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Prime Minister Harper's Apology
As part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established. Before its work got under way, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a public apology on June 11, 2008, on behalf of the Canadian government. The apology is part of the process arranged by the government and the First Nations as parties to the agreement, part of an overall attempt to address the government’s role in the history of the Indian Residential Schools.
![Graphic from cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/SL_graphic5.png?h=bc3345c8&itok=_uc8CaVR)
Truth and Reconciliation
Since the beginning of its work in 2010, the commission has been collecting information about what was done to survivors in the residential schools and has worked to make this information public. From this process, the survivors receive public, communal acknowledgement and support for years of injustice and suffering.
![Graphic from cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/SL_graphic5.png?h=bc3345c8&itok=_uc8CaVR)
The Charge of Genocide
In the 1990s, residential schools scholars and many indigenous leaders began to argue that the efforts of the Canadian government to assimilate the Indigenous Peoples in the residential schools embodied the principle of cultural genocide: assimilation was intended to destroy the Indigenous Peoples as culturally distinct group.
![Graphic from cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/SL_graphic5.png?h=bc3345c8&itok=_uc8CaVR)
Prime Minister Harper’s Apology
The apology is part of the process arranged by the government and the First Nations as parties to the agreement, part of an overall attempt to address the government’s role in the history of the Indian Residential Schools.
![Graphic from cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/SL_graphic5.png?h=bc3345c8&itok=_uc8CaVR)
Are Apologies Enough?
Consider two Indigenous leaders' reflections on the shortcomings of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's public apology in achieving movement toward justice and reconciliation.
![Graphic from cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/SL_graphic5.png?h=bc3345c8&itok=_uc8CaVR)
The Churches Apologize
Read apologies given by churches of Canada for their role in the Indian Residential Schools system.
![Graphic from cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/SL_graphic4.png?h=1a5847fc&itok=ZxTCPNku)
The Government Apologizes
Reflect on the apologies from the Canadian government to the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper's 2008 public apology.
![Graphic from cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/SL_graphic3.png?h=7d06f891&itok=JyGnIrzj)
Can There Be Justice Without Truth?
Residential school survivor Peter Irniq discusses why it's important to uncover the truth behind the experience of students of the Indian Residential Schools.
![Graphic from cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/SL_graphic5.png?h=bc3345c8&itok=_uc8CaVR)
Reconciliation
Richard Wagamese describes his road to reconciliation with the legacy of trauma, violence, and abuse of the Indian Residential Schools.
![Cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/FHAO_stolenLives_HR_graphic.png?h=e2f3be3a&itok=E26V-38t)
“A Spectre in Our Midst”: How the Indian Residential Schools Affect an Entire Community
Richard Wagamese explores how the Indian Residential Schools system affected even those who did not attend them.
![Cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/FHAO_stolenLives_HR_graphic.png?h=e2f3be3a&itok=E26V-38t)
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Future
Learn how the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada addresses the cycle by which trauma and violence is passed from one generation to another.
![Graphic from cover of "Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools."](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/SL_graphic3.png?h=7d06f891&itok=JyGnIrzj)