Over 130 residential schools operated in Canada. The first federal residential school began around 1883; the last closed in 1996.
“We Stand Together” is a series to understand better these schools’ history and what it meant to Indigenous communities. Join Ryan Funk and Lisa Muswagon to hear residential school attendees and their families’ stories and experiences.
Mabel Horton is from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. Horton shares her experiences with residential schools so that newcomers to this country can learn how many Indigenous peoples were treated at these schools.
Vivian Ketchum, a writer and photographer, tells her stories and what reconciliation means from the Indigenous perspective. The residential school system took a tremendous toll on Ketchum, costing her much of her language and the beginnings of her story.
Elder Betty Ross advocates for Indigenous rights and preserving Indigenous culture and language. From Cross Lake First Nation, Elder Ross has experienced the residential school system with her story inspiring the book Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story.
Elder Betty Ross advocates for Indigenous rights and preserving Indigenous culture and language. From Cross Lake First Nation, Elder Ross has experienced the residential school system with her story inspiring the book Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story.
Geraldine “Gramma” Shingoose is a residential school survivor who attended Muscowequan residential school from 1962 to 1971. Gramma Shingoose shares her story with schools and universities, highlighting her cherished memories of before Muscowequan residential school, her life during school, and its impacts on her life once she left.
Mabel Horton is from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. Horton shares her experiences with residential schools so that newcomers to this country can learn how many Indigenous peoples were treated at these schools.
Vivian Ketchum, a writer and photographer, tells her stories and what reconciliation means from the Indigenous perspective. The residential school system took a tremendous toll on Ketchum, costing her much of her language and the beginnings of her story.
It’s been a long journey for Anishinaabe artist Brian Waboose. Experiencing abuse within the residential school system and feeling lost, art helped Waboose find a path in life. After his son tragically passed away, art helped him again.
Deborah Hayward is from Haisla Nation, known as Kitamaat Village. One day when she returned from school, her mother packed her bag, telling her she was going to Port Alberni residential school. Hayward would attend residential school for two years, or as Hayward refers to it, genocidal prison.
Flora Northwest lives in Treaty 6 territory, the land of the Plains Cree. When she was five, she attended day school at a church only about a mile and a half from where she lived. When she turned six, she was sent to Ermineskin residential school.
Henry Pitawanakwat has a unique perspective on residential schools. Although he did not attend, his mother did, and he witnessed the effects it had on her as he grew up.
Taken at the age of 5, Martina Osawamick would remain in the residential school system until 12. She could not recall most of her memories of that time for many years, having repressed those experiences.
Rosemary is from Wikwemikong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island and attended Spanish residential school when she was 8. When she first arrived, she knew no English besides yes or no. Wakegijig worked as a teacher for over 40 years, and even in retirement, she teaches others in her community as an elder. She believes in letting things in the past go and living each day as a new beginning.
Rosemary is from Wikwemikong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island and attended Spanish residential school when she was 8. When she first arrived, she knew no English besides yes or no. Wakegijig worked as a teacher for over 40 years, and even in retirement, she teaches others in her community as an elder. She believes in letting things in the past go and living each day as a new beginning.
On May 23, the First Nations community was shaken when the remains of 200 “probable” unmarked graves of First Nations children were found on what was once a residential school in Kamloops, B.C. A year after this discovery, the number has entered the thousands.
These are the voices of our First Nations pained by the loss, frustrated by systemic racism and oppression, and the stories of survivors who lived through horrific conditions at these schools. It’s also an opportunity to talk about truth, reconciliation, and unity, building communities and working towards a brighter future.
We Stand Together is the 2021 Canadian Ethnic Media Award of Journalistic Excellence in the podcast category.
A helpline for residential school survivors can be reached at 1-866-925-4419.
The Indian Residential School Survivors Society is a British Columbia-based organization providing services to residential school survivors for over 20 years. It started by helping residential school survivors navigate the court systems and has since expanded to help residential school survivors and engage in community education for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. You can donate here.
It feels immoral to celebrate and have fireworks when a majority of your neighbours are holding a funeral for 1,323 undocumented First Nation’s children, especially when the numbers of these horrific discoveries continue to climb rapidly. July 1, on Portage & Main at 1 pm, three individuals are inviting the Winnipeg community not to celebrate the country that tried to remove its Indigenous People but to join together for an Every Child Matters Walk. The mission is to increase awareness of what has and is happening to Indigenous communities and identify the children buried at residential schools, bringing them home, and giving a safe space for survivors. Their truths deserve to be amplified and validated after being silenced for so long.
Find out more: https://fb.me/e/1CEYPjvKf
Vivian Ketchum is a residential school survivor and has healed enough to share her story. With the news of the 751 discovery of 751 unmarked graves near a former Saskatchewan residential school, awareness of this institution needs to continue to ensure these stories are not forgotten. U Multicultural is sharing the stories of Indigenous people as a part of the “We Stand Together” initiative for residential schools awareness.
Ray (Coco) Stevenson is a well-known traditional singer and drummer from Manitoba. Ray shared his thoughts and feeling upon hearing the news of the 215 children and the devastating effect Residential Schools had on survivors living in Winnipeg.
U Multicultural is located on Treaty 1 Territory, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.
This project has been made possible by the Government of Canada through Canadian Heritage.
