Write for Good: Write to Representatives Instructions and Template
- Renée Elson
- Feb 15, 2023
- 7 min read
If you need support, please reach out to the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419
Find step-by-step instructions and templates to write to your local political representative about how they are amplifying the voices and supporting the causes of Indigenous communities in Turtle Island/Canada.
Reach out to your local representative to demand meaningful action in response to the news of hundreds of children’s bodies recovered at so-called ‘residential schools’. ‘Residential schools’ were facilities used and funded by the Canadian government until the late nineties to assimilate, abuse, and murder Indigenous children. Children were forcefully removed from their communities and families, separated from their siblings, and subjected to cruel abuse and exploitation at the hands of teachers and faculty. These facilities are frequently referred to as ‘schools’, but this term is misleading, as explained by Roseanne Archibald, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations:
“I don’t like to call them schools — they were institutions of assimilation and genocide.” Roseanne Archibald, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
The word ‘school’ conjures images of a safe and nurturing environment where children have space to grow, learn, love and be loved, but these institutions were anything but.
Information
There are 139 facilities identified within the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, but that does not account for all of them. Hundreds of children’s bodies have already been recovered from a handful of institutions.
The systems that have contributed to creating intergenerational trauma and disenfranchisement for Indigenous peoples for centuries are a direct result of colonialism and white supremacy. Every child matters. Every Indigenous life matters, although over the years the government had fought and funded opposing beliefs.
For more information, please access the Assembly of First Nations’ toolkits here.
How to write to your representative
Nothing will ever be enough to rectify the devastating harm that was inflicted upon victims of residential ‘schools’, their families and their communities. The institutions, moreover, are just one chapter in a long overlooked history of genocide on the part of the Canadian government against Indigenous peoples. One chapter of a story of genocide that is still ongoing. Especially as a white settler who has been actively benefiting from Canada and its colonial systems and structures every day of her life, it is my responsibility to use my time, privilege and platform to promote the interests and speak up against the injustices still faced by Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island today. One of the ways in which I can do this is through writing, and through using this platform to encourage you to do so too.
Every Child Matters. Source: Andy Everson
1. How do I find my MP?
If you are Canadian and would like to reach out to your Member of Parliament, you can find your local MP here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en. If you are not Canadian but are not indigenous to the land on which you live, take some time to research whose land you live on, the ways in which colonialism may have shaped it, and how it impacted the people who were there first.
2. What do I write to my representative?
By using templates from the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society and the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Foundation, I have drafted my own template below that you can copy-paste into an email. I have also included the original templates that I used for guidance below. Combining templates, personalizing your email yourself, and noting that you expect a reply can help you make a bigger impact in your MP’s inbox.
If you haven’t already, I strongly recommend you read the Truth and Reconciliation commission’s 94 calls to action and select one (or a few) to ask of your representative. As of writing this article, only 10 of the 94 calls to action, which were released in 2015, have been answered, so you have lots to choose from (source).
My template
August 15 2021
Hon. (insert name of your local MP)
(Address)
(city and province)
(postal code)
Dear Hon. (MPs name),
My name is (insert name here) and I am a constituent in your district at (insert postal code). I am writing this letter with immense grief and concern. The news of the hundreds of children’s bodies that were recovered at former residential schools, including but not limited to Kamloops Residential School, Marieval Residential School in Cowessess First Nation, and St. Eugene’s Mission Residential School on Ktunaxa Nation and the community of Paq̓am have shaken the nation. It is imperative that the Canadian government take meaningful action in retribution for its cruel history of genocide and to assure basic human rights for all Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island (Canada) today. Colonialism and racism perpetuated by the policies of the Canadian government continue to hinder the quality of life of Indigenous peoples every day. It is unacceptable for the Government of Canada to continue ignoring their own reconciliation promises, the calls to action of Indigenous peoples, and the ways in which its policies and practices continue to systematically oppress Indigenous peoples. The Government of Canada must acknowledge and address the still very dark and shameful current chapter of our country’s history. As we enter a new election cycle, I want to emphasize that upholding the rights of Indigenous peoples is a non-partisan issue that should be treated with utmost importance for all voters.
