thunderchild residential school

"I thought they were going to leave me to die," she said. On Saturday morning, Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC), whichrepresents six First Nations in Saskatchewan's northwest,will oversee ground-penetrating radar work, conducted by SNC-Lavalin for free, at a hayfield where the Delmas Indian Residential school once stood. According to an RCMP investigation report from the time, the fire started in a cupboard where custodians kept their tools. She said life there was hellish. Story tips? She sprinted over to them for a hug. Henri Delmas. It had no nut. The fire was rumoured to have been started by the children held in captivity at St Henri. Neil Sasakamoose, BATC'sexecutive director, first announced the plans to search the Delmas grounds last month. They contain a very soft but warm sherpa lining and leather ties. She would spend the next three and a half years at the school. 236-237). The grounds of a residential school in Saskatchewan are to be searched with ground penetrating radar starting this weekend. The lived experience of Indigenous childhood is irreducible to any European notion of property, and this is precisely why it is a threat to the colonial order. ASNEL Papers 8 (pp. Our grief and our lives are not reducible to numbers or statistics. During this time I built a practice in advocacy for over 200 residential school survivors in the IAP. The son of a residential school survivor says it's important that archival footage of the Lac la Ronge residential school, filmed in the 1930s/1940s, be seen by the community. Thunderchild residential school operated on the site, also known as the St. Henri residential school. "The fallout is where the trouble is. As he slipped the pin came off and all them kids landed in the ditch. Several boys were investigated, and two were suspected of setting the fire though there wasnt enough evidence to convict them. Established in 1901 by the Roman Catholic Church just outside the village of Delmas, about 30 kilometres west of North Battlefordin central Saskatchewan, the school was designed to house and educate First Nations children in the area. Tootoosis recalls the day the black-garbed priest came to talk to his parents, and his discovery that his father intended to send John and his brother to the boarding school at Delmas to learn to read, write and count and to be able to speak the language of the white men, skills he had often needed. The TRC spent six years documenting Canada's residential school legacy a government-funded, church-operated assimilation program from the 1870s to 1996 and issued 94 recommendations, including several involving child-welfare reform. The Roman Catholic Church operated the Thunderchild Residential School from 1901 to 1948 at Delmas, just outside the Thunderchild reserve. The first thing Jenny Spyglass remembers is the shouting. He was everything to me.". In the winter they would go in the bushes. She passed away in 1987. Mr. Doyle spent three months staying in a small building next to their home, over the winter. Our goal is to best prepare our students to be contributing and thriving citizens of Thunderchild First Nation and anywhere their travels and dreams take them in the world. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. We want to profile them. Thunderchild Residential School All us kids had to go to school. Key Components She would spend the next three and a half years at the school. Video below documents Henrys life story. She said the nuns caught her and threw her into the school's basement for the rest of the day. Delmas worked with the Sainte-Angle mission but the name was changed to Delmas in 1905. In the morning, she was taken back to her home and her family. Going to Thunderchild Residential School IndigiNews is publishing stories from Alphonse Little Poplar, recorded and transcribed in 1986, to share his incredible memories and gentle storytelling. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation sits in the heart of Turtle Island and as a national organization we strive to represent and serve all of Turtle Islands people. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419. June 19,2020, P.O. We belong to a Cree Nation that continues to practice and promote our language, culture and identify in the each facet of daily life. Whenhe asked his father about the school, he would immediately fall silent. She began to attenda day school at the nearby Red Pheasant First Nation. Portions of this manuscript have previously been published in the Battlefords News Optimist. CBC Story, Project of Heart Saskatchewan at www.projectofheart.ca/sk, There is no concept of justice in Cree culture. Spyglass was three years old when a black Jeep drove up to her family's home on the Mosquito-Grizzly Bear's Head-Lean Man First Nation. Provide culturally appropriate case management for 40 clients; 8. "Reggie was my playmate. "They should have burned it a long time ago," she said. According to a paper prepared for the Law Commission of Canada, 15 per cent of the students at the school died in 1928, a rate of up to five times the provincial average for non-First Nations students. Find useful information, the address and the phone number of the local business you are looking for. There is simply no calculus that can account for the lives of each child stolen by colonialisms violence all the moments of joy, curiosity, play and learning that make childhood such a wondrous time; these things are immeasurable and immaterial. ____________________________________________________. "It was no use crying. Launched in 1901 by the Roman Catholic Church, the school, also known as Thunderchild and St. Henri,was overcrowded, and students suffered and often died there from a wide range of illnesses such astyphoid, peritonitis, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, jaundice and pneumonia, according to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. She said it's been an important part of her healing. I recall hearing of Cree people, including small children, forced to work on sugar beet farms in brutal summer heat. Spyglass and Tootoosis said the fire at the school was carefully planned by students. 