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Comment from ÂpihtawikosisÂn; Law, language, life: A Plains Cree speaking Métis woman in Montreal

Reaction to the TRC: Not all opinions are equal or valid

After six years, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada held closing events from May 31 to June 3rd, and issued its executive summary of a report which will run to six volumes, and will be translated into six Indigenous languages. The summary itself is 388 pages, and while not exactly light reading, it is incredibly accessible and well-written. Unfortunately, despite incredible media attention and a plethora of opinion articles on the issue, it has become abundantly clear that many people talking about the TRC summary have not read it. (I will not be linking to the more egregious examples of this, as I am also not here to provide platforms for ignorant bigots to spout their bile.)

 

I don’t necessarily fault people for not having read the summary. Yet. I was flooded with requests to do interviews and provide comments on the executive summary on the day it was released, and in the days after. I hadn’t read the summary at that point and I certainly did not feel comfortable speaking about it until I had. I know many people simply have not had the time to go through the summary, and it seems a bit unreasonable to expect that they would have within a few hours or even days of its release.

 

I do expect people to read it, however, before they offer their opinions on what it says. To me, that is not at all unreasonable. If you want to opine on a subject, shouldn’t you know something about it first?

 

(see the rest of the article here: http://apihtawikosisan.com/201...-are-equal-or-valid/

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Bill, I agree so strongly about your comments regarding "it has become abundantly clear that many people talking about the TRC summary have not read it. (I will not be linking to the more egregious examples of this, as I am also not here to provide platforms for ignorant bigots to spout their bile.)"

 

This is why I do not do facebook, twitter or any social media platforms. There is too much mud and bullying to push through in order to find any real relevant conversation or any valuable 'gems' that add to the discussion.

 

The parts that 'damage' me the most are the open forum comments section that news stories allow. That is the place where lies, myths, stigma, bullying, mis-truths, half truth and outright vulgar ignorance leaves such an indelible stain.

 

I remember once after a 'lovely' and really well balanced and well researched article was written about opioids and myself and my late son's overdose were featured in it.

 

To my horror and pain some person wrote that "Overdose deaths were God's way of clearing out the dross" and the rest of the comments were just as cruel. (My beautiful son reduced to dross)

 

I can't imagine anyone harmed by the residential school horror having to read some of those horrible comments that people post.

 

Betty-Lou Kristy

Lived Experience/‘Family’ Advocate- Mental Health, Addiction, Trauma & Bereavement

Last edited by Registered Member

Hi Betty Lou,

 

  • just to be clear I was re-posting the thoughts of http://apihtawikosisan.com/
  • yah, quite the revealing world out there in the internet of where people are...at.  I do worry sometimes how organizations become afraid of being open to hearing such thoughts and comments due to "key organizational message" control imperatives, liability and branding problems.  We actually need to know, what is "out there," and that it can be ordered/bounded.  But hey I think we are getting off topic of what apihtawikosisan is advocating for.
  • Her call, that there is danger of bafflegab by not bothering to actually enter the world and depth that the TRC is bringing us to, by not at least starting to engage in the report itself is such a valid one. This is especially true, if anyone can remember... the not so long ago Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/...ations/prb9924-e.htm - super focused and comprehensive guide to "change" at policy and the front line, yet continues to drift away from the relevance in government and policy planning. I remember even a few years after the final report sitting in a federal government department seeing glazed eyes on the relevance of RCAP to next steps on homelessness planning.
  • I am going on.  I bring the same view to the work on the Mental Health Commission Recommendations http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/...rep/rep02may06-e.htm such as coordination and building of services in government that advance Recovery and still see the glazed eyes, in amongst happily, the occasional pocket of twinkling ones.

 

Last edited by Registered Member

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