Truth is very hard to find in a subject that has become so politicized and polarizing and monetized. The more the stories of abuse and genocide are propegated, the more guild money from the government flows to native groups and organizations. We have watched this go on for decades with little improvement in anything related to the indiginous people. But it is the government's way in most everything... doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. A true definition of insanity, laziness and folly.
Breathtaking. Illuminating. Necessary. Finally, an account of residential schools that is not distorted or sensationalistic. Residential schools were far better than the alternative (no education and care), and most teachers were dedicated and triumphantly successful in bettering the lives of their charges.
I have read some of this elsewhere, such as in the early volumes of the TRC report and in the National Archives. I was inspired by Sophie St. Pierre, and stunned by the speed with which MSM dropped her. Then there is the problem with the Cowesses’ chief’s claims, which he must have known at the time to be false, and Trudeau’s endorsement of the lie, which surely his advisors must have been as capable of finding as I was. That was a school a number of chiefs fought to keep open because of the 50+ children there at the time, only one was safe at home (from the TRC report). Virtually all of the boys were able to purchase there own farms when they left in the early days, one of them working for the school to earn the necessary money, and based on their arrival exams in the KIRS in the early days, almost all of the children had TB, or their parents did, had died, or were in sanitariums (from the Nation Archives). I’ve found some clues in comments left under mainstream media articles, and some by studying statistics. This article could have been much, much longer exploring documented evidence that contradicts the dominate, destructive narrative.
Where I haven’t found the truth is in MSM. What I have read there has been diabolical in the harm it has caused. There, the final volume of the TRC report, Mr Sinclair’s quest to destroy the capacity of indigenous people to have confidence in their place among Canadians, Chief Casimir’s role… I can’t understand the continuing suppression of the truth in order to continue such a destructive narrative as the one now perpetrated except to understand a few people are benefiting while almost everyone else in the country is struggling.
Back in the 1950s and early 60s in Australia (I am showing my age) I would regularly attend the local barber shop for a haircut, as one did in the days before long hair became a thing.
In the seated waiting area along the wall opposite the cutting chairs there would be collections of popular magazines that a young middle class boy like myself would never normally see, full of sensational stories that would keep me rivetted with prurient interest until my turn came for the shears.
There was one that always stood out from the rest. It was very promisingly called 'Truth' magazine which specialized in highly entertaining narratives whose truth values rarely seemed to matter. Even as a sub-adolescent, I never saw the articles as anything more than a license to romp around a subject with a view to breathless 'would-you-believe-it entertainment' and stimulus to avoid boredom and ennui while waiting for a haircut.
Even as a kid, I knew the difference between the sensationalist press and its decidedly more upmarket and 'serious' cousins, that catered to more serious, educated, mature and thoughtful people.
At the barber, It was either 'Truth' or staring mournfully at the front window mounted drop-dead Bryl Creem model shots of impossibly wafted hair doo's that I could only ever dream of with my wretchedly unco-operative (and all too soon to be lost) hair, even if my mother approved. So 'Truth' it was.
What has happened in the 65 years since then is that that stylistic and content distinction has been lost, because understanding the difference between knowing fantasy and unknowing delusion has been systematically blurred and crossed by a society that has over that time, converted worlds of adult, knowledgeable and objectively critical detachment, into infantile fantasy narratives of subjective desire/feeling and its urgent realization, regardless of the long-term real cost.
'Truth' magazine took over the shop as respectable journalism, where 'creative input' and 'reader engagement' was for audiences with the skills, attention span and maturity of what once had been the monopoly of a ten-year-old kid, or people who could barely read beyond year nine school levels.
One should not therefore be surprised by the way mainstream media interacts with its subject matter, as mystificatory propagandandist narrative drowns critical judgement.....starting in the universities and working down.
Good article, although I would disagree in general with the idea that indigenous customs were respected at the schools. There are a few examples given in the article, but from what I heard before the issue was politicized, Indigenous students were punished for speaking their language. Former students told me they were strapped or had to wash their mouths out with soap. This was also true of Ukrainian Canadian students in Alberta., but it doesn't excuse what happened at the schools. At Kamloops, the students learned Irish dancing and in fact there was an Irish dancing troupe that presented their skills all around the Okanagan.(from the book "My Name Is Seepeetza"). The late MP Len Marchand reports a basketball team and a choir that toured the area. At Kamloops, Indigenous culture was replaced by activities from the dominant culture. As for the unmarked graves and the more lurid tales, without actual evidence other than the anecdotal, they will remain accusations. However, these days the narrative is a priori believed. Many people I talk with are convinced there was an ongoing campaign of sexual abuse and in fact murder at the schools. "The 215 murdered kids," they say. As the article points out, these are incredibly serious accusations, it is very odd that the police have not been asked to formally investigate, or there's been no attempt to acquire forensic evidence by digging up the orchard.
The author is most polite in his references to the "exaggerations" made by Murray Sinclair, particularly on the world stage at the UN. In fact Sincliar through his overseeing of the TRC would have known that his figures were not just exaggerations but outright lies. In clear English, the man is a liar. and one who has benefitted from his lies. Worst of all, and most damaging has been the tragic disparaging of the IRSchools and all who worked there. Canadian taxpayers have felt the financial brunt of the damage and will continue to do so until we find a politican with sufficient integrity and courage to stand against the Narrative promulgated by Sinclair and his fellow activists.
