Marie Wilson spent six years as a commissioner with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She’s publishing a book that looks back on this time of her life. (Photo courtesy of Zg stories)
‘I wanted survivors to know I had not forgotten them’: Former TRC commissioner
Marie Wilson’s new book details what she learned listening to stories from residential school survivors
Marie Wilson says she promised years ago to continue telling the stories of survivors of Canada’s residential school system.
Through her new book coming out June 11, she is doing just that.
North of Nowhere: Song of a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner is a mix of a documentary and memoir.
In addition to working as a journalist for more than three decades, Wilson spent six years as the only non-Indigenous commissioner on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada alongside former senator Murray Sinclair and Cree Chief Wilton Littlechild.
The federal government established the commission in 2008 to document the history and lasting impacts of the residential school system on Indigenous Peoples and their families.
It estimates more than 150,000 Inuit, First Nations and Métis children were forcibly taken from their families and sent to residential schools over a period of about 150 years, starting in 1831, often never to return.
After being named to the commission in 2009, Wilson spent years travelling across Canada documenting the personal experiences of residential school survivors before helping to publish the final report in 2015.
That report included 94 Calls to Action acknowledging the damage done to people’s lives by the former system while laying out steps to prevent the abuses from happening again.
In an interview, Wilson, who lives in Yellowknife, said the book is about the experience of the commission and honouring the stories of survivors, including some in her immediate family.
“I wanted residential school survivors to know that I had not forgotten them and that I had not forgotten my promise to keep telling their stories as long as I could,” Wilson said in an interview.
She said communities in the North played a pivotal role in the work of the commission by informing its approach to how meetings could be held.
Wilson said through her work as a reporter with CBC North, she had known many of the survivors for years which helped them to put their trust in the commissioners.
Marie Wilson’s book, North of Nowhere: Song of a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner will be released June 11. (Photo courtesy of Zg stories)
North of Nowhere dedicates a few chapters to community hearings held in Nunavik, Nunavut, Yukon and Northwest Territories and the people who came forward to share their stories.
“There are scenes of brokenness, for sure, but there are extraordinary scenes of determination and reclamation and revival,” said Wilson.
“I think those are the things that we need to hold up and hold on to and support each other in and keep walking forward.”
She said the book will serve as a companion document to the commission’s final report and hopes it will make the story of the commission and its work accessible to a wide audience.
The book will be officially released by House of Anansi Press on Tuesday. The date, June 11, coincides with the 16th anniversary of the federal government’s apology to residential school survivors.
Wilson is also hosting a book launch event Monday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the National Gallery of Canada. The event is free.
Capitalizing off the traumas and misfortunes of others. Where have we seen that before?
I ll wait for the movie .
Mit, your comment is excessively cynical nonsense
A lot of people are really making a lot of money about us kids who went to residential
school.
We were sent to Anglican residential school in Inuvik, and although at first we were homesick,
we settled down and enjoyed it.
The Northwest company told us what their top people made, why can’t our Inuit led
organizations do the same ?
What are they afraid of ?
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/the_advantages_of_akaitcho/
Thanks, T.T.; I appreciate your comments.
If you’d be willing to find someone to help you write your biography, I’d wager it’d be a best-seller.
Try rmbooks for starters
Sounds like a good read.❤️
Grew up Residential. Started at age six.
I’ll find a copy.
“There is scenes of brokenness…”
-Marie Wilson…”And determination,…we need to hold onto..& keep going forward…”
I just wanna say that soy sauce goes good with mikku and maktaaq.
Time to move-on, forget the negative residential school experience, leave that behind me. These are my own thoughts.
Mitt, I agree with you 100%.
Once again another white person is profiting from the traumatized chil/adults, our parents, brothers, sister, cousins , aunties and uncles.
She heard our stories. Felt our pain. We are still hurting and full of pain.
Some children abd teens were sexually raped and physically abused. She probably grew up inside a safe bubble family environment.
Not a dysfunctional family unit of rapes sexual molestation, beatings, torture, abandonment by both parents, seeing our family members selling or trading their bodies for what we think Love is. Most of us who had to deal with the residential school or intergenerational residential school turned out to be full blown alcoholics and Drug addicts. Most lived on the streets in big Canadian cities where some of us survived. Others didn’t. Some died alone and lonely. Some died of alcoholism, drug addiction, some were murdered. Others, many others died by SUICIDE. Here is a great example of a white person profiting by the blood and memories of many Lost Souls.
I do not know how she will be able to sleep at night knowing that she is and always will be haunted by our stores.
Oh yeah I forgot, most white people prefer to profit financially from other people grief.
If anyone wishes to write a book, such as Marie Wilson has done, then they have every
right to do so.
I worked for many years as a nurse in NT and Nu, and I have heard many bad stories
happening to children within their own cultures. They also have the right to say their
story. Only they can tell it.
I applied for the iap in time but the Fed’s declined my application stating I was late in filing my independent assessment process. I am entitled to compensation from the system. I also am truly disappointed with Cooper and Regal how they handled my case. Is there any way I can get my case looked at? I have all digital copies, emails, etc. tia.