Working Toward Truth & Reconciliation At Crescent School

By Grade 12 student Cole Wiggan
This speech was shared by Cole Wiggan at Crescent's full-school assembly on January 15, 2019.
Almost 150 years ago, our Canadian government decided to take the “Indian out of the Indian” by forcing First Nations children to attend residential schools run by many different churches.

Three years ago, the Truth and Reconciliation act was published. It outlined all of the terrible things that had happened to the Indigenous boys and girls when they were children and teenagers. This act was the first step to allow the surviving First Nations peoples of residential schools to tell their stories. To help bring awareness of this history, 94 calls to action were created. These calls to action are designed to support the rest of Canada to “right the wrong” in our process of healing and reconciliation.

Two years ago, Crescent School began our own journey of Truth and Reconciliation. A group of Crescent students and teachers headed to the Superior North region, in Northern Ontario, to work with school children, Elders and indigenous education specialists to get a first-hand look at their situation. They also had the privilege to learn more about the Indigenous culture and way of life.

Last year, I was one of the boys who had the chance to go on this trip. I always recognized here at Crescent that we were very lucky to have so many options for outreach and service initiatives abroad, but was wary that we may not be paying enough attention to work that could be done here at home, with fellow Canadians. For me, this trip was two things:
  1. The perfect opportunity to travel to a part of the country I wasn’t familiar with
  2. To interact with First Nations children very much like myself, and share some with the same hobbies and pastimes.
I was immersed into their culture with open arms and learned a great deal about Canada’s heritage. A part of me also wanted to go because I acknowledged that the Christian church, both Catholic and Protestant, was active in oppressing the populations already present in America, most noticeably through residential schools. I felt, as someone who identifies as a Christian and also from British settlers on both my mom and father’s side, that it was my civic responsibility as a modern Canadian to recognize that I did not arrive in this position on peaceful terms. If students and adults alike today cannot accept our mistakes made in the past, we have no hope of progressing together into the future. Last year we were asked to consider, “How can I make my mark?” For me, this trip and the conversations leading up to today and tomorrow is a first step.

Next month, a new group of nine boys and three teachers is heading to Moose Factory/Moosonee located at the southern tip of the Hudson’s Bay. They will be guided by Cree Elders to continue our learning about First Nations cultures and the role the rest of Canada needs to play as our country moves forward together. They will also bring experiences back to Crescent School to continue to push this good work forward. From this service learning trip, we hope to continue to gain new perspectives of indigenous culture and continue to build our positive relationships.

Today, we are gathered today as one school community. We unite together as a school to move forward and respond to the calls of action.

Read Crescent’s Territorial Acknowledgement

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