Truth is very hard to find in a subject that has become so politicized and polarizing and monetized. The more the stories of abuse and genocide are propegated, the more guild money from the government flows to native groups and organizations. We have watched this go on for decades with little improvement in anything related to the indiginous people. But it is the government's way in most everything... doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. A true definition of insanity, laziness and folly.
Breathtaking. Illuminating. Necessary. Finally, an account of residential schools that is not distorted or sensationalistic. Residential schools were far better than the alternative (no education and care), and most teachers were dedicated and triumphantly successful in bettering the lives of their charges.
A typo you'll want to fix: Innuit to Inuit.
Thanks for this article, pulling all these important facts and figures together.
I have read some of this elsewhere, such as in the early volumes of the TRC report and in the National Archives. I was inspired by Sophie St. Pierre, and stunned by the speed with which MSM dropped her. Then there is the problem with the Cowesses’ chief’s claims, which he must have known at the time to be false, and Trudeau’s endorsement of the lie, which surely his advisors must have been as capable of finding as I was. That was a school a number of chiefs fought to keep open because of the 50+ children there at the time, only one was safe at home (from the TRC report). Virtually all of the boys were able to purchase there own farms when they left in the early days, one of them working for the school to earn the necessary money, and based on their arrival exams in the KIRS in the early days, almost all of the children had TB, or their parents did, had died, or were in sanitariums (from the Nation Archives). I’ve found some clues in comments left under mainstream media articles, and some by studying statistics. This article could have been much, much longer exploring documented evidence that contradicts the dominate, destructive narrative.
Where I haven’t found the truth is in MSM. What I have read there has been diabolical in the harm it has caused. There, the final volume of the TRC report, Mr Sinclair’s quest to destroy the capacity of indigenous people to have confidence in their place among Canadians, Chief Casimir’s role… I can’t understand the continuing suppression of the truth in order to continue such a destructive narrative as the one now perpetrated except to understand a few people are benefiting while almost everyone else in the country is struggling.
Back in the 1950s and early 60s in Australia (I am showing my age) I would regularly attend the local barber shop for a haircut, as one did in the days before long hair became a thing.
In the seated waiting area along the wall opposite the cutting chairs there would be collections of popular magazines that a young middle class boy like myself would never normally see, full of sensational stories that would keep me rivetted with prurient interest until my turn came for the shears.
There was one that always stood out from the rest. It was very promisingly called 'Truth' magazine which specialized in highly entertaining narratives whose truth values rarely seemed to matter. Even as a sub-adolescent, I never saw the articles as anything more than a license to romp around a subject with a view to breathless 'would-you-believe-it entertainment' and stimulus to avoid boredom and ennui while waiting for a haircut.
Even as a kid, I knew the difference between the sensationalist press and its decidedly more upmarket and 'serious' cousins, that catered to more serious, educated, mature and thoughtful people.
At the barber, It was either 'Truth' or staring mournfully at the front window mounted drop-dead Bryl Creem model shots of impossibly wafted hair doo's that I could only ever dream of with my wretchedly unco-operative (and all too soon to be lost) hair, even if my mother approved. So 'Truth' it was.
What has happened in the 65 years since then is that that stylistic and content distinction has been lost, because understanding the difference between knowing fantasy and unknowing delusion has been systematically blurred and crossed by a society that has over that time, converted worlds of adult, knowledgeable and objectively critical detachment, into infantile fantasy narratives of subjective desire/feeling and its urgent realization, regardless of the long-term real cost.
'Truth' magazine took over the shop as respectable journalism, where 'creative input' and 'reader engagement' was for audiences with the skills, attention span and maturity of what once had been the monopoly of a ten-year-old kid, or people who could barely read beyond year nine school levels.
One should not therefore be surprised by the way mainstream media interacts with its subject matter, as mystificatory propagandandist narrative drowns critical judgement.....starting in the universities and working down.
Good article, although I would disagree in general with the idea that indigenous customs were respected at the schools. There are a few examples given in the article, but from what I heard before the issue was politicized, Indigenous students were punished for speaking their language. Former students told me they were strapped or had to wash their mouths out with soap. This was also true of Ukrainian Canadian students in Alberta., but it doesn't excuse what happened at the schools. At Kamloops, the students learned Irish dancing and in fact there was an Irish dancing troupe that presented their skills all around the Okanagan.(from the book "My Name Is Seepeetza"). The late MP Len Marchand reports a basketball team and a choir that toured the area. At Kamloops, Indigenous culture was replaced by activities from the dominant culture. As for the unmarked graves and the more lurid tales, without actual evidence other than the anecdotal, they will remain accusations. However, these days the narrative is a priori believed. Many people I talk with are convinced there was an ongoing campaign of sexual abuse and in fact murder at the schools. "The 215 murdered kids," they say. As the article points out, these are incredibly serious accusations, it is very odd that the police have not been asked to formally investigate, or there's been no attempt to acquire forensic evidence by digging up the orchard.
The author is most polite in his references to the "exaggerations" made by Murray Sinclair, particularly on the world stage at the UN. In fact Sincliar through his overseeing of the TRC would have known that his figures were not just exaggerations but outright lies. In clear English, the man is a liar. and one who has benefitted from his lies. Worst of all, and most damaging has been the tragic disparaging of the IRSchools and all who worked there. Canadian taxpayers have felt the financial brunt of the damage and will continue to do so until we find a politican with sufficient integrity and courage to stand against the Narrative promulgated by Sinclair and his fellow activists.
Important piece. Cheers!