ActiveHistory.ca post on newspaper coverage of Dr. Bryce’s 1907 report on residential schooling, with Kathleen McKenzie

Kathleen McKenzie and I have written a piece for ActiveHistory.ca on newspaper coverage of Dr. Peter Bryce’s 1907 report on the horrors of residential schooling. You can read the post here.

We argue: “If Canadians are committed to putting truth before reconciliation, it is important to acknowledge that many Canadians were presented with evidence of the horrors of the residential school system in the early 1900s yet chose a course of inaction. Canadians read about Bryce’s findings in their newspapers but did not effectively lobby their church leaders and government officials for change. As a result, many Indigenous peoples – children and youth – continued to suffer and even die in residential schools across the country for another 90 years. The cycle of Canadian indifference and inaction in the face of ongoing injustice for Indigenous peoples continues today. The only way to break the cycle is for Canadians to acknowledge the truth about the history and ongoing legacies of the IRS system and commit to decolonization and meaningful reconciliation.”