I am strongly encouraging you to take action and request funding for forensic archeology investigations in collaboration with Indigenous communities to occur on all Indian Residential School grounds, including those that operated without federal support. This action is a part of Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action that the Government of Canada committed to six years ago, in 2015. Moreover, I would like the Government of Canada to provide funding and support to Indigenous communities to conduct ground radar searches at residential school sites within their territories so that every lost child can be identified and given a proper burial. This is in direct response to the TRC Calls to Actions 71-76.
As one of the main perpetrators of this brutality against Indigenous peoples, the Government of Canada must take concrete actions to mend its relationships with Indigenous peoples in meaningful ways.
As the Government of Canada, you must do better; you must honour and respect the lives of these children and the families who never received answers, even after these stories have gone through the news cycle. We owe it to the children and their communities. Their voices, which would have carried knowledge, language, love, and tradition, throughout their communities and our nation, have been erased at the hands of the Canadian government.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my concerns, and I look forward to receiving a response from you on this matter.
Sincerely,
(Your name)
(City, Province)
(Phone Number)
Dear Hon. (MPs name),
Hon. (insert local MP) (Address) (city and province) (postal code) (Find your MPs contact information and insert it here)
My name is (insert name here) and I am a constituent in your district at (insert postal code). I am writing this letter with a great deal of grief and concern. The news of the 215 children’s bodies that were recovered at the former Kamloops Residential School, and the findings since, have shaken the nation. To some this may come as a surprise, but to others who are educated on the cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples in Canada, this tragedy was unfortunately to be expected.
I am strongly encouraging you to take action and request funding for forensic archeology investigations in collaboration with Indigenous communities to occur on all Indian Residential School grounds, including those that operated without federal support. There is a petition for a National Day of Mourning for the lost children of residential school, however, I believe coupled with the concrete actions that I am strongly encouraging you to advocate for would better address the still very dark and shameful current chapter of our country’s history.
This action is a part of Truth and Reconciliation that the Government of Canada committed to back in 2015. As one of the main perpetrators of this violence against Indigenous peoples, your government must take concrete actions to mend its relationships with Indigenous peoples in meaningful ways.
As the Government of Canada, you must do better; you must honour and respect the lives of these children and the families who never received answers by giving them a proper resting place. Their voices, which would have carried knowledge, language, love, and tradition, have now been erased at the hands of the Canadian government.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my concerns, and I look forward to receiving a response from you on this matter.
Sincerely,
(Your name) (City, Province) (Phone Number)
(Insert date here)
Hon. (insert local MP)
(Address)
(city and province)
(postal code)
Dear Hon. (MP’s name),
My name is (insert name here) and I am a constituent in your district at (insert postal code). I am writing this letter because (state reason here). The news on Friday, May 28, 2021, of the 215 children’s bodies that were recovered at the former Kamloops Residential School has shaken our country and we must do better.
I am strongly encouraging you to take action on (your concern here) in collaboration with Indigenous communities. (State why action is important).
This action is a part of Truth and Reconciliation’s 94 Calls to Action, that the Government of Canada committed to in 2015. (Find the Call to Action you are referencing and add it here). It is only after we accept the truth and acknowledge it by taking action that meaningful reconciliation can begin.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my concerns, and I look forward to receiving a response from you on this matter.
Sincerely,
(Your name)
(City, Province)
(Phone Number)
Conclusion
If you live in Canada (Turtle Island) and have not yet reached out to your local representative about your concerns, I hope this article helps you take that next step. I’ve tried to make it as easy as possible by attaching steps as well as a template to write to your representatives. The power to write to your representatives is a powerful, free, and accessible way to make change in your community. In a democracy, your voice is your vote and your vote is your power. This is especially true if you are reading this in an election season, especially August 2021 as Trudeau has just announced a snap election for this fall. Remember that silence is just as powerful as speaking up; it’s still a vote, it’s just a vote for the status quo.
Canada has given me opportunities throughout my life, job, school, security, opportunities, and basic human rights as simple as never having to worry about clean water, which are things the peoples Indigenous to this land, whose families have lived on it and cared for it since time immemorial, have not had access to. I don’t think that is right. Hence, I am working hard to educate myself and those around me and take meaningful action towards supporting Indigenous individuals, communities, and causes both in my personal life and through this platform.
Thank you for reading and participating in the first-ever Write for Good campaign. I truly hope this series helps promote writing as an accessible tool for positive change and open people’s eyes to the ways in which they can use their words to make the world a better place.
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