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Reflections: Marking NDTR and Reading the OSI Interim Report

October 03, 2023

Author

Adele Perry

By Adele Perry

Like the rest of the University of Manitoba, the office of the Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) closed in recognition of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation or Orange Shirt Day. Last week, the CHRR joined with others on campus to build a Heart Garden in the Quad and host a Teach-In for Reconciliation, where about 500 people heard from speakers including CHRR research affiliates Dr. Cary Miller, Dr. Sean Carleton, and Brenda Gunn, alongside Marc Kruse.

The whole week was busy with events  in the community. On Saturday, walking with 5,000 plus people in the Wa-Say Orange Shirt Day Survivor’s Walk and Pow Wow was a reminder of the power of collective action in the face of tragedy and loss. Elsewhere people made art and listened to speakers at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, or bore witness to the unveiling of the Assiniboia Residential School Commemorative Monument and Gathering Place.

Heart Garden in the Quad. Image: Mike Latschislaw
Image: Mike Latschislaw

In different ways, these events all foreground the need for truth before reconciliation, and the connections between residential schooling and related institutions and histories.  The Indian Residential School System existed for more than a century, and is inextricably tied to a range of other institutions, including segregated medical treatment for Indigenous people, child welfare systems, and the ongoing crisis of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit people. As much as researchers have learned in the last decade, there remains a great deal to be learned about those interconnected systems, and what they meant for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada.  There also remains substantial barriers for Indigenous communities who are seeking to document the impact of colonial institutions on their past, present, and future.

This is one of the points made by the Interim Report of the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools (OSI).  Kim Murray, the Special Interlocutor, was appointed in June 2022 with a mandate to collaborate with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities and survivors to recommend a new federal framework to ensure the “respectful and culturally appropriate treatment of unmarked graves and burial sites of children associated with former residential schools.” The OSI builds on the crucial work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, especially Volume 4’s focus on Missing Children and Unmarked Burials associated with Residential Schools.  It also responds to the announcements of potential unmarked graves that have been made since 2021, announcements which have confirmed longstanding community knowledge and shaken a wider Canadian public.

At an event sponsored by the University of Winnipeg’s History Department Indigenization Committee on 25 September, Dr.  Mary Jane Logan McCallum noted that there is much for researchers to think about in the OSI Interim report. Referencing international human rights law, Murray’s introduction reminds us of the need for ethical truth-telling and justice-seeking research. She that her role is “not to be neutral or objective – it is to be a fierce and fearless advocate to ensure that the bodies and Spirits of the missing children are treated with the care, respect, and dignity they deserve.” (p. 3).

Every child matters vigil. Image: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

For communities and families seeking answers about children who never came home, the barriers to the truth and justice continue to be steep. The OSI Interim report documents how Canada’s current legal system and multi-jurisdictional patchwork stymies efforts to learn about individuals, families, and communities whose histories were touched by federal, provincial, and municipal institutions and their respective policies.  The report documents the continued barriers communities face in accessing relevant records and potential burial sites, and in executing ground searches. The OSI Interim Report affirms Indigenous data sovereignty, and notes that mainstream media attention and an environment of increased residential school denialism pose additional challenges. So too does the lack of sustainable, long-term funding and Indigenous health and wellness reports. The Interim Report argues that there needs to be an Indigenous-led and sustainably funded policies for the repatriation of children who died at Indian Residential Schools, ceremony and burial sites. There need to be accountability and justice for survivors and their families and a new legal framework to protect “protect unmarked burial sites and support the recovery of missing children.” (p. 132).

As the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2023 fades away, I urge you to read the OSI Interim Report. It reminds us of the work that still needs to be done, and the systems that need to change, in order for Indigenous families and communities to have the fullest understanding possible of the acts of genocide that took place in Indian Residential Schools, of those children that never came home.

Read the OSI Interim Report, “Sacred Responsibility: Searching for the Missing Children and Unmarked Burials” (June 2023) from the Independent Special Interlocutor.

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Human Rights Day! Event Dec 9th at 12 noon hosted by CHRR & CSSRP

November 21, 2022

Author

Pauline Tennent

Human Rights Day is celebrated by the international community every year on 10 December. It commemorates the day in 1948 that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In recognition of #HumanRightsDay, the CHRR alongside the Centre for Social Science Research and Policy at the University of Manitoba will host a virtual conversation entitled ‘Imagining the ‘Peg as a Human Rights City.’  Panelists include:

Register now at bit.ly/3TPhfDa

For more information or questions about the event, contact chrrman@umanitoba.ca

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

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Research in the Age of Covid – Sept. 21, 2022 at 12noon

September 01, 2022

Author

Corey Petsnik

Join researchers from a variety of disciplines to discuss their experiences – good, difficult, confusing, surprising – in conducting research in the age of COVID. This is an opportunity to reflect, learn, grow and move forward as we figure out how to do research in the middle of a pandemic with far reaching and long lasting human rights implications.

This is hybrid event:

  • Bring your lunch and join us in person at 201 St. John’s College, University of Manitoba. Please note, masking is required.
  • Join us via Zoom by registering at: https://bit.ly/3xrsjOs

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  • Reproductive Justice,
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Fighting for Reproductive Rights in 2022

July 06, 2022

Author

Corey Petsnik

On July 13th from noon-1pm CT, the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba is hosting an informative, webinar roundtable discussion “Fighting for Reproductive Rights in 2022.” 

Bringing together a variety of scholars and advocates – and those who identify as both: Karen Sharma, Nahanni Fontaine,  Kemlin Nembhard, Dr. Sarah Elvins, Dr. Lindsay Larios, we aim to provide context, information and solidarity as we move forward.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE WEBINAR AT: http://bit.ly/3P2pp9e

The overturning of Roe V Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States is shocking and will have long term consequences.  It also seems to be just the beginning of a movement to once again legitimate control – through law — over the lives and bodies of women and girls, especially those without the means to travel.  


