I did my project on the residential schools that are (were) present on my reserve.

My first picture is of St. Paul’s residential school that opened in 1887.

My second picture is of where St. Mary’s Residential school stood. It opened in 1898.

Then, St. Paul’s residential school was located 7km west of Cardston and St. Mary’s was called "The Immaculate Conception Boarding School.”

These schools are where children from 5-18 had been boarded for school, usually year-round. A lot of children were not allowed to see their parents for, usually, years. (Priests and nuns would take the kids to Waterton during the summer months.) Some never saw their parents again and did not have a home to go back to when they were done school.

In the year 1887, the government had approved for children to be taken from their homes and placed into schools, where they suffered many different kinds of abuse and torture. (Yes, torture)

"If these schools are to succeed we must not have them to near the reserve; in order to educate the children properly we must remove them from their families. Some people might say this is hard, but if we want to civilize them we must do that." - Government statement giving permission to take children by force.

Western society wanted to "kill Indian and save the child." And that meant becoming civilized and learning to worship by any means necessary.

Canada refuses to acknowledge what happened to First Nations and other Indigenous peoples. Were constantly told that it wasn't that bad, and to "get over it."

Getting over it seems impossible when there are physical and emotional barriers present in everything you do.

Intergenerational trauma started in residential schools. The trickle-down effect began in these schools and is still affecting children today because our grandparents and parents were told that everything they knew about themselves was wrong and were punished for it.

My grandparents are survivors, my parents are survivors.

My life has been heavily impacted by the residential school system.

Addictions

Abuse

Violence

and surviving.