WARNING: This article contains details of residential schools and may be upsetting to some readers.
Julie Dalgliesh organized a sunrise ceremony to begin the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which acknowledges and recognizes the impact residential schools had on First Nations people across Canada.
Like many people, Dalgliesh was unaware young First Nation boys and girls were put in residential schools and often abused both physically and sexually.
Her mom left the Nipissing First Nation as a teenager and as a result, Dalgliesh was born in Toronto. She visited Nipissing regularly while growing up and during that time she had no idea that quite a few of the adults she engaged with, including her grandfather George Couchie, were survivors of the Spanish Indian Residential Schools located between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.
The Spanish Indian Residential Schools operated from 1913 to 1965. The boys and girls’ schools were operated by the Government of Canada, Jesuit Fathers and the Daughters of the Heart of Mary. Today, only remnants of the girls’ building remain standing; the building that housed the boys was torn down.
It wasn’t until 1995 when Dalgliesh moved to Nipissing to study at Canadore College that she learned about residential schools. “Shock, disbelief and despicable” were the words she used to describe her reaction when learning about the schools from community members. “That this actually happened in our country, it made me reflect about my grandfather and the pain he was in,” she said.
Up to this point Dalgliesh’s knowledge of Canadian history was what she had learned in school where the focus was on topics like the fur trade or railways. The history books given to her and other Canadian students were completely silent about the residential schools.
Dalgliesh says she never talked to her grandfather about the residential schools because he rarely spoke about his experience. “It’s sad that he’s gone because he’s missing what’s happening today with Truth and Reconciliation,” she said. “Bringing this to light is important. Canada ignored the truth for so long. So, Canada is reconciling with us.”
Nipissing First Nation Chief Cathy Bellefeuille-Stevens said the system failed Canada’s Indigenous Peoples, first by creating the residential schools and also for failing to talk about what occurred at the schools for decades. She said a “hidden agenda” was at work behind the concept of residential schools because the objective was to use “the children as weapons in the whole movement toward colonization. This was something that Canada totally did wrong.”
She added it’s only since the late 1990s, the issue of residential schools has become more public. Thanks to the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, nowadays “more people are understanding the seriousness and deep impact of all this. But this is something we contend with every single day,” she said.
Documents state more than 4,000 students died while attending residential schools across Canada and it’s unknown where many burial sites are located because of poor record keeping. Consequently the names of the many deceased students are not known. “It should be a huge issue when you find mass graves within our country,” she said. “People should want to know more about why this happened and who was responsible.”
And although there has been media attention, Bellefeuille-Stevens said it hasn’t been enough and wonders what public reaction and the media response would be if the graves were of non-Indigenous origin.
Bellefeuille-Stevens has a personal connection with the Spanish Indian Residential Schools. Her dad was born in 1927. For some reason he was not put in the residential school but his 11 brothers and sisters were there during their formative years.
That includes Dalgliesh’s grandfather, George Couchie, who was Bellefeuille-Stevens’ uncle, which makes the two women related as cousins.
Bellefeuille-Stevens said they all survived “but not without emotional, physical and psychological scars.” She recalls when her uncles talked about their years at the school, they said “it was not a good experience.”
One of her uncles was a star hockey player on the school team and the activity was something he enjoyed. However, when he was disciplined, the punishment involved “beating his hands” so he could hardly hold the hockey stick. “So, they would take away or destroy something he enjoyed,” she said.
“And they always made sure that the other students witnessed the physical beating,” said Bellefeuille-Stevens. Forcing the other students to watch served as a warning that they could also be disciplined at any time and in any way. The reason for a beating could be something as simple as a student speaking their own language.
Bellefeuille-Stevens said there were also sexual abuse incidents and adds it’s an understatement to say the students were bitter all their lives.
Of her uncles and aunts, only one, her aunt Josee, remains alive. But in her younger years she spoke about her experiences at the residential school. “She said it wasn’t terrible for her but she did see other children who were terribly abused physically,” said Bellefeuille-Stevens.
“Her experiences weren’t like that. My aunt said she learned how to sew and cook. But I asked her, “'Couldn't Grandma have taught you those skills?'” Bellefeuille-Stevens said her aunt missed out on growing up in her own home and the abuse she saw psychologically scarred her.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission helped bring about 94 calls for action, which acknowledged what occurred at the residential schools and worked to create a system to prevent a repeat of what happened to young boys and girls there.
“If we can address all those calls for action, we’ll be in a better place of understanding,” said Bellefeuille-Stevens. The components of the calls for action, including education, awareness, and compensation, need to happen for Indigenous people “to feel we finally have a place in our country (because) these are our lands.”
However, she said that even when all the calls of action are acted upon, that can’t be the end of the story. “We shouldn’t say ‘that’s it’, they're done now, let's get back to business,” she said. “Rather what there should be is a whole new way of living and existence with First Nations. That’s a step in the right direction. We just can’t say the First Nations got their 94 calls for action now let’s move on.”
Both Bellefeuille-Stevens and Dalgliesh said Indigenous people still face systematic racism when it comes to legal and health matters.
Dalgliesh said it’s important for people to understand what happened to Indigenous people “so that moving forward, this isn’t going to happen again. This National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30 must continue for generations just like Remembrance Day takes place every Nov. 11,” she said.
In the days ahead, as people read and hear about Truth and Reconciliation, they might get triggered by some of the horrifying stories that took place at residential schools. She said if they do, there is a 24-hour National Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 where people can help the callers.
Bellefeuille-Stevens said the story about residential schools and the generational impact they had and continue to have on Indigenous people is one “of sadness and grief. I’ve wondered what this world would look like if the treaties had been followed,” she said.
“If the newcomers had followed the treaties, could you imagine the country we would have today?”
The National Residential Schools Crisis line is available 24 hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of a residential school experience at 1-866-925-4419. The North Bay Friendship Centre can be reached at 1-888-472-0599.
Truth and Reconciliation events
Nipissing First Nation was the site for a sunrise ceremony this morning to begin the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation which acknowledges and recognizes the impact residential schools had on First Nations people across Canada.
Organizer Julie Dalgliesh says the opening ceremony is followed by a 9 a.m. event at the outdoor rink where several speakers will join the chief and council and present gifts to the remaining survivors of the residential schools.
“We will also have jingle dancers dancing around our survivors,” Dalgliesh said, who is the Manager of the Walking Alongside Services Department.
“The dance honours our survivors and represents healing. This is to also honour the survivors who are no longer with us”.
This event will be followed by a luncheon.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
