Teach History of Residential Schools: Report

Winnipeg Free Press
February 24, 2012

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/teach-history-of-residential-schools-report-140273233.html

THE pending report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission says residential school survivors should have greater access to mental health care and recommends curriculum changes for Canadian public schools that would broaden awareness of the history of residential schools, the CBC reports.

The interim report, which is scheduled for official release in Vancouver today, was leaked to the broadcaster on Thursday.

Residential school information should be available in public schools across the country, the report suggests, with individual schools addressing the implications the residential schools had in specific regions.

The report also advises that the formal apology delivered by the federal government should be framed and distributed to every secondary school in the provinces and territories by Ottawa.

Wellness facilities for mental health should also be established in Nunavut or the Northwest Territories, the report recommends. The CBC quotes the interim report as saying such facilities are "critically needed by residential school survivors and their families and communities."

An "ongoing cultural revival fund" also should be created to finance projects related to the heritage and history of Canada's aboriginal population. Such an effort, the report says, should be funded by Ottawa and the churches involved in the residential schools.

The interim report from the commission, which has a five-year mandate, makes a total of 20 recommendations, according to the CBC.