OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor. They can be sent to [email protected]. This letter was submitted by Paul Shilling (referred to as Dazaunggee) and Dennis Rizzo (referred to as Zhaganosh).
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For some it is pride in country. For some it is a reason to gather family and friends. For some it validates Canadians as shining ambassadors of the free world. Yet, for many, the dark history of our country includes suppression of culture, community, and the value of family, carried out in the name of building this very Canada we celebrate.
Zhaganosh: The recent media stories about children in unmarked graves are horrific and heartbreaking. We are uncomfortable because they challenge the sanctity of our national and personal assumptions. They open the door to things we do not want to see or hear because they question our views about being Canadian. We talk and talk, but what can we do?
Dazaunggee: The stories force us to see truth. The stories are not new. They are not revelations. They are an awakening.
It is past due for an open look at the “truth” portion of truth and reconciliation. The truth is that during the past 150 years assorted governments of Canada have practised a deliberate and relentless policy to remove Indigenous cultures. Men and women of God — disciples of Jesus — learned men of the government — educators — took on the role of removing the songs, dances, language, and traditions of our children. To break their spirit in the name of “progress,” of “religion,” and of “profit.” They pursued this in the sanctimonious way that all tyrants justify the removal of troublesome peoples who do not see things their way.
Zhaganosh: For most people it is against the law to murder, to kidnap, to rape, molest, pillage, or destroy. How is it that these atrocities were permitted to continue for a hundred years after many from all walks of life tried to report them?
Dazaunggee: For governments and religious orders it is apparently not against the law. Many Canadian institutions cloaked themselves in the image of Jesus but ignored his teachings in dealing with our sacred children and families. The advocates of decency and propriety suffered from self-delusion. There can be no reconciliation until ALL of us accept and speak the truth about what we are ALL carrying still to this day.
Zhaganosh: The full history of the residential schools and white settler dominance has not been taught in Canada. Many people have been ignorant as countless governments have played dumb, refusing to unlock the records. Innumerable First Nations generations have lived under this blanket of shame and fear, yet many seek solace within the very institutions that tried to destroy them. Why?
Dazaunggee: First Nations people have been telling the stories for generations. Somebody’s little boy or little girl lost their spirit and knowledge because agencies and organizations said they needed to be fixed. Someone’s little boy or little girl simply “vanished.” Settler arrogance has allowed Canadians to brush this truth under the rug and still does.
Forgive me if I hurt your feelings. We were told to forget our songs, our dances, our spirit. We suffered emotional and physical abuse at the hands of disturbed “Christians.” If the Christians and educators had known themselves, they would never have perpetrated these horrors. Jesus would never have perpetrated these horrors. Yet many of my own people cannot see past the veil of religion and denial. Many of our people still hurt their own, as though the only power we have had is to put ourselves down and live the lie.
There can only be reconciliation when we finally walk together and move out of our mutual safe ignorance — to find, see, hear, and speak truth. There can only be reconciliation when religious and government leadership stops hiding behind false respectability and legal protocol, when people like the Pope and the PM and the various ministers and bishops and synods are willing to open their files and their eyes so we can name the children and give closure to the families. There can only be reconciliation when all of us freely and openly face both the good and bad of our history.
Zhaganosh: Some say that we should not be held responsible for our ancestors’ actions. How can generations of First Nation people recapture their culture? How can generations of white settlers come to embrace responsibility in a positive way?
Dazaunggee: For First Nations people and the settlers there can be no more hiding. No more shame. No more denial. No more fear. No more deflection. We all need courage.
The most important thing is to refuse to accept the stereotypes, the lies, and the biases we have all practised. We need to refuse to be the “ugly stick” that continues the falsehoods and lies — the “dirty Indian” jokes and stories. We need to know ourselves and each other as beautiful human beings.
Zhaganosh: I see. So, the courage to squarely face action and inaction committed over generations — to refuse to allow ignorance to continue. Courage to speak openly and without fear or shame about how an entire people were disturbed in the name of progress. Courage to stand together with First Nations people to “reconcile” with the lost children and lost generations. Courage to open the door of how “faith” and “progress” have been misused and find a new door of reconciliation. Courage to remove our blankets of denial and uncover the disruption of so many lives. Courage to talk with the survivors. Courage to speak for the dead children.
Dazaunggee: We have known this inhumanity before. We have called it out in places like Uganda, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Serbia, and (yes) Dachau. It is no less than genocide — no matter the cloak it wears. The residential schools were truly the concentration camps of Canada. We must now call out ourselves for acts against humanity and resolve to say, “no more.”
Zhaganosh: If it were my white child who had been stolen, and then just “disappeared,” I would ache to know. I would ache to my soul, and it would destroy me. I would not stand for it. I can not expect any other to stand for it.
Together: We can build toward reconciliation if we ALL listen, know, and accept. No more delay. No more deflection. No more denial. We can no longer say, “We didn’t know.”
Paul Shilling
Chippewas of Rama First Nation
Dennis Rizzo
Orillia
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