Although Jesse Wente has a non-Indigenous father, didn't grow up in an Indigenous community or learn the language as a child, he still felt a strong connection to his Serpent River First Nation community in Ontario.  As an intergenerational Survivor, the stories his grandmother shared about her time at St. Joseph’s, a residential school in Ontario, still haunt him today.

“She only knew Anishinaabe, she did not know English. So, they beat her... But it wasn’t just to ensure that she wouldn't speak the language. It was done to ensure that her daughter wouldn't, that I wouldn't, that my children wouldn't,” said the Anishinaabe broadcaster, author, and Indigenous advocate during an event this week.

Wente has made it a lifelong journey to go deeper and learn more – and last year the federal government designated the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR) for Canadians to reflect too.  

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimated that 6,000 or more children died at residential schools. September 30 honours Survivors of residential schools, their families and communities, and this marks the second year since the federal government passed legislation to make NDTR a federal statutory holiday.  

Wente shared his own experiences during a Scotiabank-wide internal event marking NDTR and offered his thoughts on truth and reconciliation.  

Three-step process

Wente believes truth and reconciliation is a three-step process, with truth having two components. The first piece is the telling of the truth.  

“One of the things I've heard quite consistently throughout Canada is that people didn't know this truth. And it's important to acknowledge that this was intentional. You were never meant to know, this was kept from you, you didn't learn about residential schools in any class in school,” said Wente.  

Many truths are still being uncovered today, he added, and warned that we should expect ongoing and continuous revelations.

The second stage, according to Wente, is the acceptance of the truth. This is where he believes Canadians are “a little stuck.”   

“People can tell all the truths in the world, but if they aren't accepted by those who are hearing them for the first time, if instead we argue about whether they are true, then we will never get to the next stage.”

Wente understands how distressing it is to hear about these stories from Survivors and said denialism is somewhat understandable, but it is necessary that these truths are accepted in order to make progress. The lack of education or discussion about residential schools was an intentional outcome of choices and decisions of governments, churches, and all levels of society, he said.

“Think of my community. We know there's a graveyard there. We know how many people have been buried there. And yet someone might say, how do we know? But we know. So, it's important to look at and see denialism for what it is and not allow it to fester, because denialism is actually the last vestige of genocide.” 

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People can tell all the truths in the world, but if they aren't accepted by those who are hearing them for the first time... if instead we argue about whether they are true, then we will never get to the next stage.

Jesse Wente

Reparations, not reconciliation

The final phase, according to Wente, is reparation, or a return of what was taken. He likens this to having his BMX bike stolen by a neighbourhood bully when he was a kid. It wasn’t enough for the kid who stole his bike to simply say sorry, he also needed to give the bike back. 

Wente notes so much was taken from Indigenous people through residential schools and colonialism — sovereignty, land, culture, language and communities. He suggests that the same effort and infrastructure could be implemented to return these things to Indigenous Peoples. “The government of Canada and those that have benefited, have to give back with the same vigour, with the same precision, and with the same abundance that was used to take these things away,” he said.

Wente notes there are still Canadian laws that deprive Indigenous people of sovereignty and autonomy and he urges the removal of all barriers of colonialism so Indigenous people can fully participate in their own lives.

Finally, Wente said the final goal is not in fact reconciliation. “Reconciliation tends to mean the repair of a once functioning relationship. And I would suggest Canada as a state has never had a functioning relationship with Indigenous peoples. So, we need to first build that relationship,” he said.

That relationship would entail respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility. “You need those things to live in right relations… We can say all the words we want. But it’s the actions that follow those words that are even more important.”

Self-education is key  

It is the people of Canada who need to right these relations, and one key component is to self-educate, he added. “Luckily, nowadays there's lots of books. I wrote one. Lots of media, lots of Indigenous people telling our stories that you can engage in to learn the truth,” said Wente.  

He also recommends attending a powwow. “It’s a blast and you're absolutely welcome at these places, you can meet us and our community when we are celebrating. Because so often we are met when we are recognizing our trauma.”

Wente said once we do that personal work and understand our position in this, we can take that knowledge to our household, our community, our city, and even our workplace.

 “Then it will be very easy to see the inhumane things that get in between us and the inhumane things that continue to make it difficult for us to truly live in those right relations.”