I still remember clear as day arriving at the old residential school near Saint Paul, not far from the Saddle Lake First Nation. I drove up from Edmonton, two and a half hours each way, to teach philosophy students taking extension courses sponsored by the Tribal Council. They offered me space to stay the night in the old dormitories upstairs; I demurred, and opted for a motel room in town instead. There were no amenities whatsoever near the school; the students gave me a thermos for my coffee. They - or at least the older ones - also told me about their experiences when the residential school was still in operation, and I did my best to teach them critical reasoning.
It is pure coincidence that the current issue of In Education, released yesterday, leads with three articles on First Nations knowledge and indigenous education on this day, the same day a massive report on Canada's residential school system concluded that they were an instrument of cultural genocide. And as the report urges, "Canadians must do more than just talk about reconciliation; we must learn how to practise reconciliation in our everyday lives—within ourselves and our families, and in our communities, governments, places of worship, schools, and workplaces." 388 page PDF. Photo: Edmonton Journal.
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