Indian Day School survivor suggests reaching out for healing to begin

*Warning: This article discusses abuse experienced by survivors of Indian Residential School and Indian Day Schools that readers may find disturbing and/or triggering. Reader discretion is advised.*

By Kelly Anne Smith

NORTH BAY—Speaking in Cree, a large group of Indian Day School survivors attended the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre to discuss details of the McLean Day School Class-Action Settlement.

George Hughie and Janie Kataquapit presented the public information session on May 13 for Mushkegowuk Cree. They heard many personal stories from attendees.

The Mushkegowuk Cree from the Western James Bay and Hudson’s Bay include Attawapiskat First Nation, Taykwa Tagamou First Nation, Kashechewan First Nation, Fort Albany First Nation, Moose Cree First Nation, Chapleau Cree First Nation, and Missanabie Cree First Nation.

The North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre offered a similar information session for Temagami First Nation on March 26.

The McLean Day School suit is named after the late Garry McLean, one of a group that started to pursue the class action 10 years ago. Court presided over the case recently for a three-day hearing in Winnipeg. Justice Michael Phelan is expected to rule on the settlement details in the next few months.

Canada forced almost 200,000 Indigenous children to attend Indian Day Schools beginning in the 1920s.

The government recognizes many of the children experienced physical, sexual and psychological abuse while at the schools. Up to 140,000 are eligible for five levels of compensation starting at $10,000.

Applicants to the class action must specify the type of abuse they endured by checking one of the following: physical abuse (hitting, ear pulling, strapping, etc.), severe physical abuse (loss of consciousness, impairment, hospital treatment, scars, etc.), sexual abuse, emotional/mental abuse, student-on-student abuse and other.

Responding to criticism, the appointed law firm has proposed changes to the settlement including extending the opt-out period from 60 to 90 days. The claim application deadline is extended to two-and-a-half-years from one year. Non-lawyers are not allowed to be paid form-fillers. The survivor’s written story must accompany documentation to prove school attendance. There will also be a call centre offering help in English, French, Dene, Cree, Ojibwe, Mi’kmaq and Inuktitut.

In the early 60s, at seven-years-old, George Hughie from Kashechewan First Nation started at Indian Residential School in Moose Factory at Bishop Horden Hall, attending until he was 12-years-old.

Hughie talks about his experiences.

“My first year was hard. I trusted my dad but he said I was only going there [to residential school] for a while. He said, ‘You’ll come back soon again’. Every child should be with their family. That’s how I felt.”

Hughie entered school with long braids.

“The first winter at residential school, you get your hair cut—a brush cut. They applied chemicals for lice. Then they took away the clothes you came in. Even if they washed them, you could still smell the bush on them,” explains Hughie. “I did miss my home and I did miss my family. Out of nine of us, I was the only one that left.”

After residential school, Hughie attended day school in Moose Factory.

“There were some good clergymen, but I have heard horrible stories.”

Hughie says the McLean Day School Settlement process is like repeating the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, but with a different perspective.

“I’m a residential school survivor. I’ve already started my healing. I would like to see reconciliation to us as a nation.”

But Hughie doesn’t think there will ever be enough money.

“Money can never take away your pain. I want a happy life. I want the healing. I want to make things right. That’s the way I look at it.”

For Hughie, his number one priority is to work on breaking the cycle.

“My healing is there. I already dealt with my first one, and now day school again? I don’t want to carry those to my grandkids. I don’t want to carry those to my great-grandkids. It’s my job to break the cycle. It’s my job to make it right. And I want to see my grandkids and my kids to look at that. Not as a negative but as a positive and that they could move on,” expresses Hughie. “The government might not be able to bring back that life but we can look to the future. The damage was done but you have to move forward. The only way we are going to survive is moving forward in a positive way. And making things right.”

On the promised legacy project funding, Hughie would like to see the plan for it and to make sure the government follows through.

“I would like to see supports in continued treatments and counselling. It heads off the effects on grandkids. There has to be somewhere for services where people can go and deal with their stuff through treatment and counselling.”

Hughie leads Healing Circles for men. He says they are looking for their healing.

“They want to reconcile and make things right. You have to build trust. You have to show that you care, that you want to help. You have to show that it’s not only them that are going through that. There’s a lot of people. Being abused affects you. It affects your family. But somewhere along the line, we have to break that.”

Hughie expands on the notion of forgiveness.

“I know a lot of people say that forgiveness is the way of the church but it doesn’t matter what culture you come from, we need to forgive,” he explains. “We need to forgive ourselves. We need to forgive those that harmed. The bottom line is you need your healing because life is so short. Sometimes healing takes a while and sometimes longer depending on the individual. Some people will never get out of it…I’ve seen that over the years. Some people who were abused died with it. I’m concerned about that because it might impact their kids. They become like a prisoner. It boils down to them. Are you going to break the cycle? Are you going to help yourself? Are you going to move on?…I’ve seen the positive side for people who use the services for treatment.”

Hughie talks of his father. As a child in school, his father was hit with a long ruler that broke a finger. The abuse killed the nerves in the finger.

“He never went to residential school. I saw the effect on him from day school,” recalls Hughie. “The anger that he had, he put it on us. He put it on me, especially as I’m older. He apologized after and I forgave him. We made things right. Now, there isn’t a wall between us.  We are able to hug together and talk together. I can say ‘Dad, I love you’, and he said, ‘My son, I love you’.”

As a child, Hughie survived having an adult slap down a ruler on his hands often. His ears were pulled and he was hit on the head frequently as were other children.

“I’ve seen people that went through it and were dragged too, and we couldn’t say anything,” explains Hughie. “The stereotype that Aboriginal people were dysfunctional, we are not good parents, we’re abusers; that went in my mind. I was ashamed of myself. I was ashamed of the way I was looked at and what was taught in universities and college and what is taught in schools. That bothered me, how I was portrayed…When I do presentations, I always tell people, Aboriginal people were not like that. We were like every human being that wanted to protect and wanted to raise their kids.”

Hughie maintains hope.

“Life changes. I remember we lived off the harvesting. Now, it’s not there anymore. I believe we can turn things around. There is hope we can. There is help out there. All you have to do is reach out and open up.”

The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) exists to provide support for former Residential School students. The Crisis Line provides: Emotional and crisis referral services. Information on how to get other health supports from the Government of Canada.