“Without truth, justice is not served, healing cannot happen, and there can be no genuine reconciliation”—The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
To mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, join us on September 22nd at 12:30 pm EST for a virtual discussion with Sean Carleton and Niigaan Sinclair editors of the newly published book, Truth Before Reconciliation: Confronting Residential School Denialism. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Crystal Fraser, a historian and Associate Professor in the Department of History, Classics, & Religion and the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta.
The TRC’s Final Report, released in 2015, is the outcome of many years of research and rigorous scholarship by hundreds of academics across Canada. More than 5 million documents from governments, churches, and schools, as well as hundreds of secondary sources, and the testimonies of over 6,000 residential school Survivors informed the Commission’s work.
Despite six volumes evincing the genocide, some Canadians choose to deny, downplay, and disparage these findings in a battle for public memory waged in popular media and across social media platforms.
Countering soundbites with substance, Sean Carleton and Niigaan Sinclair, along with a team of expert historians, educators, Survivors, archivists, and archeologists, analyze the genesis, methods, and consequences of denialism; push back on denialist claims; and highlight some of the primary sources and peer-reviewed scholarship that denialists ignore or misrepresent. Importantly, they also document the harms denialists have inflicted on Survivors and communities.
Embedded in the lived experiences of Survivors and supported by the evidentiary record, Truth Before Reconciliation is a valuable tool to help develop the historical and information literacy needed to identify and combat denialism and anti-Indigenous racism as we collectively build a more honourable future for all.
Free reservations are required through Jlive.
This event is being run in partnership with University of Manitoba Press.
Book your free ticket