Statues of the men who brought us the national shame that was the residential school system are being defaced, toppled, and removed.
An emotional catharsis generations in the making, symbolism that echoes in our hearts, but we need more than symbols. More than apologies.
It comes as no great surprise that back in the 1870s, when the residential school system was instituted, it was depressingly common to think that anyone who didn’t look, speak, or pray like you didn’t deserve to be treated as human.
The question that haunts me though, the truth that makes me cringe, is how did we allow this persecution of children, this destruction of family and culture to continue for so long?
The last residential school closed in 1996.
AimerBoyz 
It’s truly frightening that the residential school system persisted so long.
I have a hard time understanding the arguments against taking statues like this down. Statues aren’t a way of recording what people did; that’s what history books are for. Statues are a way of celebrating people, and who wants to celebrate those who did so much harm?
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Agreed. If it makes anyone uncomfortable, take it down. I certainly wouldn’t want to walk past a statue of Hitler every time I entered a building!
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For sure!
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This reminds me how deaf children were once put into schools where they were prohibited from using Sign Language. The theory was that if you plan to live in a hearing society, then you should learn to lip read and speak. But if you can’t hear, those skills are extraordinarily difficult or impossible to learn. Even then, the best speech readers can only get about 35% of what others say. It wasn’t until late on the 20th century that American Sign Language was finally authorized in schools for deaf children. Imagine trying to get an education without being able to use the communication method best suited to one’s needs. Shameful.
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Atrocious.
My mother was left handed, but her school forced her to write with her right hand.
Why do people fixate on all the wrong things?
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