For the Records

The Fight to Save the Stories of Residential School Survivors

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For the Records

By: Ry Moran

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In 2027, the testimonial records of nearly 40,000 residential school survivors are set to be destroyed. This is the story of how Canada fought to hide these stories yet again, and the small group of people who took on the government to preserve the truth.

For decades, survivors of Canada’s horrific residential schools fought to have their voices heard. In 2008, the country launched a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to finally reckon with the country’s genocidal legacy towards the Indigenous population—the first TRC to be launched in an established democracy.

But before the TRC was launched, thousands of survivors shared their stories with the governmnent of Canada to receive compensation for their suffering. These testimonies created a powerful archive of accountability. And as the TRC wrapped up its important work and the country began to figure out how to move towards healing, a group of powerful lawyers mobilized on behalf of the Canadian government to have those records destroyed.

Officials claimed this was necessary for privacy reasons. For the small group that had been fighting to prevent the destruction of these records, it was yet another excuse. What followed was an epic, undertold battle over the power of preservation and the importance of witnessing.

In this powerful account, Ry Moran, former director of the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, gives us unprecedented access into a fight for the preservation of our country's memories, and the complicated reality of reckoning with a difficult past.

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