Nobody s Children A MÉTIS NATION RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL DIALOGUE. HILTON GARDEN INN 90-22nd Street East, Saskatoon, SK

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1 Nobody s Children 1 A MÉTIS NATION RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL DIALOGUE March 28-29, 2012 Boarding School at Ile a la Crosse, Saskatchewan HILTON GARDEN INN 90-22nd Street East, Saskatoon, SK MÉTIS NATIONAL COUNCIL RALLIEMENT NATIONAL DES MÉTIS

2 Boarding School at Ile a la Crosse, Saskatchewan Nobody s Children Boarding School at Ile a la Crosse, Saskatchewan

3 1 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT As a people, we have faced many challenges, from the Armed Resistances of the late 1800s, to the dispossession from our lands and resources, to the marginalization and exclusion from the vast majority of programs and services provided by the federal government to Aboriginal peoples. None of this has been more personal and hurtful than the lack of recognition for our people who attended Métis residential/boarding schools. The exclusion of Métis residential schools from the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, and therefore the June 11, 2008 apology by the government of Canada and the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, has once again been an affront to the Métis Nation. It is a continuing struggle trying to convince the federal government to do the right thing for all Aboriginal peoples, including the Métis who suffered similar if not the same negative policies of assimilation through education efforts, primarily delegated to religious orders. The policy of assimilation pursued by the federal government did not have an exclusion clause saying, please exclude the Métis. Many of us who attended a Métis residential/boarding school have either suffered from, or are aware of, sexual, physical or psychological abuse. The impacts of this has lasted for a life time on most of us. As such, we cannot understand why a government can turn its back on us, how it can be so callous as to not take measures to address these abuses that they were instrumental in fostering on us. As to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, how can it or anyone else expect the Métis Nation to participate in the process of reconciliation? In order to have reconciliation there needs to be more than one party at the table, not just the Métis talking to ourselves. Hopefully the government of Canada and the religious orders who perpetrated these attacks on the children of our Nation will accept responsibility, thereby opening the door to true and lasting reconciliation. President Clément Chartier, Métis National Council

4 2 Nobody s Children A MÉTIS NATION RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL DIALOGUE AGENDA March 28 & 29, 2012 HILTON GARDEN INN, 90-22nd Street East, Saskatoon, SK DAY ONE: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012 Co-chairs: Jimmy Durocher, SK, Victoria Pruden, BC 9:00 am Opening Prayer: Norman Fleury, MB Welcome: President Robert Doucette, Métis Nation - Saskatchewan 9:15 9:30 am Conference Overview: President Clément Chartier 9:30-10:15 am Keynote Address: Richard Petit, Marlene Hansen and Linda Pedersen, Keewatin Yatthé Regional Health Authority, Northwest Saskatchewan 10:15-10:30 am HEALTH BREAK 10:30-12:00 pm PANEL ONE: The Legacy of Exclusion : The Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) Moderator: Georgina Liberty, Manitoba Metis Federation Clément Chartier, QC, Kathy Hodgson-Smith, JD, Celeste McKay, LLM 12:00-1:00 pm LUNCH (provided) 1:00-2:30 pm PANEL TWO: Experiences of Métis Residential School Attendees Moderator: Mayor Duane Favel, Île à la Crosse, SK Helen Johnson, SK, Phillip Durocher, SK, David Cardinal, AB 2:30-2:45 pm HEALTH BREAK 2:45-4:00 pm Open Forum: Expressions A moderated, safe space for participants to share their thoughts and stories with others 4:00-4:30 pm Wrap Up: Conference Rapporteur Jaime Koebel, Métis National Council 6:00 pm DINNER BANQUET 7:00 pm Entertainment: Theatre with Maureen Belanger

5 3 DAY TWO: THURSDAY, MARCH 29, :00-10:15 am PANEL THREE: Experiences of Day School Attendees Moderator: Karen LaRocque, SK John Morrisseau, MB, Nora Cummings, SK, Grace Zoldy, MB 10:15-10:30 am HEALTH BREAK 10:30-12:00 pm PANEL FOUR: Experiences of Métis covered by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA). Moderator: Jude Daniels, AB Louis Bellrose, AB, Angie Crerar, AB, Stirling Ranville, MB 12:00-1:00 pm LUNCH (provided) 1:00-2:45 pm PANEL FIVE: Residential School Impacts on Family, Culture and Language Moderator: Yvonne Vizina, Métis National Council Norman Fleury, MB, Ashley Norton, SK, Sky Blue Morin, AB 2:45-3:00 pm HEALTH BREAK 3:00-3:30 pm Expressions Open Forum A moderated, safe space for participants to share their thoughts and stories with others 3:30-3:45 pm Wrap Up: Conference Rapporteur Jaime Koebel, Métis National Council 3:45-4:00 pm Closing Remarks: President Clément Chartier 4:00 pm Closing Prayer: Norman Fleury, MB

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8 Boarding School at Ile a la Crosse, Saskatchewan Métis National Council #4-340 MacLaren Street Ottawa, ON K2P 0M6 MÉTIS NATIONAL COUNCIL RALLIEMENT NATIONAL DES MÉTIS (613) (613) fax