there was a white person in the house guaranteeing that the children would be raised properly or whatever term you want to put in there because of that. It's not like my mom wasn't traumatized because she honestly spent every day of her adult life once she became a mom, scared stiff. I'm expecting an important call, and I didn't want to turn the notifications off, but if it's gonna be that annoying. I'm gonna have to. She spent every day of her adult waking life scared stiff that the government was going to change their mind and they were going to come get us. We had a very restricted childhood. We weren't allowed to leave the yard, even though we lived in a tiny small town. Like, it's not like we had the dangers of a city. But my mom lived in fear. No one should have to live that way. So this is so in my mind she needed to hear this too, and I believe she did. From Spirit World so here is the statement of apology to former students of Indian Residential School as delivered by Prime Minister Right Honorable Stephen Harper on June 11, 2008. The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history. I think it's a little more than sad, but I digress. For more than a century, Indian residential schools separated over 150,000 Aboriginal children from their families and communities. In the 1870s, the federal government, partly in order to meet its obligation to educate Aboriginal children, began to play a role in the development and administration of these schools. Two primary objectives of the residential school systems were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption that the Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, to kill the Indian in the child. Today we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and it has no place in our country. 132 federally supported schools were located in every province and territory except New Finland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Most schools were operated as joint ventures with Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian, or United Churches. The Government of Canada built an education system in which very young children were often forcibly removed from their homes, often taken far from their communities. Many were inadequately fed, clothed and housed. All were deprived of the care and nurturing of their parents, grandparents and communities. First Nations, Inui, and Metis languages and cultural practices were prohibited in these schools. Tragically, some of the children died while attending residential schools and and others never returned home. The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian Residential schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on Aboriginal culture, heritage and language. While some former students have spoken positively about their experiences at residential schools, these stories are far outshadowed by tragic accounts of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children and their separation from powerless families and communities. The legacy of Indian residential Schools has contributed to social problems that continue to exist in many communities today. It has taken extraordinary courage for the thousands of survivors that have come forward to speak publicly about the abuse they suffered. It is a testament to their resilience as individuals and to the strength of their communities. Regrettably, many former students are not with us today and died never having received a full apology from the Government of Canada. The government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation. Therefore, on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians, I stand before you in this chamber, so central to our life as a country, to apologize to Aboriginal peoples for Canada's role in the Indian residential school system. To the approximately 80,000 living former students and all family members and communities. The Government of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes. We apologize for having done this. We now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant cultures and traditions. That it created a void in many lives and communities. And we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that in separating children from their families, we undermine the ability of many to adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds for generations to follow. And we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that far too often these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled. And we apologize for failing to protect you. Not only did you suffer these abuses as children, but but as you became parents, you were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience. And for this we are sorry. The burden of this experience has been on your shoulders for far too long. The burden is properly ours as a government and as a country. There is no place in Canada for the attitudes that that inspired the Indian residential school systems to ever again prevail. You have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time. And in a very real sense, we are now joining you on this journey. The Government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks for the forgiveness of the Aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly in moving towards healing, reconciliation and resolution of the sad legacy of Indian Residential schools. Implementation of the Indian Residential School Settlement agreement began on September 19, 2007. Years of work by survivors, communities and Aboriginal organizations culminated in an agreement that gives us a new beginning and an opportunity to move forward together in partnership. A cornerstone of the settlement agreement is the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This commission presents a unique opportunity to educate all Canadians on the Indian residential schools system. It will be a positive