A big thank you to the Aboriginal People and the Law class at Robson Hall who put these info sheets together for Orange Shirt Day. Find out the reasoning behind why we wear orange on September 30, statistics on residential schools, national organizations working with survivors and places to donate. 

We started this blog because we get frequent questions from students, staff and faculty about Indigenous history, issues, rights, concerns and perspectives. First and foremost, our job right now is to be students, to engage with our course content, volunteer commitments and extra curriculars. That being said, we are constantly asked questions about Indigenous history, issues, rights, concerns and perspectives without consideration for our other commitments, and often these questions are not asked respectfully. We have obligations to our communities, this is an integral part of our identity as Indigenous people. This does not include an obligation to educate those outside of our community without consideration for our own time, energy and background knowledge. Indigenous people do not have a singular identity, and no single Indigenous person can answer every one of your questions. We appreciate genuine engagement and interest when it is backed up with action. There are numerous jobs/careers/professions in this world which hinge on interaction, exploitation, and/or engagement with Indigenous communities and people. The majority of the resources included in this list have been written, produced and/or made by Indigenous people. A person’s desire to learn can be measured by their ability to listen, and centering Indigenous voices within the resources we have compiled is a part of that for us. 

Assigned readings and assignments are rarely fun, but being given a chance to research a topic of interest casually can be very enjoyable. That is what we want this to be for our readers; a resource list where you can go through and delve into content from different forms of media on your own time. We have included descriptions of our resources, either in our own words if we have personally read a book or watched a documentary, or the prepared summaries included in a resource’s write up. 

Take a moment to take stock. Maybe during post secondary, high school, or elementary you touched on the subject in classes, or maybe you saw news coverage or read an article somewhere. 

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What do I know about the history of residential schools?
2. Who taught me/exposed me to this history?
3. Who’s perspective has this information been presented to me from? 
4. Have I read accounts of the schools from survivors?
5. What do I know about the experiences of Inuit in residential schools?
6. What do I know about the experiences of Metis in residential schools?

           - Binesi Boulanger 

​We’ve prepared a general list of materials, it includes a wide variety of resources including: movies/documentaries, news articles, podcasts, books (both fiction and non) and online resources. Please take some time to learn more about the residential school experience by looking at some of these resources:

Where are the children? – Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools 
This resource contains an interactive ‘exhibit’ which provides pictures, audio, and documents about residential schools. It also contains an interactive timeline of residential schools and many personal stories of experiences being in residential schools. While exploring this link you will also find many more resources available to you to further learn about residential schools.
http://wherearethechildren.ca/en/

Movies/Videos

Historica Canada - Residential Schools in Canada:  A Timeline - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFgNI1lfe0A
This quick 5 minute video will provide the viewer with an entire timeline of residential schools in Canada; from their creation, to the 60s Scoop, to the TRC report. As the viewer,  you will see the progression of residential schools and their impact on those forced to attend.

Recommended viewing: We Were Children (2012)
“In this feature film, the profound impact of the Canadian government’s residential school system is conveyed through the eyes of two children who were forced to face hardships beyond their years. As young children, Lyna and Glen were taken from their homes and placed in church-run boarding schools, where they suffered years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, the effects of which persist in their adult lives. We Were Children gives voice to a national tragedy and demonstrates the incredible resilience of the human spirit.” 
        - Write up from NFB website 
https://www.nfb.ca/film/we_were_children/trailer/we_were_children_trailer/

Books 

They Called Me Number One  By Bev Sellars
Memoir

Bev Sellars memoir tells of “three generations of women who attended the school [St. Joseph’s Mission at Williams Lake, BC], interweaving the personal histories of her grandmother and her mother with her own. She tells of hunger, forced labour, and physical beatings, often with a leather strap, and also of the demand for conformity in a culturally alien institution where children were confined and denigrated for failure to be White and Roman Catholic.” (3) 

Available at: https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/9780889227415/bev-sellars/they-called-me-number-one?blnBKM=1 ​

Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Fiction novel

“Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn't want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission… With compassion and insight, Five Little Indians chronicles the desperate quest of these residential school survivors to come to terms with their past and, ultimately, find a way forward.”(4)

​Available at: https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/9781443459181/michelle-good/5-little-indians?blnBKM=1