But it's history they say, just move on. It's in the past, and we can't do anything about it.
Those are the kind of statements you hear when you try to open up a conversation about any mistreatment of people in the past.
Those statements are simply wrong. Not only should we look at historical injustices and mistakes, but we should also listen to those who have lived through those times and are brave enough to share their stories.
Aside from learning what should obviously not be done, we also gain inspiration from the strength displayed by other human beings who have survived such mistreatment.
On page 3 of today's paper, Isadore Charters shares his story of being taken to a residential school in B.C. as a young aboriginal boy. It is a horrific and deeply sad tale. And it is brave and healing for Charters to share it - both verbally and through his work on a totem pole.
It is also very timely given that last week was Truth and Reconciliation week in Vancouver. On Sunday more than 70,000 people took part in a walk in the pouring rain in downtown Vancouver to help recognize and move past the pain of residential schools.
The schools ran for more than a century in Canada under the belief that First Nations children should be stripped of their own culture and assimilated into "Canadian" society.
Yes, the federal government has apologized for the abuse and terrible conditions at the schools. And, yes, compensation is still being offered and given.
But no one can really quantify the human cost to several generations of aboriginal people who were touched by this tragedy. And no one can say when that legacy stops being handed down to the next generation - if it ever can be stopped.
As Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., said at the event, "Struggle is a never-ending process, and freedom is never really won. You earn it and you win it in every generation."
Truth and reconciliation is a very long walk in our country.
