There is, quite understandably, the demand for accountability and retribution in the wake of the gruesome discovery of unmarked graves in the vicinity of aboriginal residential schools. Even if there were some well-meaning educational objectives, there was a complete failure to provide even the most basic levels of protection, care and respect, resulting in tragic and lasting consequences for residential school students, their families and communities.
But without meaning to diminish the need for the most thorough and transparent accountability building on a 1996 Royal Commission and more recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and no doubt to be continued with the discovery of more graves and the release of more institutional documents, it would only compound the tragedy of the residential schools if we go no further than recrimination and demonization of historical leaders for what transpired in the past, and fail to consider what all parties must do in the future.
It is not good enough to recognize that the residential school system was a horrible mistake, The question is what must be done now so that aboriginal children and youth can get the culturally rich and modern education they deserve and need. Because too many are not getting that now and we know from census data and countless studies that without high quality education, employment and income opportunities will be greatly limited and social and wellness outcomes disproportionately poor.
We can rename schools and remove statues of political leaders that bear responsibility for the residential school system, and for some the symbolism of such measures is important. But we can't undo the past and can't gain much by divisive litigation of the intentions and responsibilities of people long since dead. Symbolic gestures won't provide meaningful improvements and opportunities for aboriginal children and youth today. That requires resources, personnel, and well-designed and implemented programs that meet the challenges of what underlies the educational and social outcomes we see today.
It will be up to aboriginal youth, families, communities and governments to determine the best ways of providing the educational opportunities they need. There have been great aboriginal leaders who have led in the education of aboriginal youth, with positive social and economic results. And there have been leaders who have worked on the overhaul of reserve school systems and support for off-reserve children and youth needed for meaningful improvements in educational and social outcomes. That work must be built upon by current aboriginal leadership to determine what is needed for their nations and communities. And those educational plans and programs must be priorities for provincial and federal governments to fund and fully support.
None of this will be easy. But in the wake of the horrors of the residential school system it is essential to move forward -- not just look back -- if the intergenerational cycle of poverty and despair that plagues far too many is to be meaningfully broken.
We know education can be delivered exceptionally poorly -- arguably criminally in the case of residential schools. The challenge is to focus as much as possible on how it can be delivered exceptionally well.
