scholarly journals Clearing the Path to Truth: Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation and the Loss of Aboriginal Life, by James Daschuk, and the narrative of Canadian history. A Commentary

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-52
Author(s):  
Mary-Ellen Kelm
Keyword(s):  
Settler Colonialism ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Canadian History ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
History Of

This paper considers how Clearing the Plains helps contextualize, through Canada’s long history of settler colonialism, the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Triumph of Olemaun: Survivance, Empathic Unsettlement, and Restorying the History of Canadian Residential Schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-146
Author(s):  
Anah-Jayne Markland
Keyword(s):  
Residential Schools ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Mandatory Education ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
History Of ◽  
Age Appropriate

The ignorance of many Canadians regarding residential schools and their traumatic legacy is emphasised in the reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as a foundational obstacle to achieving reconciliation. Many of the TRC's calls to action involve education that dispels and corrects this ignorance, and the commission demands ‘age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples' historical and contemporary contributions to Canada’ to be made ‘a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students’ (Calls to Action 62.i). How to incorporate the history of residential schools in kindergarten and early elementary curricula has been much discussed, and one tool gaining traction is Indigenous-authored picturebooks about Canadian residential schools. This article conducts a close reading of Margaret Pokiak-Fenton and Christy Jordan-Fenton's picturebook When I Was Eight (2013). The picturebook gathers Indigenous and settler children together to contest master settler narratives regarding the history of residential schools. Using Gerald Vizenor's concept of ‘survivance’ and Dominick LaCapra's notion of ‘empathic unsettlement’, the article argues that picturebooks work to unsettle young readers empathetically as part of restorying settler myths about residential schools and implicating young readers in the work of reconciliation.

Historical Policy of the Roh Moo-hyun’s Government in South Korea: Seeking Reconciliation with the Past

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-315
Author(s):  
Natalya N. Kim
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Korean Society ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Historical Justice ◽  
20Th Century History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Historical Past

Historical policy was one of the main directions of the domestic policy of the Roh Moo-hyuns government (2003-2008). The ideological justification of revising the 20th century history of Korea was the idea of building a new Korean society based on the principles of democracy and the rule of civil rights and freedoms. Through the implementation of a new historical policy the Roh Moo-hyuns government tried to prove that the creation of such a society was impossible without revealing the truth about the historical past, in which the state repeatedly neglected civil rights and committed crimes. Increased attention to issues of restoration of the historical justice is typical for the current government of Moon Jae-in, the political successor of Roh Moo-hyun. Based on the analysis of the governmental documents, legislation this paper reveals the main disagreements between political parties of the Republic of Korea around the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, identifies the key results of its activities.

Reading with empathy: Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Affective Experience ◽  
The South ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
White Mother ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Political Critique ◽  
History Of ◽  
Black Motherhood

Through a reading of Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother (1998), this article assesses claims for the empathetic potential of reading fiction, as a means of promoting cross-racial understanding. Drawing on feminist theorists Ann Cvetkovich, Clare Hemmings, and Sara Ahmed, I uncover the modes of political critique that can reside in resisting affective identification, and position Magona’s rejection of empathetic cross-racial connection as a critique of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). I focus particularly on Magona’s representation of black motherhood, and argue that Mother to Mother seeks to inscribe the systematic violation of the maternal relation under apartheid – a form of violence that was not registered by the TRC – and also to position the black mother’s affective experience outside of the empathetic reach of the white mother, precisely because it is embedded in a long history of social, political, and material dispossession.

A Long Path toward Reconciliation and Accountability: A Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Special Chamber for Burundi?