step in forging a New relationship between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians. A relationship based on the knowledge of our shared history, a respect for each other, and a desire to move forward together with a renewed understanding that strong families, strong communities, and vibrant cultures and traditions will contribute to a stronger Canada for us all. That last part reminded me of my feather teaching, how I've said that if we do the work on each side, if Indigenous people heal and do the work they need on their side of the feather, and non Indigenous people do the work they need to educate themselves and change their systems on the other side, then the feather Canada can fly to heights it's never even seen before. So that's the official apology. But according to Eve, there are four steps to establish a profound apology. Before I forget, there were some quotes in this TED talk. It's why I watched it. Listen to this. For all of you nervous after hearing the official apology, the quote, punishment hardens us, but it does not teach us. This is not about punishment. This is about profound apologies. So what are the four steps? Well, first, say what you did in detail. Describe what happened. The liberation for the harmed is in the details. An apology is of remembering. So I know when I heard the official apology, in that moment, kind of like when I went to the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg, I was actually shocked at how much was there, how much was being admitted to, that it wasn't being minimized or denied, that it was literally right in front of my face at the museum, or the fact that they acknowledged that they took these children in in the official apology, now so many years later. We needed more detail. We definitely needed more detail, in my humble opinion. So that's the first one. Say what you did in detail. The second part, the second point of a profound apology. Ask yourself why victims are haunted by the why. Explain the why. I think there was another point. Yeah. Explain why without excuse. Why did you do that? What were you thinking? Why did you hurt me that way? Why did you say the things you said? Why? That's really owning it when you have to start explaining it. And at this point, what it reminded me of in Anishinaabe culture, I believe in several other Indigenous cultures, we use sharing circles or healing circles, when you might have a talking stick that you pass around and the person sharing is sharing their truth, their why, their pain, the reasoning behind. And no one gets to challenge that. You just get to learn and understand that was that person's truth. It doesn't matter if you believe it or not. That's what they believed at the time that resulted in whatever happened. And when it comes to your turn, you get get to share your truth. You don't get to question, you don't need to, you don't get to attack. It is about you in the circle and you share your truth. So explaining why without excuse. The third point, open your heart and feel what the victim felt. Sit in the fear and heartbreak. I don't know how you feel. I don't know how you are rating the official apology based on these points, but this is where I believe Canada has kept themselves at a safe and comfy distance. They acknowledge this is that academic armor that I've referred to before. This is I'm going to acknowledge the facts without feeling it. I don't want to get emotional. I want to stay cold in the facts. I have long said you cannot talk about reconciliation without bringing emotions into it because it was emotional, people got hurt and that has to be acknowledged and there has to be space for that. Trying to retreat to some coldness just to keep someone else comfortable is not an apology and it's not reconciliation. And the last point, take responsibility and make amends. It is the only way to set you and your victim free. So make amends, take responsibility. My opinion, Canada's definitely still working on that. There were a couple other quotes in the TED Talk that I wanted to share with you. And by the way, I'll have the link to the original TED Talk in the the post notes underneath this video. So if you want to watch it, I highly recommend you watch it. Here's another quote and when I have to write it down, you know it resonated. Humiliation is not revelation. That is, I've never heard that quote before, but that is literally my guiding principle for all of the seminars and speeches I give. I have zero interest in calling the same shame or guilt. I'm not out to humiliate anyone because what I need is the revelation. I use cartoons, I use stories, I use my sense of humor to help people realize what they haven't realized before. And it is always a positive, even when we're talking about incredibly negative things. So keep that in mind. Humiliation is not revelation. And last but not least, she mentioned we need to create a progress plan, an action plan. We have to hold space for redemption. That got to me because I have long said I have a serious problem with anyone crucifying another person for what they did 20 years ago. Because for one who is the same person they were 20 years ago, I would hope nobody. But secondly, if you never get to be forgiven, if there's no amount of work or healing you can do you that you will always be crucified for what you did in the past. Then there's no incentive to heal or change. There's none. We have to hold space for redemption. So there you have it. The official apology and the definition of a profound apology. So the question is, in your humble opinion, is the official apology a profound apology? I know what I think. Thanks so much for hanging out in this new situation with me. It's going to be a couple weeks before the new Mac gets here. It may get entertaining, but I hope you'll go on the journey with me. Until next week. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye.