it's about time somebody said it

So the headline that caught my attention this morning on the CBC news site was this:
"'I'm just anxious to hear the words, 'I'm sorry.'"

It was from a survivor of a Canadian residential school.

The first thing that ran through my mind was: "They're only doing this now?"

To provide a bit of context for those not familiar with residential schools in Canada:

Between the late 19th Century and the late 1970s, about 150,000 aboriginal children in Canada were taken from their home and forcefully sent to boarding schools, known as residential schools.
Originally an extension of the missionary work of various churches, the schools began receiving state funding in 1874, after the government moved away from a policy of fostering aboriginal autonomy and sought instead to assimilate aboriginals into mainstream society.

From 1920, attendance was compulsory for seven- to 15-year-olds, although many former students say they were taken at a much younger age.
While many parents wanted their children to get an education and felt it was necessary to integrate into Canadian society, many children were taken from their families and communities by force.

The goal was to Christianise the children and to erase all traces of their aboriginal culture. One government official in the late 1920s boasted that within two generations, the system would end the "Indian problem".
(Source: BBC News Americas)

Other than the fact that they existed awhile ago, all of the above was new information for me as well. And that is actually quite troubling.

To elaborate: I am a naturalized Canadian. I was born in South Korea, travelled around Europe for several months with my parents when I was 6 (of which I remember approximately 0.7%), and lived in England for two years until I was 8 years old. In England I promptly erased my young brain of all Korean characters and replaced them with the alphabet under my mother's strict and vigorous watch. At age 9 my family came to Canada and I found myself surrounded by peers amazed by my ability to handwrite. But other than that, I fit in relatively well and lo and behold, ten years later I find myself proud to be a Canadian- nothing more, nothing less.

However, during those ten years I also graduated from the Canadian public education system (British Columbia, to be exact), from which I never really learned about the extent of Canada's literal genocide against the First Nations people. Of course I learned the basics, but the emphasis was definitely on the protracted kerfuffle between the French and the English. And very little page space was given to the residential schools.

Which leads us to today. I am now a university student studying international development. I learn about the genocides of other countries, the wrongs of corrupt institutions and governments of the past and present. And yet it's only today that I took the time to educate myself about Canada's own genocide. The story doesn't end here- I have also been hearing more and more about the deplorable state of First Nations communities in Canada, where conditions are akin to developing countries.

So I guess what I'm trying to say here is that it's not just the Canadian government that should be saying and feeling sorry. It should be me and every Canadian that don't know about the neglected state of First Nations communities and people in Canada today. I can't deny that news stories have flashed across my screen regarding First Nations, but it was so easy to push it out of my mind because lets face it- I don't live on a reserve, nor have I ever been on one. I feel no connection whatsoever with the First Nations community in Canada. I suppose my notion of what it means to be a Canadian is changing with age and a little bit more wisdom.

Well, a new lesson learned today on being a better Canadian.