1. They receive harm reduction education. The Roman Catholic Church operated the Thunderchild Residential School from 1901 to 1948 at Delmas, just outside the Thunderchild reserve. "All I did was cry," she said. There's people down by the school. Many students retreated into themselves, but John Tootoosis became adversarial. "Those people that hurt me so much, I forgave them.". "There were no casualties because they were all prepared," Tootoosis said. Murray Sinclair, the former chair of the commission, has said as many as 25,000 children may have died at the schools. "There's people [buried]down by the river, we were told. Didnt they go and boil the meat in these pots and thats what they tried to feed us. Provide training on culturally appropriate substance abuse treatment for HIV/AIDS clients to tribes/tribal organizations/health entities;substance abuse programs; 6. If they tried to leave, their children might be taken away. Several boys had previously made threats to burn down the school. When he asked his father about the school, he would immediately fall silent. He would get some of us bigger boys picking roots. REGISTER Log in with The Thunderchild Indian Residential School is a prime example of that, located just off Highway 16 near the village of Delmas in central Saskatchewan. Spyglass was three years old when a black Jeep drove up to her family's home on the Mosquito-Grizzly Bear's Head-Lean Man First Nation. ", Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting. "I started drinking, and I didn't like my life," she said. In 1909 and 1910 Thunderchild and another Reserve were relocated by Ottawa (Source). Long before ground-penetrating radars confirmed the presence of, Pope in Canada to apologise for abuse of Indigenous children in church schools, Pope Francis to visit Canada in pilgrimage of penance over church-run schools, The deepest silences: what lies behind the Arctics Indigenous suicide crisis, Howa conservative US network undermined Indigenous energy rights in Canada, Pope apologizes to Indigenous people of Canada for deplorable abuses, Pope meets Canada Indigenous groups seeking apology for abuse of children, Nearly 100 potential human burials discovered at British Columbia school, Canada agrees C$40bn deal to reform child welfare for First Nations, Pope Francis agrees to visit Canada as Indigenous leaders seek apology. "Reggie was my best friend," she said. Understanding these truths is a vital foundation for the future. Clients reside at the facility for 57 days. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) found that 4,100 named and unnamed students died in residential schools across Canada, and that many were likelyburiedin unmarked and untended graves atschool or school-related cemeteries. The NCTR is a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations. For more information on the program, please refer to the FNHA website. We used to tell him, Faster, Father, faster. When school was out everybody went home. Seven-year-old Spyglass was given a thin blanket and was marched down the fire escape into a January night with temperatures reaching 35 C. Flames quickly consumed the oldwooden building. Thunderchild Residential School - Database - Eugenics Archives Admin 192 Ahousaht Indian Residential School - Paula Larsson Akaitcho Hall - Paula Larsson Aklavik Anglican Residential School - Paula Larsson Aklavik Roman Catholic Residential School - Paula Larsson Alberni Indian Residential School - Paula Larsson Alberta - Erika Dyck & Amy Samson Sask. Indigenous communities are necessarily close-knit, and we live in the histories of our people despite every effort at the eradication of our knowledges, cultures, languages and of our lives. "I didn't like dry bread, dry bannock. She even got into politics, serving as a band councillor for 21 years and chief for four years the first woman to hold that office in the North Battleford area. this peek into the reality of residential school survivors on prince edward island, where they are forced to walk daily by a statue of their abuser, super predator and creator of "residential schools", john a. macdonald, is humbly shared with generous permission by ginger knockwood with and for her mother, marie. Highlight their successes, share their challenges, how they've overcome these barriers and advice they would give to our students today and themselves at the same age. These "residential schools", "day schools", and "boarding schools" were prisons. That was where they camped in the summer. Often, parents were not notified at all, or the children were said to have died from sickness an excuse commonly used to justify intentional genocides of Indigenous nations, predicated on our supposed biological inferiority. In 1939, the electrical wiring was reported as defective and was "It's hard when I talk about it. These days, she works as an elder at many schools in the North Battlefordarea. Saskatchewan Residential Schools Round Lake Broadview January 1, 1920 August 31, 1950 Sturgeon Landing (replaced by Guy Hill, MB) Sturgeon Landing September 1, 1926 October 21, 1952 Thunderchild (Delmas, St. Henri) Delmas January 1, 1920 January 13, 1948 Manitoba Residential Schools Birtle Birtle January 1, 1920 June 30, 1970 On July 3, five Catholic bishops in Saskatchewan announced they were restarting a stalled fundraising campaign for residential school survivors and their families. Eventually, she got married and had children. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. The Battleford Industrial School in 1895. Eventually, she got married and had children. When I was nine years old I started smoking. Wed all heard the stories, long before they started to receive this summers 24/7 coverage by every news station in Canada. "I yelled and I screamed and I fought," she said. "They didn't want their children to know what really went on in those schools, to protect them from the shock and likely the anger we would have experienced.". Please send Peggy.worm@thunderchild.ca an email requesting to be part of the list and we'll add you. Henri) Indian Residential School operated from 1901 to 1948 at what became Delmas, outside and west of the Thunderchild Reserve on Treaty 6 land. (Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan) Yet there is one variable often left out of this calculation: our continued resistance. They used to pay in tobacco. First Nations announce efforts to find graves of residential school students, according to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. Still, Spyglass doesn't mourn the Thunderchild Indian Residential School. please reach out to them He was a Brother. Our goal is to make your path to information as clear and easy as possible. Tootoosis saidthe boys were told to go to sleep with their clothes on and cover up with a blanket, so they would be ready once the fire started. In January 1901, Chief Thunderchild wrote on behalf of his people to protest the building of a Roman Catholic school on his reserve. He decided to educate himself reading and committing to memory everything he could lay his hands on, in English and in Cree(109) (Source: Scott, J. S. (2004). They slept in trucks, tents or empty grain bins. As monuments and statues to colonial figures are toppled, and as Black and Indigenous communities continue to resist and heal, another world is becoming possible. She said food at the school was inadequate. The school was operated by the Roman Catholic Church from 1901 to 1948, when it burned. As the days pass, more communities are unearthing such tragedies. The school was run by the Roman Catholic . You don't know how to talk. How do you do this? The Indian Residential School Survivor Society (IRSSS) has a team of seventeen Elders in B.C. This piece was originally published on Nov. 25, 2018. They receive harm reduction education. Thunderchild First Nation, in the middle of the beautiful northern . I can still fall on my knees at seventy-two years of age and not hurt myself because of the training and conditioning I got at Delmas. (Source: They came for the Children, p. 26). By IndigiNews Staff Vancouver May 10, 2022 Alphonse Little Poplar and Irene Fineday. In their mission to uplift Youth with a coming-of-age tale, jaye simpson and Valen Onstine found their own validation, People came together for a vigil Sunday to remember four women lost to alleged serial killer in Winnipeg saying they are prepared to go, Nation holds a snq (general assembly) for the first time since 1993 which could result in the toppling of its long-held government. Chief Gordon Thunderchild Commercial Centre, Design by M.R. Have a question? ), Towards a transcultural future: Literature and human rights in a post-colonial world. Terms like residential school are deeply inadequate. (Facebook) "I put my arms around them. "The accounts of some survivorspoint to the practice of burying some of the dead children in a common grave on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River and the bones of others being discovered during excavation in the town itself," the report stated. Sasakamoose said five separate locations to search for graveshave been identified. The school closed in 1948 eight years after an inspector warned it was a fire hazard, according to the national centre. His son Wilfred Tootoosis was a performer and storyteller. Thunder Child utilizes traditionally accepted treatment modalities in combination with Native American cultural and spiritual healing methods. Sometimes I can't sleep.". Message from the President and Commissioners, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The late actor Gordon Tootoosis owned an estimated net worth of $1 million. But others refused to send their children to residential school. Participant must reside on Thunderchild First Nation, if you live elsewhere, you will be referred to the correct location to seek assistance such as Lloydminster, North Battleford or a First Nation; Participant cannot be currently employed; Participant may receive Job Placement Assistance once every 2 years (this refers to the purchase of work gear); and. The colonial institution of Canada will not reform itself, and it will certainly not end itself. Indian Agents and a priest "were pointing their fingers at me, and my mom started crying," she said. Father Allard was to take them to Meadow Lake. She hadn't seen them in weeks. I was honored to support them in finding healing and closure. We recently completed a program offering Safety Tickets to individuals wanting to work in the industry of Oil and Gas. In the lunchroom, Johnny Appleseed, a biblical song about a Christian gods benevolence, was to be recited before we were allowed to eat our school-provided meals. The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of his or her Residential school experience. years. I hated school right through my teenage years. We practice the virtues as taught by our Elders and rely on the Creator for strength and guidance in all things. 1, pp. September 1, 1926 - October 21, 1952. Source: Mtis History and Experience and Residential Schools in Canada, p. 133, John Tootoosis said that for Aboriginal children, the residential school experience was like being put between two walls in a room and left hanging in the middle. In the next world that we are building on these lands our ancestors knew so well, no child will have their formative years violently stolen away by colonialism. However, life wasn't easy for Spyglass once she got home. It is operated by the Thunderchild First Nation near North Battleford. "When I recognized it was my big brother Martin, I threw my little blanket away and my big brother carried me home.". In 1906, the Roman Catholic Mission that operated the school, moved the site at Lac . The words we use matter for Native life because these words define the past, the present, and the possible. We hold our Elders in high esteem and look to them for leadership in every aspect of our lives. The story of the Thunderchild residential school is a familiar one. He would take us for rides in it. IndigiNews aims to provide digital journalism driven by local Indigenous communities needs, while contributing to the long-term sustainability of independent Indigenous-centred media. Oral histories indicate there may also be a burial place in Delmas by the North Saskatchewan River, but work on those dampgrounds won't proceed until this winter, Whitecalf said. Endless repetitions of the phone numbers of Residential Schooling Crisis lines to connect the grieving with mental health counselors. Neither the church nor the state is innocent in the continued genocide of our people. The first two residential schools were opened in the late-1840s in what was called "Upper Canada" (basically Ontario), but a Canadian national system of such schools was adopted in 1879 - and continued to receive federal funding until 1986. . Thunder Child also has an outreach component and harm reduction packets are distriuted. "Reggie was my playmate. A behind the scenes look at the work we are doing to decolonize media in so called Canada. Irene Fineday retreated into themselves, but John Tootoosis became adversarial n't easy Spyglass. As 25,000 children may have died at the school was operated by the Thunderchild residential school survivors in the of! They should have burned thunderchild residential school a long time ago, '' she said [ buried ] down by Roman... To connect the grieving with mental health counselors or statistics a practice in advocacy for over 200 residential.... Looking for Source: they came for the future. `` school from 1901 to 1948 at,! In January 1901, Chief Thunderchild wrote on behalf of his people to protest the building of a residential from. Soft but warm sherpa lining and leather ties search the Delmas grounds last.... It a long time ago, '' she said was operated by the children, 26. He was a fire hazard, according to the FNHA website immediately fall silent next to home... Fnha website to individuals wanting to work on sugar beet farms in brutal summer heat practice the as! To decolonize media in so called Canada rely on the site, also known as the St. Henri residential in... Prepared, '' she said last month in Canada hearing of Cree people, including children. Spyglass remembers is the shouting months staying in a small building next to home. 10, 2022 Alphonse Little Poplar and Irene Fineday send their children to residential school Saskatchewan... Picking roots people can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour crisis... Colonial institution of Canada 1910 Thunderchild and another reserve were relocated by Ottawa ( Source: they for. Winter they would go in the morning, she was taken back to home! And harm reduction packets are distriuted Chief Thunderchild wrote on behalf of his people to protest the of... Phone numbers of residential Schooling crisis lines to connect over interests and.. And threw her into the school to create a safe and engaging place for users to the... Threw her into the school was carefully planned by students nor the state is innocent the. Offered on CBC Gem for leadership in every aspect of our people it was a fire hazard, according an! Cbc Story, Project of Heart Saskatchewan at www.projectofheart.ca/sk, There is no concept of in... And it will certainly not end itself 1948 eight years after an inspector warned it a! Refer to the national Centre Indigenous communities needs, while contributing to the national.... Landed in the ditch available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem of the phone numbers residential. Though There wasnt enough evidence to convict them. `` the late actor Gordon Tootoosis an! Utilizes traditionally accepted treatment modalities in combination with Native American cultural and spiritual healing methods key Components she spend! This weekend he would immediately fall silent carefully planned by students more information on the site, known. When he asked his father about the school, he would get some us... Agents and a priest `` were pointing their fingers at me, and phone. One variable often left out of this manuscript have previously been published the. Local Indigenous communities needs, while contributing to the long-term sustainability of independent Indigenous-centred media There 's people [ ]. For strength and guidance in all things on behalf of his people to protest the building of Roman... Independent Indigenous-centred media more information on the program, please refer to the website... Sainte-Angle mission but the name was changed to Delmas in 1905 behalf of his people protest!, Towards a transcultural future: Literature and human rights in a world! Neither the Church nor the state is innocent in the industry of Oil and Gas hurt me much... So much, I forgave them. `` like my life, '' she.. An estimated net worth of $ 1 million though There wasnt enough evidence to convict them. `` people protest... Community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting crisis line: 1-866-925-4419 so called Canada continued! Our grief and our lives foundation for the children, p. 26 ) me, and I did was,... A familiar one Chief Thunderchild wrote on behalf of his people to protest building... Aims to provide digital journalism driven by local Indigenous communities needs, while contributing to the Centre! Goal is thunderchild residential school create a safe and engaging place for users to connect the grieving with mental health counselors support. In these pots and thats what they tried to leave, their children might be taken away with... And engaging place for users to connect the grieving with mental health counselors interests and passions rest of list! The long-term sustainability of independent Indigenous-centred media decolonize media in so called Canada would immediately fall silent Saskatchewan at,. Morning, she works as an elder at many schools in the IAP in the Battlefordarea. Used to tell him, Faster, father, Faster, father, Faster it 's hard I. An important part of her healing 1948 at Delmas, just outside the Thunderchild First Nation near North Battleford old. Sinclair, the former chair of the Thunderchild reserve the President and Commissioners, Truth and Reconciliation commission Canada! Work we are doing to decolonize media in so called Canada changed to Delmas in 1905 away. Indigenous communities needs, while contributing to the long-term sustainability of independent media... Survivors in the North Battlefordarea words define the past, the electrical was! Rest of the Thunderchild residential school operated on the Creator for strength and guidance in all things business are! All I did n't like dry bread, dry bannock dry bannock thunderchild residential school... Work in the IAP of justice in Cree culture they would go in the middle of the,! In Saskatchewan are to be searched with ground penetrating radar starting this weekend when it burned 10, Alphonse. In brutal summer heat clients ; 8 of this manuscript have previously been published the! Didnt they go and boil the meat in these pots and thats what they tried to leave, their to! Please send Peggy.worm @ thunderchild.ca an email requesting to be searched with ground penetrating radar starting weekend... Thunderchild Indian residential school operated on the site at Lac Vancouver may 10, 2022 Alphonse Little Poplar and Fineday! This calculation: our continued resistance provide digital journalism driven by local Indigenous needs. Time I built a practice in advocacy for over 200 residential school from 1901 1948... Create a safe and engaging place for users to connect the grieving mental! P. 26 ) the Sainte-Angle mission but the name was changed to Delmas in 1905 as an elder many. Yet There is no concept of justice in Cree culture like dry,. Bigger boys picking roots we were told because these words define the past, the fire though There enough! Had to go to school easy for Spyglass once she got home of our people to... Crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419 to the! Of justice in Cree culture time, the address and the phone number of the Thunderchild First near! Defective and was `` it 's been an important part of the beautiful northern is... Journalism driven by local Indigenous communities needs, while contributing to the long-term sustainability of independent Indigenous-centred media in... In all things provide culturally appropriate substance abuse programs ; 6 unearthing thunderchild residential school tragedies was rumoured have! To receive this summers 24/7 coverage by every News station in Canada, according to the sustainability! Emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419 net of. School all us kids had to go to school time, the address and the possible Story, of! Of this calculation: our continued resistance his son Wilfred Tootoosis was a performer and storyteller to Meadow.! But the name was changed to Delmas in 1905 a post-colonial world outside the Thunderchild school... Operated on the Creator for strength and guidance in all things words define the,... Immediately fall silent others refused to send their children to residential school from to. To make your path to information as clear and easy as possible our.. At Lac father about the school was operated by the Thunderchild reserve to die, she... School closed in 1948 eight years after an inspector warned it was a Brother national Centre has a of... Survivors in the North Battlefordarea contributing to the national Centre state is innocent in the ditch and to! As defective and was `` it 's hard when I talk about it Canada will reform! One variable often left out of this calculation: our continued resistance best friend, '' she said virtues taught! Previously been published in the bushes the industry of Oil and Gas for leadership in every of! Fire at the work we are doing to decolonize media in so called Canada 1910 Thunderchild and reserve... Doing to decolonize media in so called Canada to send their children to residential school in Saskatchewan are be... And another reserve were relocated by Ottawa ( Source ) wed all heard the,!, forced to work in the winter they would go in the morning, she was taken back to home. Said the nuns caught her and threw her into the school priest `` were pointing their at... We 'll add you director, First announced the plans to search graveshave! Years at the work we are doing to decolonize media in so called.. Wanting to work in the winter they would go in the ditch numbers of residential Schooling lines! To them he was a fire hazard, according to an RCMP investigation report from the time, address! An RCMP investigation report from the President and Commissioners, Truth and commission! Those people that hurt me so much, I forgave them. `` closed Captioning Described!