Of course, this is not new. According to international law, reproductive rights means the right to choose the number and spacing of your children. Forced and coerced sterilization of Indigenous women, lack of access to abortions (medical and surgical) outside of urban areas and ongoing systemic racism in the health care system and institutions shows that Canada is no utopia for reproductive rights. We are also well aware that other rights, especially those of the LGBTQ+ community, are coming under the crosshairs. Although the decision took place in US courts, we all know that the ripple effects will be felt across borders, including for those of located north of the 49th 
parallel.

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“Questioning Borders?” New Research Focus Coming July 2022

June 08, 2022

Author

Corey Petsnik

In July 2022, the Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) will introduce a new research focus on Borders and Human Rights. We work to support and expand research of CHRR staff, research affiliates and partners who are exploring the intersection of borders and human rights, including how borders may impede access to human rights or be a source of right violations themselves.

The CHRR takes an intersectional approach to borders. We recognize that borders exist beyond the geo-political boundaries of states – and that it is often the state that forcibly creates and maintains the border in nations. We wish to explore borders that that may not fit under the “traditional” definitions of borders. These include borders of gender, race, Indigeneity, economy, health and the body, all borders that manifest within and across empires and states.  

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Dreaming of a Human Rights Mosaic — May 6, 2022

April 21, 2022

Author

Corey Petsnik

The Centre for Human Rights Research invites YOU to..

an evening of live music, food, and art 

MAY 6, 2022 7:30 PM 

Hosted at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (in the foyer)

An in-person interactive workshop to engage with artistic methods of human rights research and social action 

Facilitated by Bruno de Oliveira Jayme, Arts Educator, University of Manitoba

Music by Brazilian Vibe

To register please contact Shayna Plaut at chrrman@umanitoba.ca or (204) 474-6156

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“Working with Journalists: Human Rights, Research and the Realities of the Newsroom” with Lenard Monkman and Helen Fallding

February 17, 2022

Author

Corey Petsnik

 “Working with Journalists: Human Rights, Research and the Realities of the Newsroom”  with Lenard Monkman (CBC Indigenous) and Helen Fallding (former political reporter with the Winnipeg Free Press)

An interactive workshop Thursday March 10th 2022 at 730-9pm via Zoom. Bring your story ideas!

Are you a researcher with some findings that just need to be heard but not sure how? Are you a student engaged in some important human rights focused research and want to get it out there?Are you a journalist looking for human rights and Indigenous rights focused stories but not sure how to locate appropriate, and diverse, experts for background and context?

Join us for an interactive workshop where you will have a chance to pitch your own story ideas and get feedback.

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  • Colonialism,
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Doing the Work

July 29, 2021

Author

Pauline Tennent

Join us on August 12, 2021 for “Doing the Work: A virtual Q & A on what settlers need to know about the residential school system in Canada”

Canadians, now more than ever, must act with intention to acknowledge the harmful legacies of the Residential School System and its ongoing impact on Indigenous peoples and communities.

We recognize that many non-Indigenous Canadians may feel lost as to where to start. There may also be questions that you wonder about but feel nervous asking. We are a group of settler historians, educators, and librarians that would like to help play a role.

Join us on Thursday, August 12th at 1:00 pm CST for a virtual Q&A session where our panel will answer your submitted questions and suggest available resources that can help increase awareness and education about residential schools and the impact of colonialism in Canada.

This panel discussion is hosted by the CHRR in collaboration with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Panelists include Dr. Sean Carleton, Dr. Brian Gettler, Dr. Erin Millions, Dr. Adele Perry, Kara Sievewright, Dr. Andrew Woolford, and Monique Woroniak. Elder Betty Ross from Pimicikamak First Nation and Knowledge Keeper Clayton Sandy will open this important event.

 

 

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U of M human rights experts on the national stage

June 08, 2017

Author

Helen Fallding

By Helen Fallding

A national human rights conference in Ottawa this week features two University of Manitoba law professors.

Prof. Brenda Gunn has been speaking about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) since at least 2010 but recently she has been flooded with requests to explain what it means for Canada.

Two years ago, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada highlighted UNDRIP as a framework for moving forward on reconciliation. Then last year, Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett announced Canada’s full support for UNDRIP.

“Now people really care,” Gunn told more than 100 human rights experts from across Canada gathered at the University of Ottawa for the opening session of the Realizing Rights conference.

Some Canadians worry that recognizing Indigenous rights will tear the country apart, Gunn said, but UNDRIP’s drafters believed recognition will instead “enhance harmonious and cooperative relations between the State and indigenous peoples.”

Her UNDRIP handbook has become one of the key resources for Canadians trying to put the international declaration into practice here, according to University of Ottawa Prof. Nathalie Chalifour.

Gunn’s colleague Prof. Karen Busby explained at another plenary session how the Canadian Constitution could be used to push governments toward realizing the human right to clean drinking water and sanitation in First Nation communities.

While the Trudeau government has committed to ending drinking water advisories on reserves, not much has changed in the last few years.

Section 36(1)(c) is an overlooked section of the Constitution that commits Canadian governments to providing essential public services of reasonable quality to all Canadians. Busby’s analysis of how courts in other countries have enforced the right to water and of what Canada says in international forums led her to conclude that this provision could be used to nudge governments towards the negotiating table.

Busby is also helping launch the book Canada and the Rule of Law, 150 Years after Confederation, to which she contributed a chapter.

The Realizing Rights conference was organized in recognition that after 150 years, Canada has both much to celebrate in our human rights history and some serious issues to tackle.

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