TORONTO, July 5, 2012 - Marie Wilson, one of three commissioners leading the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, will speak to York University students on Monday about the impact of more than a century of forced residential schooling for Aboriginal children.
Appointed as a commissioner in 2009, Wilson is an award-winning journalist and executive manager who has lived and worked in many cross-cultural environments internationally and in Canada, including in the North. A broadcasting pioneer, she launched the first Daily Television News service for northern Canada against a backdrop of four time zones and ten languages − English, French, and eight indigenous.
As part of South Africa’s transition to democracy, she delivered training through the South African Broadcasting Corporation at the time that South Africa’s own Truth and Reconciliation Commission was starting up.
She has also worked, over several decades, with Aboriginal, church and political organizations committed to social justice, civic engagement, community and spiritual development, and the wellbeing of children and youth.
Wilson will speak to students in the Human Rights and Equity Studies course “Indigenous Resistance in Global Contexts” led by faculty member Peter Dawson. The event is open to the public at no charge.
Between 1870 and 1996, approximately 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were placed in more than 130 residential schools across Canada, often forbidden to speak their language or practice their culture. There are an estimated 80,000 former students living today. The intergenerational trauma resulting from residential school is ongoing. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission seeks to guide First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, as well as Canadians in a process of truth and healing, leading toward reconciliation and relationships based on mutual understanding and respect.
For more information about the commission, visit the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada website.
For information about the event, see the students’ Facebook page.
WHAT: Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Marie Wilson
WHEN: Monday, July 9, 2012, 4pm
WHERE: Vari Hall B, York University
MAP: Building 30 on map, http://www.yorku.ca/yorkweb/maps/keele.htm
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto – Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 55,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 240,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
Media Contact:
Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22101 / wallsj@yorku.ca
