Conference: Truth, Reconciliation and the Residential Schools
Call for Papers
Truth, Reconciliation and the Residential Schools
Conference to be held at
Nipissing University, North Bay ON
in the territory of the Nipissing First Nation
March 5-7, 2010
Since the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples expressed the need for sustained testimonials, apologies and compensation in the service of reconciliation, truth and justice, the survivors, leaders and scholars of the residential school system have gathered. Some have gathered to work through the possibilities of truth and reconciliation. Others have gathered to strategize and discuss the potential to realize justice, responsibility and healing. There remains much more to debate. Over one year has passed since Prime Minister Harper's apology and the initiation of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). As the TRC resumes full operation, the pressing question lingers: are the goals of justice, truth and reconciliation being served?
This interdisciplinary conference brings together a range of communities--Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, scholarly, activist, artistic, policy and service-oriented--to advance a series of critical and constructive conversations about the possibilities of truth and reconciliation.
We invite papers on the following suggested or related topics (this list is not exhaustive):
- What do truth and reconciliation mean in light of the broader history of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations, and what might truth and reconciliation require?
- Will "truth" only serve to re-open painful wounds? Is healing possible, and if so, how? What about justice?
- Why was the truth commission forum selected, and what are its limits and advantages? Comparative perspectives are welcome.
- What expectations have been placed on the TRC, and how should the TRC manage these expectations?
- What are the possible policy and cultural implications of concretely acknowledging the intergenerational effects of the residential schools?
- How are colonization and residential schools currently taught or represented, and what needs to change?
Student submissions are welcome. Please submit to TRCconference@nipissingu.ca by October 9, 2009 :
- Paper Title and Abstract of 350 words
- Degrees, specifying the discipline, starting with the most recent (maximum 4 lines);
- Current position and any other recent positions relevant to the event (maximum 5 lines);
- Recent publications and those relevant to the event, starting with the most recent (maximum 10 lines);
- An estimate of travel costs (airfare, bus, train or mileage at Treasury Board rates)
*Please note that we are seeking but have not yet secured funds for travel and accommodation.
For further information on the conference, see www.nipissingu.ca/TRCconference
Or contact:
Dr. Rosemary Nagy Dr. Robinder Sehdev
(705) 474-3450 ext. 4156 (705) 474-3450 ext. 4025
