In the post 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) era of reconciliation, many Canadians are wondering what reconciliation might mean to their community.
Because the Royal Proclamation of 1763 stated that the Crown must negotiate and sign treaties with the indigenous people before land could be ceded to a colony, the Numbered Treaties were negotiated in most parts of the Prairie Provinces.
Canada may not be seen as a place where widespread human rights violations against their indigenous population occur on a regular basis by the international community.
In 2008, Prime Minister Harper apologized for the shared government and church-run Indian Residential School System. As part of that apology, an independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission was struck, using a model practiced by only a handful of countries worldwide.
At a January 24, 2012 meeting between the Federal Government and First Nation Chiefs, the Harper government told the Chiefs the Indian Act would not be abolished.
“For over 100 years, Canada pursued a policy of requiring the attendance of Aboriginal children at residential schools, which were largely operated by religious organizations under the supervision of the federal government.
“For over 100 years, Canada pursued a policy of requiring the attendance of Aboriginal children at residential schools, which were largely operated by religious organizations under the supervision of the federal government.