Two Plays About
Residential School honours the fearless voices of
residential school survivor Larry Loyie (Cree, 1933-2016) and intergenerational survivor Vera Manuel (Secwepemc / Ktunaxa, 1949-2010).
This chronology was compiled to convey, by historic milestones, how the Indian
Residential School system came to be, how it embodied attitudes of its time, how critics were dismissed, and how finally the deep harm it did to many members of generations of Indian children was exposed in the course of a reconciliation process that continues.
This was all after the days of
residential school and many of us were self-destructive as adults.
"Our goal," Trudeau told hundreds of
residential school survivors who attended the event, "is to accept fully our responsibilities -- and our failings -- as a government and as a nation."
"We found the in-service helped teachers not just in teaching the
residential school module, but in teaching all their other students because it changed their relationships, and their understanding of the community," said Mindy Willett, social studies and northern studies coordinator for the N.W.T.
Peter Bisson, provincial Superior of the Jesuits in English Canada, and Archbishop Gerard Pettipas, president of the Catholic Entities Parties to the Indian
Residential School Settlement, all of whom were present for the statement's reading.
For
residential school survivor Larry Loyie, Premier Rachel Notley's apology means nothing if "it's just a ceremony or a frilly thing." It needs to be followed by action.
This unique national history co-authored by award-winning Cree writer Larry Loyie, a
residential school survivor himself, reflects the ongoing commitment to express the truths about
residential school experiences and to honour the survivors whose voices are shared in this book.
Marcia Mirasty represents a growing number of Aboriginal people who are speaking out about being descendants of Indian
residential school survivors.
"It was cultural genocide," Ted Quewezance, a
residential school alumni and director of the National
Residential School Survivors' Society, said.