Ottawa, Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Thank you for honouring me with a doctorate. This is a proud moment indeed.

Let me begin by acknowledging that we are located on the traditional territory of the Algonquin nation, a fitting place to reflect on the Truth and Reconciliation Report that was released to all Canadians last year. It’s a report that reveals through personal testimony the impact and failure of the Government’s assimilation policy that resulted in a residential school system.

Many of you will already be familiar with this dark chapter in our history. However, one of the many findings to emerge from the report was that far too few Canadians know the history of residential schools, the history of the treaties and the contributions Aboriginal peoples have made to the building of Canada. The early European explorers to our country would not have survived without the knowledge, wisdom and generosity of our First Nations.

My own curiosity to understand the residential school system arose when I began the research for my next book that is part of a trilogy. Writing, like science, requires research.

While reviewing government records, Privy Council documents and personal correspondence with regard to the Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, I discovered facts that were hard to comprehend. The Sault is where the Governor General and I grew up.

I read that tuberculosis was a frequent cause of death in residential schools, yet TB testing was not done on Indian children. Sanatoriums in Southern Ontario refused to treat residential kids. Raw sewage was dumped into St. Mary’s River where the children swam. And faulty electric wiring and no fire escapes risked the children being trapped if a fire broke out.

In 1930, the building was condemned, but it would take another six years before a new school was built. The Indian Act stated that all Indian children must attend school. It did not say it had to be a good one. The documents, records and letters from the officer of public health revealed a lack of concern for our first people that was shocking.

Most unsettling during my research was the discovery that my own grandmother had been the nurse-matron at the Shingwauk. I adored her. It took me days to digest that information.

My grandmother believed in education and actually contributed to the building of a new school that is now Algoma University. She would not have understood the harm of the assimilation policy. Her granddaughter does.

David and I are both honorary witnesses to the truth and reconciliation process. The words “residential school” have left a bad taste in our mouths. The word “assimilation” is anathema to a Canadian society that just welcomed thousands of Syrian refugees, respectful of their cultural practices.

The report card of a Shingwauk pupil recorded “she still speaks her own language,” Cree in this instance. No doubt that warranted punishment, at least a verbal reprimand. Imagine if you were punished for speaking Mandarin, Hindi, Urdu, Japanese or any other language spoken by your family?

Let me read you a powerful poem written by Rita Joe, a Mi’kmaw Elder and poet, about the importance of talking, and listening, and sharing, and dreaming together. It’s called “I Lost My Talk,” and it goes like this.

I lost my talk?
The talk you took away.?
When I was a little girl
At Shubenacadie school.

You snatched it away:
I speak like you
I think like you?
I create like you?
The scrambled ballad, about my world.

Two ways I talk
Both ways I say,?
Your way is more powerful.

So gently I offer my hand and ask,
Let me find my talk?
So I can teach you about me.

I think Rita Joe would be proud to see all of you here today, listening to her simple yet profound poem.

My hope is that all Canadians will respect one another and in that respect, recognize the importance of our Aboriginal heritage. Our history is one of diversity. Let us embrace it.

I am humbled to receive this honorary doctorate. Thank you for this great honour.

Let me ask you as I close these short remarks to be your own witness to the contribution of the first people to our land. We would not be where we are today without them.