Robert Joseph's Story: Reconciliation and Indigenous Issues in Canada

This essay delves into the theme of reconciliation in Canada, focusing on the experiences of Indigenous peoples. It highlights Robert Joseph's personal epiphany and journey towards responsible living, triggered by his realization of life's value during a voyage. The essay discusses the racist and brutal treatment faced by Indigenous children in church-run residential schools, for which the former prime minister apologized. It emphasizes the significance of public acknowledgment of wrongdoing in fostering reconciliation and examines the power of reconciliation walks as symbolic gestures of unity and compassion. The 2013 Walk for Reconciliation in Vancouver, where 70,000 people participated, is cited as an example of how collective action can promote better relations between Canada's First Nations and descendants of settlers.

1. The epiphany that led Robert Joseph to live his life responsibly was a sudden realization of the
true value and meaning of life when he was travelling on a friend’s fishing boat. Joseph woke up
in the morning drunk, as his habit was, and got down to his knees as if he wanted to surrender
his present ruined life to the nature. The epiphany referred to in the Joseph’s story is the
desperate and yet, sober and sublime proposal of the Mother Nature to Joseph. According to
Joseph, he felt as if the beautiful view of the ocean and the Vancouver Island Forest proposed
him and he got blown away by the event. He says, “Then I heard this voice and it said, ‘In spite
of what you have done to yourself, I love you and you are part of all this.’ And then I suddenly
came back.”
The events that precipitated this revelation were painful to Joseph and made him drunkard.
When he was a student at one of the church run schools, he was continuously abused and
tortured physically and mentally by his racist teachers who had immense hatred for indigenous
people and children. His wife then one day left him with their five kids as she could not bear his
drinking habit anymore. He says, “I drank days on days on days and didn’t even go to work
anymore.” After he would not go to work and felt despondent his friend took him to the voyage
on his fishing boat.
2. The former prime minister apologized at the House of Commons for the racist and brutal
treatment meted out to the indigenous children in church run residential schools. These schools
were meant to provide education and Europeans teachers who were supposed to take care of
the children continuously abused and tortured children displaying racist actions and behaviors.
Robert Joseph was one of the victims of such crimes as he was the student of one such school
that goes by the name of St. Michael Indian Residential School. These schools were set up
assimilate indigenous people in the mainstream education system.
The significance of such public recognition of wrongdoing by the Canadian government is large
and supposed to profound effect and brings positive results in the reconciliation initiatives run
by First Nations. Admission of wrongdoing is always a step in the positive direction to resolve
outstanding issues related to any form of injustice and wrongdoings.
3. “We always thought a reconciliation walk is always symbolic”. By this Joseph means to say that
he believed in the power of reconciliation toward compassionate living where everyone’s
concern is paid heed and given due attention. A walk registers in the mind of the public more
than any other form of reconciliation. This is evident from the fact that Vancouver’s 2013 Walk
for Reconciliation when 70,000 people walked together on a rainy day in September for a
common cause which was to push for a better relations between Canada’s First Nations i.e.
indigenous people and descendants of settlers. The walk brought about significant results in an
attempt to reconciliation. When people walk for a common benign cause, it shows that they are
ready to brave heat or rain or any other difficulties for the cause which is a display of
compassion and sense of togetherness.