Social Science Native American Studies
A Knock on the Door
The Essential History of Residential Schools from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Edited and Abridged
- Publisher
- University of Manitoba Press
- Initial publish date
- Dec 2015
- Category
- Native American Studies, Native American, Post-Confederation (1867-)
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780887557859
- Publish Date
- Dec 2015
- List Price
- $17.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780887555381
- Publish Date
- Dec 2015
- List Price
- $8.99
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9780887552267
- Publish Date
- Dec 2015
- List Price
- $70.00
-
Downloadable audio file
- ISBN
- 9780887559594
- Publish Date
- May 2021
- List Price
- $22.99
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Description
“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.
About the authors
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was established in 2008 and led by the Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair (Chair), Dr. Marie Wilson, and Chief Wilson Littlechild.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was established in 2008 and led by the Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair (Chair), Dr. Marie Wilson, and Chief Wilson Littlechild.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's profile page
Aimée Craft is an Indigenous (Anishinaabe-Métis) lawyer (called to the Bar in 2005) from Treaty 1 territory in Manitoba. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Common law, University of Ottawa. Craft is the former Director of Research at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the founding Director of Research at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Her book, Breathing Life into the Stone Fort Treaty: An Anishnabe Understanding of Treaty One (2013) won the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book.
Editorial Reviews
"A compelling book that is both accessible and well-documented."
Publishers Weekly
"A Knock on the Door is a book that I hope every Canadian will read, and read deeply. The transformation of this country begins with acknowledging what happened after that knock on the door. Acknowledging, understanding the implications, and then resolving to do something for positive change. It's right that the TRC Calls to Action are included, for we are all called to action."
TRC Honorary Witness
Other titles by
Canada's Residential Schools: The Legacy
The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume 5
Canada's Residential Schools: The History, Part 2, 1939 to 2000
The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume 1
Canada's Residential Schools: The History, Part 1, Origins to 1939
The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume 1
Canada's Residential Schools: The Inuit and Northern Experience
The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume 2
Canada's Residential Schools: Missing Children and Unmarked Burials
The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume 4
Canada's Residential Schools: Reconciliation
The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume 6
Canada's Residential Schools: The Métis Experience
The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume 3
Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume One: Summary
Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future
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Breathing Life into the Stone Fort Treaty
An Anishnabe Understanding of Treaty One