Truth and Reconciliation Day

Before Canada had a federally recognized program of residential schools, the Catholic and Anglican churches built boarding schools for indigenous people in hopes of converting and "civilizing" them.

However, in the early 1870s, just after Canada officially became a country, the new Canadian government wanted to crack down on the "Indian Problem" by opening residential schools in the hopes of assimilating indigenous people into Canadian society so they could obtain indigenous land and ignore existing indigenous rights and treaties.

At the height of Canadian residential schools in 1931, over eighty schools were operating over the country and took in over 150,000 children. They spent years working to assimilate them, including banning their cultural practices of cutting boys' long hair and forbidding the speaking of all indigenous languages and very often changing names from indigenous ones to English or Christian sounding names. Many stories that have discussed residential schools have proven to be negative experiences. Many indigenous children who survived these schools have written about their experiences, such as Daniel Kennedy (Ochankuga’he).

In 1886, at the age of twelve years, I was lassoed, roped and taken to the Government School at Lebret. Six months after I enrolled, I discovered to my chagrin, that I had lost my name, and an English word had been tagged on me in exchange… “When you were brought here [the school interpreter later told me], for purposes of enrolment, you were asked to give your name, and when you did, the Principal remarked that there were no letters in the alphabet to spell this little heathen’s name and no civilized tongue could pronounce it. ‘We are going to civilize him, so we will give him a civilized name,’ and that was how you acquired this brand new white man's name.’” …In keeping with the promise to civilize the little pagan, they went to work and cut off my braids, which, incidentally, according to the Assiniboine traditional custom, was a token of mourning — the closer the relative, the closer the cut. After my haircut, I wondered in silence if my mother had died, as they had cut my hair close to the scalp. I looked in the mirror to see what I looked like. A Hallowe’en pumpkin stared back at me, and that did it. If this was civilization, I didn’t want any part of it. I ran away from school, but I was captured and brought back. I made two more attempts, but with no better luck. Realizing that there was no escape, I resigned myself to the task of learning the three Rs. …visualize for yourselves the difficulties encountered by an Indian boy who had never seen the inside of a house; who had lived in buffalo skin teepees in winter and summer; who grew up with a bow and arrow.

Students who did attend these schools were often made to do chores and pray constantly, which ended up preparing them poorly for the world outside of the residential school. Additionally, often indigenous people at these schools were taught to read at a lower level, even if they were teenagers, which led to them having lower reading and writing rates than the average child at the time.

The death of Chanie "Charlie" Wenjack is an impactful event that occurred during the fight to get the truth out about residential schools.

Chanie grew up in the remote reserve town of Marten Falls, Ontario, where he grew up with his three sisters and two dogs. Since there was no residential school nearby for him and his sisters to attend, they were sent to Kenora, over 600km away. By the 60s, indigenous children were required to participate in these schools, so this school was the closest to his home but also never allowed him to visit.

Chanie and two of his friends escaped residential school on October 16th, 1966, trying to return to his home. He walked with his friends to their uncle's cabin in Reddit, Ontario and stayed with them for a few days before insisting he had to move on. Chanie spoke very little English, and no one around him had ever heard of his home Marten Falls. Chanie decided to follow the Canadian national railway, but after two days of walking, Chanie collapsed from hunger and cold, and his body was found by railway workers. He was only twelve years old.

Chanie's death was brought to the world's attention in an article titled: “The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack,” published by Maclean’s in February 1967. Chanie's death was the first time a serious inquest into the conditions and practices of residential schools was done. Chanie has become a significant symbol of the Truth and Reconciliation movement. Chanie's sisters Pearl and Daisy have been committed to keeping his memory alive.

Chanie has inspired several artistic tributes, including the song "Charlie Wenjack" by Mi’kmaq artist Willie Dunn (1978) and the painting Little Charlie Wenjack’s Escape from Residential School by ​Anishinaabe​ artist Roy Kakegamic (2008). In October 2016, Tragically Hip lead singer Gord Downie released The Secret Path. This multimedia project includes an album, a graphic novel (illustrations by Jeff Lemire) and an animated film (aired by the CBC on 23 October) based on Wenjack’s story. Proceeds from the project will be donated to The Gord Downie Secret Path Fund for Truth and Reconciliation through the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba.