Atelier du 14 mars 2019
Compte-rendu de Dine Charles
Compte rendu de la conférence du Dr. Paulette Regan, intitulée: Practising an Unsettling Pedagogy of History and Hope in post-TRC Canada
Presenter
Dr. Paulette Regan is the former research director for The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada. Some of the elements of her conference can be found in her published book, Unsettling the Settler Within: Indian Residential Schools, Truth Telling, and Reconciliation in Canada (2010). The conference was co-organized by the Laboratoire de Recherche en Relations Interculturelles (LABRRI) and the Centre Interuniversitaire d’études et de Recherches Autochtones (CIÉRA).
Reflection
There are two central aspects of the material presented: (1) the pedagogical and practical approaches to intercultural dynamics; and (2) the reconstruction of the harmonious relations with indigenous communities.
Dr. Regan began by reminding us that the indigenous people have experienced much victimization from the recolonizing behaviour of Canadians. Among many aspects of this victimization, she cited —the closing of the Indian Residential Schools —and the relegation of the indigenous people into second-class citizens in their own country. These are the real particles of history, but what about the present and the future?
Challenges
The challenges that emerge from this history are enormous, and they need a collective work with well-directed efforts–
- The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Canada
TRC has worked enormously with regional, national and international organizations to build a common vision of reconciliation and move towards the reconstruction of the disrupted past with the indigenous people. This work has also helped get closer to recognizing the indigenous people, not just as victims, but also as part of a great change in Canada, especially through some of their tools like their songs and their seven secret teachings. Finally, it has helped in the acceptance and integration of the wisdom of the indigenous people as the diligent instrument of peace and reconciliation. From all these steps, TRC worked with the United Nations Organization (UNO) for the rights and dignity of the indigenous people to be recognized as a legacy.
- Non-Indigenous People — Canadians
All Canadians (especially non-indigenous people) need to know this history, so that they can ask questions and get sincere answers. It is only through this process that people can be encouraged to rethink justice and reconciliation in relation to the notion of truth. Justice is not only in legal courts, but also in the sincerity and authenticity of day-to-day relationships. In the same way, reconciliation is not only about building a good future, but also about restructuring our understanding of history. All these aspects are built on truth: –truth to the past –truth to the present –and truth to the future. These moves make up what Regan refers to as a “decolonizing attitude” which must be at the center of indigenous-non-indigenous relationships in Canada. From her point of view, we cannot just theorize these facts, we must practice and transmit them as well.
Practice — The way forward
According to Dr. Regan, it is not enough to preach the decolonizing behaviour expected from non-indigenous Canadians. We have to go beyond that level, and “education” is one of the potential ways to take it further. Among other strategies, she made the following points:
It is an enormous contribution if we generate a wider knowledge of this history so that it can be known as it really is. Therefore, it should be integrated into our educational system for more generations to be informed;
We should go beyond simply decolonizing our relationship with the indigenous people and also integrate their knowledge, their ways of life and their wisdom into our schools and professional circles;
We have to create spaces for critical thinking on how to work in closer collaboration with indigenous people in order to generate and sustain hope;
Non-indigenous people have to risk integrating indigenous people into a sphere of peaceful co-existence;
- At all levels, we have to command trust by demonstrating sincerity in our ways, ways that should, in no way, be reduced to signs of flattery.
These are practical strategies to demonstrate a degree of decolonization in our relationship with indigenous communities. We need to be aware that indigenous people are still grieving for the past and are publicly manifesting their grief for the “Canadians” to learn from it and reconstruct the lost hope. Hope, to them, is only achieved when the Canadians will stand “shoulder —shoulder” with the indigenous people and work with them. They believe this is possible only if, in the words of Dr. Regan, “Canadians unlearn their faulty knowledge they claim” and take responsibility for their deeds.
Conclusion
Dr. Regan concluded by affirming that though much seems to have been done, much still needs to be done, since hope is a transformation tool of reconciliation. This needs multidimensional contributions, knowing that the Indian Residential schools are still part of recent memory. Therefore, reconciliation is not a goal to be achieved but a way of achieving justice with truth at the base. The greatest challenge for all: When and how will the vocabulary change from “we-they” to “us”? (From dividing pronouns to unifying pronouns.) To Dr. Regan, it demands serious retrospection and introspection, as well as adequate ethical integrity.