How to deal with residential school denialism
Sean Carleton, an assistant professor of history and Indigenous studies, has two speaking engagements at Sault Ste. Marie’s Algoma University this week dealing with sensitive topics.
The first one, on Thursday afternoon, is about residential schools and the importance of what he calls 'truth before reconciliation.'
"It’s important to educate people about what denialism is, which is not the denialism of residential schools, but the attempt to manipulate or twist the basic facts," said Carleton, of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
"Algoma used to be a residential school, so I think it’s an important space to be doing this public education."
Shingwauk Indian Residential School operated in Sault Ste. Marie between 1873 and 1970. It was run by the Anglican Church of Canada and the Canadian government.
Carleton’s second topic on Friday night is about a new book he has written 'Lessons in Legitimacy: Colonialism, Capitalism, and the Rise of State Schooling in British Columbia.'
"It looks at the role of different kinds of schools. I am going to look at Indian day schools, Indian residential schools but also public schools for non-Indigenous children," Carleton said.
Carleton’s first event at Algoma University is March 23 at 1 p.m. with the second event scheduled for March 24 at 7 p.m. Both are at the Doc Brown Lounge at Algoma University.
If you are a former residential school student in distress or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419. Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous Peoples are available here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.