AHF Final Report – A Healing Journey
A Message from the President
Danet’e:
The Aboriginal Healing Foundation’s Final Report attempts to capture seven years of work among community-based healing initiatives that address the intergenerational legacy of Canada’s Indian residential school system. This publication summarizes the highlights of a larger, three-volume report and is intended to provide the reader with a useful understanding of the healing work the AHF has supported.The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was established March 31, 1998 as a cornerstone of Gathering Strength–Canada’s Aboriginal Action Plan, a federal strategy to renew the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Government of Canada. The AHF was given $350 million and an eleven-year mandate, organized into three stages:
1) setting up of operations,
2) commitment of a $350 million healing fund towards initiatives that address the legacy of physical and sexual abuse in the Indian residential schools of Canada, and
3) writing of a final report.
With the publication of this report, we have fulfilled the third and final stage of our mandate.
Perhaps the theme that emerges most powerfully from the report is the enduring resilience of Aboriginal peoples. Despite a century of efforts to forcibly assimilate “Indians” into Euro-Canadian society, Aboriginal peoples today look to traditional cultures for healing. As a funding agency, the AHF has had the honour and privilege of working in partnership with many courageous and inspiring individuals. While we at the AHF have played a role in the healing movement, the true foundation of healing has been the people, many of whom were labouring to improve the condition of Aboriginal communities before there was an AHF.
There is however much to do. The Final Report, not only assesses accomplishments, but indicates areas where further efforts are required. Here, the message in brief is that more time and more program support is necessary. Many have begun the healing journey, and many were not yet ready to undertake this journey when the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was created. Healing the effects of a century (and more) of historic trauma will require the sustained efforts of a generation.
On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, I thank you for your interest in this document and I hope you find it of personal use. To those who have come here to learn, perhaps for the first time, about the AHF and the residential school system, I offer a welcome. To those who have come for practical support in their healing work, I offer appreciation and gratitude for your commitment to helping our people. And to those who have come for a deeper understanding of their experiences as Survivors, I offer respect and hope that this work may contribute to healing.
Masi,
Georges Erasmus
>> Download Final Report Summary – 17mb PDF
> > Download Final Report in Inuktitut – 17mb PDF
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AHF Final Report: Volume 1 (A Healing Journey: Reclaiming Wellness) – 20mb PDF | Volume 2 (Measuring Progress: Program Evaluation) – 28mb PDF | Volume 3 (Promising Healing Practices in Aboriginal Communities) – 16mb PDF
