CanLII Resources for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

September 30th marks Truth and Reconciliation Day, an occasion to reflect on the painful legacy of residential schools.

From the 19th century until very recently, in total, about 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were removed from their communities and forced to attend remote boarding schools run by Christian congregations under government contract. Countless children were abused physically or sexually.

The assumption behind the system was that Indigenous Canadian cultures were unable to adapt to modern industrial society. The schools were intended to aggressively assimilate the children and Christianize them. Children were frequently punished for speaking their ancestral tongues and their culture was denied.

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its findings after its years-long investigation into the many abuses against Indigenous children at the schools.

CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute, has been adding Indigenous-related resources to its collection of freely available legal commentary.

To mark Truth and Reconciliation Day, it has listed a selection of materials readers may find useful.