Residential school survivor says 'walls of silence have come down'

Documentary maker and residential school survivor Garnet Angeconeb spoke about his journey from silence to participating in a Canada-wide discussion

Angeconeb went before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada on Thursday andpresented a copy of his documentary, which focuses on the reconciliation process.

Hesharedhis experienceswith CBCs Daybreak on Friday.

At one time,Angeconeb said he found it difficult to talk about his days at a residential school in northwestern Ontario.

"The pain was so raw, the pain was so deep," he said.

Now,Angeconeb says he is happy to see the public ishaving an opendialogue.

"The walls of silence have come down."

Paul Martin denounces Canadian 'black mark'

Former Prime Minister Paul Martin told CBC's Homerun that he admires the courage of the former school residents who have come forward to share publiclytheir personal histories, "who were for so long not able to do it" andwho now see that "it's part of their[own]reconciliation."

Martinsaid thepeople appearing before thecommissionare bringing to light "a black mark of Canadian history."

"The government,for 150 years, used education as a means of assimiliation, as a means of essentially taking away aboriginal cultures from young children... tried to break the bonds between children and their parents, in order to make sure that everyone elsewas cut out of the same copybook," Martin said.

Hesaid it was important to look at "other areas of discrimination" and denounced what he said was"the underfunding ofgrade school and high school education" that's happening now on reserves.

Martinisone of the commission's honorary witnesses; hetold CBCan honorary witness is an age-old aboriginal tradition.

He and otherswill be asked to "spread the message", said Martin,when the Truth and Reconciliationcommission draws its conclusions.