Decolonization and Me: Conversations About Healing a Nation and Ourselves

This book invites readers to step into a space of reflection on your personal relationship with truth, reconciliation, and Orange Shirt Day.

Written in response to the increase of residential school denialism, Phyllis Webstad and Kristy McLeod have collaborated to create a book that encourages readers to face their own biases. This book challenges readers through a series of sensitive conversations that explore decolonization, Indigenization, healing, and every person’s individual responsibility to truth and reconciliation. Centered around the Orange Shirt Day movement, and a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, these conversations encourage readers to unpack and reckon with denialism, biases, privilege, and the journey forward, on both a personal and national level.

Within each chapter, Phyllis Webstad draws on her decade of experience (sharing her Orange Shirt Story on a global level and advocating for the rights of Indigenous Peoples) to offer insights on these topics and stories from her personal journey, which co-author and Métis scholar, Kristy McLeod, helps readers to further navigate. Each section includes real denialist comments taken from social media and Kristy's analysis and response to them. Through empathy-driven truth-telling, this book offers an opportunity to witness, reflect, heal, and be intentional about the seeds we hope to plant for the future, together.

     INTRODUCTION:

     What does it take to heal a nation and society that has been built on the oppression of people for the benefit of others? What does it take to overcome racism and stereotypes perpetuated by economic, political, and social systems that are based on the belief that natural and human resources are to be exploited and used for one’s own or one group’s gain? What does it take to move forward acknowledging and accepting the past, walking in a good way in the present, and healing for future generations when systematic oppression occurred in the past and continues in the present? Healing from the purposeful ongoing oppression of a people within a nation takes an open heart and mind with a willingness to learn and grow. It takes a commitment to listening to other perspectives and ways of knowing and being in the world. It takes a willingness to put aside what you were taught to believe and understand that there are multiple perspectives of truth. It takes dialogue and a desire to reflect on how one profits from or pays for the structures and beliefs that surround us. It requires a commitment to change. It takes you.

     Many harms have been done to Indigenous Peoples in the name of colonization and “civilization” in Canada. Since the creation of this country, the belief that Indigenous Peoples are somehow lesser than non-Indigenous people has been embedded in almost every choice and system carried out by the government. This attitude was a pervasive and driving force to the creation of policies in the Indian Act. 

     Prime Minister John A. Macdonald stated to parliament in 1885, “I have not hesitated to tell this House, again and again, that we could not always hope to maintain peace with the Indians; that the savage was still a savage, and that until he ceased to be savage, we were always in danger of a collision, in danger of war, in danger of an outbreak.” Indigenous Peoples have been marginalized and oppressed through societal prejudice and educational biases, along with many other means. One example of how the Canadian government has attempted to decimate Indigenous people and their cultures is the implementation of the Indian Residential School System (IRS) in Canada. Indigenous children were removed from their families with the purpose of forcing them to assimilate into colonial culture. The term colonial is used in this book in reference to worldviews, systems, and beliefs that are a part of a colonizing nation that controls the economics and politics of another nation(s) through bringing settlers and claiming power through its discriminatory policies and approaches. In Canada this was the approach of both the British and, later, Canadian governments. Deputy superintendent of the Department of Indian Affairs, Duncan Campbell Scott (1920), even went so far as to state, “I want to get rid of the Indian problem. I do not think, as a matter of fact, that this country ought to continuously protect a class of people who are able to stand alone. That is my whole point…Our object is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic, and there is no Indian question, and no Indian department, that is the whole object of this Bill.” Indigenous languages and cultural practices were forbidden and Indigenous Peoples were punished for practicing them.

     Many people who listened to the accounts of the stories from residential school Survivors gathered by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in its final report in 2015 were shocked by the truths that were shared. Although Indigenous people had shared their experiences for decades, when the evidence of children’s bodies were located on the grounds of residential schools in Canada, more people began to acknowledge the need to learn the truth. As there is more evidence being uncovered, including the search for children buried on the grounds of both “schools” and “hospitals,” people are finding many historical documents that prove how the government and churches had been aware of the atrocities happening to Indigenous Peoples.

     Dr Peter Henderson Bryce published a report in 1922 about the horrific conditions children faced in residential schools. His report stated “It is indeed pitiable that … this trail of disease and death has gone on almost unchecked by any serious efforts on the part of the Department of Indian Affairs, placed by the BNA Act especially in charge of our Indian population.” How is it possible that these things continued to happen even when people, including government leaders, knew the truth? Many people knew about the purpose of these schools and the horrific conditions and abuses happening in them. It was not a secret. Residential schools are just one example of the ongoing injustices that Indigenous Peoples have and are still facing in Canada, which some non-Indigenous people ignore or demonstrate apathy toward being a part of changing.

