S U R V I V O R S
Many have suffered In residential schools. Lets talk about Residential School Survivors and why they're important to acknowledge.
What did they do in residential schools?
⬅student getting their hair forcibly cut by a school nun.
What Couldn't Students Do?
No one was allowed to speak their own native language,
wear their own traditional clothes nor keep their traditional long hair.
Staff at these schools cut the children's long hair short, got rid of their traditional clothes and punished the kids if they did any of the things I’ve listed above or break any other harsh rules that were set in place. Most punishments were forms of abuse as many previous residential school survivor's have explained the amount of physical, emotional and sexual abuse that was witnessed by them or given to them from hands of the staff teaching at these schools. These schools focused on physical labor and prayers rather than what you'd learn at a regular school.
Many students felt neglected as children in Residential School because of the lack of affection they have received. Former Residential School students said they were not hugged as a child, played with nor read too. Staff made them feel uncomfortable and many former students expressed discomfort in these schools and the way they were treated affected their childhood and the way they act as adults which affects the people around them including their families.
FACT
Residential Schools are known to be the main cause of poverty, homelessness, substance abuse and violence to many first nations in Canada.
Many residential school survivors turn to alcohol to cope with past trauma. Due to the lack of affection and staying away from home as a child many express that they feel upset they couldn't have a proper childhood and that they could not raise their kids the way they wanted to due to intergenerational trauma
Two row wampum belt
Click the Image of the two row wampum belt for more info.
The two row wampum belt represents a treaty made in 1619. The Dutch and Haudenosaunee made an agreement that they wouldn’t interfere with each other and stand side by side and have a brother like relationship with one another but this stopped when residential schools came into place. All these catholic/Christian Canadians who were staff in residential schools interfered with all the indigenous people and their families, taking their kids away from home and trying to take away their beliefs which defeats the purpose of the two row wampum belt.
You can show respect to survivors by participating in Orange shirt day!
