Progress made but more to do is the message as Truth & Reconciliation report reaches 10-year mark
By ZOE MASON on December 16, 2025.
It has been a decade now since the Truth and Reconciliation Committee completed its final report delving into Canada's dark history of residential schools. With only a handful of 94 calls to action considered complete, there is still a long way to go.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
zmason@medicinehatnews.com
Monday marked 10 years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report on Canada’s residential school system. The report also contained 94 calls to action to redress the legacy of colonialism in the country.
Andrew Spotted Bull of the Miywasin Friendship Centre says the milestone is worth celebrating, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
Key areas where he says further action is needed include housing supports and language education.
From his perspective, the biggest successes of the past 10 years have been the increase in discourse around Indigenous issues. Since the release of the report, Spotted Bull says the increased prevalence of things like land acknowledgements has helped put the oppression of Indigenous peoples in the spotlight.
“That was never a thing where I come from. Those things are beginning to get more traction.
It makes strides toward educating the general public, which Spotted Bull says is the best place to start for people looking to support ongoing reconciliation efforts.
“It’s not just Indigenous history – it’s all of our history,” he said.
“If you’re in a certain part of the land – such as Medicine Hat – we’re surrounded by Treaty Seven, Treaty Six and Treaty Four land. Getting familiar with the treaties and understanding the Indigenous community and the Métis settlement that’s around here, that’s probably the best bet.”
Here in Medicine Hat, Spotted Bull says the biggest issue facing Indigenous people is isolation. Two hours from the nearest reserve, Spotted Bull says it can be difficult for Indigenous Hatters to access culturally sensitive supports and services.
“The biggest issue in Medicine Hat is trying to find them,” he said. “A lot of Indigenous people have had issues in the past and still do have issues with government officials and policymakers.
“We are trying to connect more Indigenous people, and find more of the advocacy for them, because it’s not easy navigating that landscape in urban centres, especially if you’re coming off the reserve.”
The Miywasin Friendship Centre facilitates a variety of supports for Indigenous people in Medicine Hat, including housing co-ordination services for individuals struggling with homelessness or looking to relocate to the city from a reserve, and the Wellbriety program, an Indigenous-led sobriety initiative.
They also offer cultural programming including education in Indigenous arts and monthly sweats so Indigenous Hatters can keep in touch with ceremony.
For his part, Spotted Bull facilitates a course about gender-based violence for men and Two-Spirit individuals. He says that one of the lasting marks of colonialism is a disproportionately high rate of violence among Indigenous communities.
In a statement released Monday, Prime Minister Mark Carney reflected on the devastating legacy of Canadian colonialism.
“Residential schools reflect the architecture of a policy of erasure – a truth that Survivors have carried with them when others would not. A truth recounted more than 6,500 times before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, so we could no longer say that we did not know,” he said.
Carney highlighted several accomplishments made since the release of the report, including new investments of almost $4.5 billion in housing on and off Indigenous reserves. He also highlighted the elimination of 85 per cent of drinking water advisories on reserves and an investment of $2.3 billion to address the remaining advisories. He said legislation is forthcoming this spring to accelerate that process.
“Reconciliation is a task that must be lived and practised every day. We are seized with the task ahead of us,” he said.
According to the non-profit organization Indigenous Watchdog, as of Dec. 1, 14 of the 94 calls to action were completed, 42 were in progress, 22 were stalled and 16 had yet to start.
Spotted Bull says real reconciliation will require more genuine collaboration between governments of all levels and Indigenous people.
“I think we’ve only really scratched the surface from the federal perspective. The Indian Act – it’s still a very prevalent thing,” he said. “Initiatives that are trying to support the Indigenous voice, a lot of them are trying to do it from a Western perspective, which is understandable, but when we’re trying to help the Indigenous community, we need to look at that from an Indigenous way.”
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