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A Knock on the Door: The essential history of residential schools from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
"It can start with a knock on the door one morning. It is the local Indian agent, or the parish priest, or, perhaps, a Mounted Police officer." So began the school experience of many Indigenous children in Canada for more than a hundred years, and so begins the history of residential schools prepared by the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). Between 2008 and 2015, the TRC provided opportunities for individuals, families, and communities to share their experiences of residential schools and released several reports based on 7000 survivor statements and five million documents from government, churches, and schools, as well as a solid grounding in secondary sources.A Knock on the Door, published in collaboration with the National Research Centre for Truth & Reconciliation, gathers material from the several reports the TRC has produced to present the essential history and legacy of residential schools in a concise and accessible package that includes new materials to help inform and contextualize the journey to reconciliation that Canadians are now embarked upon.Survivor and former National Chief of the Assembly First Nations, Phil Fontaine, provides a Foreword, and an Afterword introduces the holdings and opportunities of the National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation, home to the archive of recordings, and documents collected by the TRC. As Aimée Craft writes in the Afterword, knowing the historical backdrop of residential schooling and its legacy is essential to the work of reconciliation. In the past, agents of the Canadian state knocked on the doors of Indigenous families to take the children to school. Now, the Survivors have shared their truths and knocked back. It is time for Canadians to open the door to mutual understanding, respect, and reconciliation.
The Government of Canada has passed legislation to make September 30 a federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day is an important step in the reconciliation process. It provides an opportunity to recognize and commemorate the tragic history and ongoing legacy of residential schools, and to honour their survivors, their families and communities.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Assembly of First Nations
Yellowhead Institute; Eva Jewell and Ian Mosby
Government of Canada
The NCTR is a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations.
The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre (IRSHDC) at UBC provides access for former Indian Residential School students, their families, and communities to records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (housed at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Archives).
Canada’s Residential Schools: The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was released December 15, 2015. It is divided into six volumes that encapsulate the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Additional Reports
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released the following reports, all of which can be found at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
