Truth and Reconciliation
The legacy of residential schools and colonial policy continues to influence public education in British Columbia. It reflects on the challenges of addressing systemic racism, exclusion, and unequal access for Indigenous students within existing school structures. Content includes responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, with a focus on identifying policy gaps, documenting harm, and amplifying voices.
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The orange shirt I folded
I was folding laundry late one night, brain running on the kind of background grief that rarely quiets, when my hand closed around the orange shirt. I moved to set it aside—automatically, instinctively—because I remembered September was coming, school would be starting, and Orange Shirt Day would follow quickly after. That shirt would be needed…
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Punished for bed wetting
I’ve woken up in the middle of the night to help my children when they’ve wet the bed—perhaps after a bad dream or too much water before bedtime. I remember helping them change their clothes, stripping the bed, telling them gently: it’s okay. It happens. It’s a small moment that reminds me what care looks…
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When harm comes from those entrusted to protect
The May 2025 consent resolution involving B.C. principal Pehgee Aranas offers a sobering reminder of the work that remains to make education safe, equitable, and trustworthy for all children—especially those from communities that have been historically harmed by the very institutions meant to support them. When a young First Nations student was physically punished by…
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The children were made to punish the children
In Canada’s residential schools, older children were instructed to punish the younger ones—to hit them, isolate them, report them for infractions defined by an institution that sought to erase who they were. The adults gave the orders. The children were conscripted to carry them out. This was not incidental. It was structural. It was framed…
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A landmark case for educational justice in BC
The May 2025 decision from the BC Human Rights Tribunal in Parent obo Student v. BC Ministry of Education and another, 2025 BCHRT 112 carries profound implications for families fighting systemic discrimination in education—particularly those challenging collective punishment, exclusion, and partial-day attendance programs imposed on disabled students. While the complaint against the Ministry was dismissed, the Tribunal…
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Reconciliation demands that we put collective punishment aside
Collective punishment in residential schools did more than punish children—it shattered the bonds between parents and children. For many parents who survived, the fear, shame, and trauma they endured complicated their ability to nurture trust in their own parenting. Emotional disconnection and disrupted parenting Adults who attended residential schools often struggle to form secure attachments…
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Help please: call for Indigenous perspectives on collective punishment in BC schools.
We are seeking contributions from Indigenous scholars, knowledge-keepers and community leaders to speak to the history, lineage and lived impact of collective punishment in British Columbia’s public schools. Your insights will deepen understanding of how these practices have affected Indigenous children and communities and guide our advocacy for restorative, culturally grounded alternatives. What we’re looking…
