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  • Looking back on 2013 . . .

    UBC suspended classes on September 18, 2013 so that faculty, students and staff could participate in the National Event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in Vancouver that day. See the Video . . . What is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission? What was the National Event? How did people get involved? The […]

  • What is “Reconciliation”? Justice Sinclair’s View

    Justice Murray Sinclair, Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, speaks . . . (Play video)

  • Chief Robert Joseph

    Chief Robert Joseph entered an Indian residential school as a young child and is now a leader in rethnking that history . . .

Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Center

UBC is working towards the development of a centre in the heart of the Vancouver campus that will address the history and legacy of the Indian Residential School system that existed in Canada for more than a century. The system had devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities, and many of those effects persist through this day.

The proposed Centre at UBC will be affiliated with the National Research Centre established by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in Winnipeg. It will provide a place for former students, their families and communities, researchers and others to access the records gathered by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It will be a useful resource for public information and the development of curricula, and for everyone to come and learn about the schools and their significance in Canadian history, and to think about ways that we can all contribute to better discussions and a better future, based on a clearer and more complete understanding of our shared past.

IRSCSiteShot480

At present, UBC has committed substantial funding to the capital costs for the Centre, but further funding must be secured before the proposal can be taken forward for final approval. We are currently seeking additional funding for further development and programming. Please take a minute to read the proposal, or the shorter brief for funders — both can be accessed here.

In spite of the apology delivered by Prime Minister Harper in Parliament in 2008, many Canadians don’t know much about this history because, until recently, it has remained a hidden history. If you would like to know more, please visit the UBC Indigenous Foundations website, where you will find concise information to help you build an understanding.

In September 2013, UBC very actively participated in the Vancouver National Event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. At that event, UBC President Stephen Toope spoke about the university’s commitment and intent to develop this Centre. To see the video of his presentation, click here.

2013 TRC Event Retrospective

If you’d like to see all that happened on campus during the time of the TRC National Event in Vancouver, please take a few minutes to read this page.

Resources

UBC Dialogue on the History and Legacy of the Indian Residential Schools: Video records.

Xwi7xwa Library Residential Schools Research Guide.

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What People Are Doing

MOA Speaking to Memory: Images and Voices from St Michael’s Indian Residential Schools.

Belkin Art Gallery “Witnesses: Art and Canada’s Indian Residential Schools” Exhibit.

See More

This site is for achival purposes only.

Links

UBC Vancouver Aboriginal Portal
Indigenous Foundations

Our Truth Web and Print Media

Web badges and banners, posters

Health Supports

Working with Residential School history can be very stressful. If you encounter distress, resources are available. Please click here to learn more or call 1-866-925-4419 to access the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line.
First Nations House of Learning
1985 West Mall
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z2
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