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Crippa
Keyword(s):  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Accountability Mechanism ◽  
Political Milieu ◽  
The Government ◽  
Dual Mechanism

The recent history of Burundi is characterized by cyclical ethnic strife between the Hutu majority, comprising approximately 85 per cent of the population, and the Tutsi. A peace agreement was signed in 2000, and in 2005 the UN recommended the establishment of a dual mechanism, namely a non-judicial accountability mechanism in the form of a truth commission, and a judicial accountability mechanism in the form of a special chamber. Little progress toward their establishment was achieved, however, with the process stalled by outbreaks of violence and the country’s fragmented political milieu. In 2011, significant momentum has been gained with the completion of a country-wide consultation process and the resumption of negotiations between the government and the UN. Building upon these developments, this article reviews the architecture of the proposed mechanism and sets forth various considerations for the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Chamber for Burundi.

scholarly journals Land and storytelling: Indigenous pathways towards healing, spiritual regeneration and resurgence

2021 ◽  
pp. 002198942110317
Author(s):  
Francesca Mussi
Keyword(s):  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Residential School ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Land Dispossession ◽  
History Of ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Indigenous Perspective ◽  
Deep Sense

This article aims to contribute to discourses of healing, Indigenous resurgence and spiritual regeneration within the context of the Indian Residential School Truth and Reconciliation Commission that took place in Canada between 2008 and 2015. First, it considers to what extent the TRC’s restorative justice process can relate to Indigenous ways of conceptualising healing. Secondly, it reflects on the Commission’s exclusive focus on the Indian Residential School system and its legacies, which, according to many Indigenous scholars, overlooks a much broader and more complex history of colonisation, political domination, and land dispossession still ongoing. I underline that, from an Indigenous perspective, land plays a fundamental role to achieve healing, spiritual regeneration, and resurgence. In the last section, I move the discussion to the literary dimension as I explore Richard Wagamese’s 2012 novel Indian Horse. In particular, I argue that fiction, especially that fiction produced during the years of the Commission’s work, can be a crucial site for challenging the TRC’s restorative process and for bringing out the significance of storytelling and of an Indigenous deep sense of connection to the land as a source of learning, spiritual reclaiming, and healing.

scholarly journals Constructing patriotism: How Canada's History Hall has evolved over 50 years

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Wallace-Casey
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
National Narrative ◽  
Canadian History ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
National Capital ◽  
Past Wrongs ◽  
Indigenous Voices

In this article, I illustrate how the national narrative in Canada's Museum of History has evolved over 50 years. Located in the national capital of Ottawa, the new Canada's History Hall presents a concise overview of a nation, stretching from time immemorial to the present. It was opened on 1 July 2017 as a signature exhibition in celebration of Canada's sesquicentennial. It also represents a fourth manifestation of a national museum narrative for Canada. From humble beginnings in 1967 (when Canada celebrated its centennial), the narrative has changed substantially in response to national policies and societal values. Adopting a critical discourse analysis methodology, and drawing from archival evidence, I analyse how this national narrative has evolved. Canada's History Hall presents Canadian students with a concise national template for remembering Canada's past. Over the past 50 years, this narrative has changed, as curators have employed artefacts and museum environments to construct patriotic pride in their nation. Until 2017, this narrative was blatantly exclusionary of Indigenous voices. More recently, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has called for reconciliation in education, including public forums for education. The Canadian Museum of History has responded to this call by weaving Indigenous voices into the national narrative of the new Canadian History Hall. In so doing, I argue, the museum has successfully entwined patriotism with reconciliation against past wrongs.

scholarly journals Recognizing Settler Ignorance in the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Cook
Keyword(s):  
Settler Colonialism ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Residential School ◽  
Politics Of Recognition ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
The Past ◽  
White Ignorance

The Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has been mandated to collect testimonies from survivors of the Indian Residential Schools system. The TRC demands survivors of the residential school system to share their personal narratives under the assumption that the sharing of narratives will inform the Canadian public of the residential school legacy and will motivate a transformation of settler identity. I contend, however, that the TRC provides a concrete example of how a politics of recognition fails to transform relationships between Native and settler Canadians not only because it enacts an internalization of colonial recognition, but because it fails to account for what I call “settler ignorance.” Work in epistemologies of ignorance and epistemic oppression gives language to explain sustained denial and provide tools to further understand how settler denial is sustained, and how it can be made visible, and so challenged. For this task, Mills’s articulation of white ignorance should be expanded to a consideration of white settler ignorance. Over and above an account of white ignorance, such an account will have to consider the underlying logics of settler colonialism. This characterization of settler ignorance will show that the denial of past and ongoing violence against Indigenous peoples, through the reconstruction of the past to assert the primacy of settlers, is not explainable in terms of a lack of recognition but is rather structural ignorance.

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