     Lifting up the voices of residential school Survivors and other first-hand accounts from Indigenous people who have faced horrific injustices is vital to learning about the truth of Canada’s treatment toward Indigenous Peoples, as well as an important beginning step in healing. It has been 13 years since the first Orange Shirt Day was held in Williams Lake, British Columbia. Since then, Phyllis Webstad, a founding member of the Orange Shirt Day movement, residential school Survivor, and award-winning Indigenous author, has shared her story on a global level and advocated for the rights of Indigenous Peoples to be honoured, respected and honoured. In doing so, Phyllis offers a unique perspective into the social consciousness on Orange Shirt Day and Reconciliation. Her story has been shared in schools to educate the next generation to learn from the past and change the future. Although many people have some awareness about the injustices, there is still a lot of work to be done. There is not a simple one-off solution. Reconciliation is an ongoing process that requires each person to do the work and be open to learning even when it is painful or uncomfortable.

     As you read through this book, we encourage you to consider your own beliefs and perspectives by deeply reflecting and taking accountability for your role in the process of Truth and Reconciliation. You are encouraged to consider how the treatment of Indigenous Peoples has, and still is, causing ongoing divides in Canada. It is up to each of us to work toward decolonizing our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviours and to question things we take for granted or have the privilege of not having to face in our lives. This book is not a debate, but rather a dialogue. The Truth and Reconciliation process requires an open heart and mind, and a willingness to engage in difficult, and sometimes painful, dialogue in order to learn how injustices can be addressed at the individual, local, and national levels. There is a misconception that the process of Truth and Reconciliation calls on non-Indigenous people to feel guilty for past mistakes made by others. Truth and Reconciliation is not about “white guilt,” but, rather, about deepening one’s understanding about what has and is happening. It is about opening yourself up to hear another side of the narrative that was systematically suppressed for many years.

     The term white guilt has unfortunately been overused and weaponized in discourse about racism. It has become a tool to communicate, “I feel bad, I don’t know what to do, so back off” … when confronted about social inequity. Those who claim they have “White guilt” may be seen as inauthentic or performative because the focus of guilt is on behaviour to the exclusion of true self-examination and accountability.

     It is a common human response to feel guilty. “In psychology, guilt is an emotional experience that occurs when a person believes or realizes — correctly or not — that they have compromised their values or morality in some way.” When facing the truth about the injustices faced by Indigenous Peoples due to colonial systems and narratives, it is important to remember that “while guilt can sometimes act as a moral compass, guiding us toward righting wrongs. When guilt becomes overwhelming, it can paralyze us, affecting our mental health and preventing us from moving forward.” Each person has a responsibility to deal with their own feelings of guilt and not burden Indigenous people with those feelings. Guilt tends to centre more on oneself. The process of Truth and Reconciliation asks non-Indigenous peoples to de-centre themselves and listen and learn about Indigenous perspectives and experiences, and to choose to advocate for social justice. There are many ways to cope with guilt, including: acknowledgement and acceptance of the feelings you are having; reflecting on and taking responsibility for how you can support healing; viewing feelings of guilt as an opportunity to learn about your own values and behaviours, and considering better choices you could make in the future; and entering conversations with self-compassion. It is important to reframe learning in a way that sees mistakes as opportunities from which we can learn and grow. It is not up to someone else. It is up to each one of us to advocate and support change to address injustices.

     This book is for everyone. It challenges readers through a series of sensitive conversations exploring decolonization, healing, and every person’s individual responsibility to face the truth and move forward on a path of reconciliation. Centered around the Orange Shirt Day movement and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, these conversations encourage readers to unpack and reckon with denialism, biases, privilege, and the journey forward, on both a personal and collective level. Readers are invited to step into a space of reflection on their personal relationship with the truth of Canada’s treatment toward Indigenous Peoples, how to move forward on the path of reconciliation, and how Orange Shirt Day is one means that we can collectively support healing the divide in our nation. It invites you to reflect on your own understanding of the truth of what has happened in Canada and your responsibility to move forward into a future that sees humanity in everyone. We are all connected. The harm of one is the harm of all.

     Through empathetic truth-telling, this book offers an opportunity to witness, reflect, heal, and be intentional about the path we hope to walk into the future, together. Phyllis reminds us that “the trauma of being in a Residential School is very deep, and like a ripple on a lake after a stone is tossed, it ripples on and on, affecting even those family members who did not attend the school themselves. It is important to have a clear understanding of the history of what happened near us because we are all connected in one way or another.”

    The ripples of awareness about the injustices done to Indigenous Peoples are spreading. With the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the ongoing search for the bodies of children, and research happening to give closure to loved ones of the children whose deaths were not honoured, many non-Indigenous people realize that the colonial narratives of the history of Turtle Island are incomplete. The voices of the past and present are calling for healing and change. This process requires each of us to learn the role we play in the process of Truth and Reconciliation. Let’s learn to sit and dialogue together, listen and face the truth, and move forward on a path of healing that lifts up all voices and recognizes that we are stronger together.