Reconciling History

The Reconciling History initiative invites people to learn from the past in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its Calls to Action.

By learning about the complete and true story of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada, we can all have a better understanding of how we can contribute to reconciliation in meaningful ways. Reconciling History provides an opportunity to learn about Canada’s treatment of Indigenous children and families in a way that links lessons of history to contemporary injustices.

In the spotlight:

  • Peter Henderson Bryce is recognized by Parks Canada as a National Historic Person
  • Sites of Truth, Sites of Conscience is a historical report, based primarily on evidence gathered from the government and churches’ own archival records, that directly links the actions and omissions of the federal government and the churches that operated Indian Residential Schools with the crisis of the missing and disappeared children and unmarked burials. It documents the buildings, cemeteries, and burial grounds at several former Indian Residential Schools. Once places of silence and suffering, they are now sites of truth.
top view photo of informations sheets scattered on a desk, along with paper clips and a pencil

  • Calls to Action Accountability: A 2022 Status Update on Reconciliation

    A follow-up to the 2019, 2020, and 2021 reports by the same name, Drs. Eva Jewell and Ian Mosby of Yellowhead Institute examine the progress that Canada has made on implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action as of 2022,...
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  • One hundred years apart, they 
fought for Indigenous children.

    This article explores the efforts of Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce who blew the whistle on the harms Indigenous 
kids were facing in residential schools and how that is linked to Canada's decision to continue to fight First ...
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  • A National Crime Documentary

    A documentary produced by students at Carleton University exploring the efforts of Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce to publicize and put a stop to the horrific 
conditions he encountered in the residential schools ... 

    Watch Documentary

  • #IsItGenocide

    Explore this learning series of historical documents by Dr. Cindy Blackstock organized according to Gregory Stanton's 10 Stages of Genocide. The learning series is intended to inspire people to continue learning about Canada's historic and contempora...
    Read Here

  • Beechwood Cemetery's Summer 
2020 Magazine

    Read this brief article by Cindy Blackstock about the Reconciling History Program and how it hearkens to 
calls for Canadians to holistically assess historical 
figures' legacies and impact
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  • The decades-long battle to achieve fairness for Indigenous kids in Canada

    CBC The Sunday Edition interviews Cindy Blackstock about her fight to dismantle the systemic racism plaguing the lives of First Nations children and her hopes for a better future.
    Listen Here

  • Colonial Rule of Law

    This learning series is intended to inspire people to continue learning about Canada's relationship with Indigenous peoples and the colonial use of "rule of law."
    Read Here

  • Dr. Peter Bryce (1853–1932): whistleblower on residential schools

    This article links the story of Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce to the federal government's October 2019 decision to appeal the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling that found Canada to be discriminating against First Nations children.
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  • How a Cemetery Breathed Life Into Reconciliation

    This article shows that it is better to improve how we teach future generations, rather than trying to forget the past. Using the resting places of Dr. P.H. Bryce and Duncan Campbell Scott at Beechwood Cemetery as an opportunity to tell their balance...
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  • Pushed out and silenced

    CBC Unreserved discusses how the whistleblower Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce was punished for speaking out about residential schools.
    Listen Here

  • History Through a Native Lens

    Explore this chronological timeline of Native American resistance movements, events and colonial policies.
    Read Timeline

  • The Forgotten History of the Native Americans Who Helped the Underground Railroad

    Read about how Native Americans assisted freedom seekers in pre-Civil War United States, an early example of the coexistence and cooperation between African Americans and Native Americans.
    Read Article

  • Sites of Truth, Sites of Conscience

    This is a historical report, based primarily on evidence gathered from the government and churches’ own archival records, that directly links the actions and omissions of the federal government and the churches that operated Indian Residential School...
    Read Report