Indigenous people flip the conversation on reconciliation in new documentary
Thursday is the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day meant for Canadians to honour the memory of those who went to residential schools and the children who never made it home.
A new documentary called We Know the Truth: Stories to Inspire Reconciliation will introduce Canadians to Indigenous people who are flipping the conversation on reconciliation.
They are relearning their language, retelling Canada's history and reclaiming culture. Along the way, many survivors are reconnecting with families lost over the years.
The documentary will take Canadians to the Rufus Prince Memorial Building on Long Plain First Nation territory in Manitoba. It's where survivor Ernie Daniels has been working tirelessly to turn the site of the former Portage la Prairie Residential School into the National Indigenous Residential School Museum of Canada.
Daniels is preserving the site to serve as a living testament of what happened there, to honour the spirit of the children who went there and to remember those who never returned home.
"This is their home — you include them, you ask permission from them, whether we can be here.… This is their territory, this is their home," said Daniels.
"We know the truth, we lived it. Nobody can ever deny us that."
For Daniels, seeing younger generations reconnecting with their Indigenous culture, language and history means that his story — and the story of all survivors — will be carried forward.
"We're trying our best to educate our young people to carry on. Doesn't matter if I'm dead or alive, they'll carry on the truth — they know what happened," said Daniels.
We Know the Truth: Stories to Inspire Reconciliation was made in collaboration with CBC Manitoba and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. It premieres Thursday on CBC Television at 9 p.m., and is available on CBC Gem.
