The stern, cavernous building that destroyed the lives of so many children still holds the power to frighten and sadden.But now in a way that promises to broaden young lives, not devour them.
Four Grade 6 and 7 classes from Shuswap Middle School travelled to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School to learn about its horrific past. Three of those young people were Grade 7 students Olivia Leversedge and Megan Doran and Grade 6 student Mitchell Pugh.
They spoke of their experiences.
“It shocked me,” said Megan. “The fact they would take children from their homes and from their parents without their parents’ permission.”
Olivia, who is Métis and was aware of the existence of the schools before her class learned of them, speaks of the horror that befell children from the moment they entered the school.
“As soon as the kids got there, all the people thought they were dirty, so they doused them in kerosene to de-louse them. They also scrubbed them with lime.”
The children were forced to sleep covered in kerosene for a night, adds Megan.
For Mitchell Pugh, his feelings about the class visit were mixed.
“I was happy and not happy at the same time. I was happy so I could see things in the past, what people did to other people. I was not happy because that place was meant for hurting kids.”
The Salmon Arm students explain they were guided through the schools by a First Nations woman in her late thirties whose mom and aunt were both forced to attend the school. It was an emotional journey for her.
Mitchell said she was visibly moved when she explained the older children would try to get across the river to get food for the younger kids, who were slowly starving. The older children would carry large rocks to try to avoid getting swept downstream. On the way back, they would tie the bottoms of their pant legs and put in whatever food they could find. Some died in the process or, if they were caught, they would be severely punished.
Another heart-wrenching account for the students and their guide was that of a little girl who had been told she had to go to the dean’s office, next to a steep set of stairs, to give him a message. However, one of the staff was standing guard there. When the little girl came up, he swung the door hard, hitting the girl, who tumbled down the stairs and later died.
Their guide spoke of her aunt, who is beginning to suffer short-term memory loss. However, she still remembers too vividly the horrors that she and other children experienced, a fact she told their guide recently when a loud noise triggered her.
“She leaned over to her niece – she said she can still hear them screaming,” Megan recounted.
The Kamloops Indian Residential School operated from 1893 to 1978, and the current building was constructed in 1923.
Megan points out the school was run military-style, down to the way the children had to make their beds. And “everything was done in silence, except at night.”
Then, Olivia explains, each child would have to recite part of a prayer.
“It would start at one end (of the room where the children slept) and go in rows and rows. They couldn’t go to sleep until every kid’s was done.”
Along with visiting the school, the Salmon Arm students were prepared by discussing residential schools and reading a book about them. Upon their return they had a visit from Splatsin elder Ethel Thomas, who attended the school.
Although the students agreed parts of their visit were horrifying, they all concurred it was a worthwhile experience – albeit one that is best not provided to classes earlier than Grade 6.
“So people don’t forget the past and just push aside people that went through that,” Mitchell emphasized.
Megan notes the residential schools were not in the long-forgotten past and people should continue to visit and learn.
“I knew it was recent but I didn’t know how recent it actually was until I got there…”
Olivia thinks understanding the past is key.
“I think people should learn from their mistakes and never do it again. Future generations could do that and I just hope they won’t. They should learn from the mistakes.”
