Assembly of First Nations – Nearly half of Albertans admit that they know very little about Canada’s residential school system in the face of growing criticism about the ‘whitewashing of history’ within the province’s newly proposed school curriculum, according to a recently-released national poll conducted by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF), the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and Abacus Data.  In the same survey, nearly one in five Albertans say they know nothing about the residential school system at all.

The criticism of the new Alberta school curriculum from teachers’ associations and education experts centers around its focus on ‘Eurocentric’ syllabi … fails to put a critical lens on Canada’s colonial past and does not underscore the cultural and historical contributions of the many racialized and immigrant communities in the country.  This is particularly evident in the lack of detail included in the curriculum about the legacy of residential schools—of which Alberta was home to at least 25.

an alarming 62 percent of Albertans were either shocked by the news (of unmarked graves) or had no idea as to the extent of the abuse taking place within residential school walls.