Mayor Duane Favel, Jim Durocher, and Minister Carolyn Bennett at the meeting. Photo by Chelsea Laskowski
Humiliation at the hands of nuns and the deaths of children are just some of the stories shared at a gathering of hundreds of people with Minister Carolyn Bennett in Ile-a-la-Crosse.
The Thursday gathering was emotional for those who chose to relay their experience at the Ile-a-la-Crosse Boarding School, which started operation in the 1860s.
The school was run by the Roman Catholic Church, and because it was run by the church and not the government, students were denied standing during the residential school settlement process. They have never received compensation for their experience at the school.
The dialogue session was a promise made by Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett during talks with Metis leaders after the La Loche shootings.
Tears were shed as people like Angus Gardiner relayed their experience at the school in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.
For Gardiner, losing his ability to say “I love you” because of how he was treated while at school was only part of the trauma he experienced.
His brother Frank died there in 1958, and “it was out of neglect,” Gardiner told the crowd. Many wiped away tears silently.
Another man shared the story of how nuns would inspect the boys’ underwear. If there was a stain, the boy would be forced to hold the pair of underwear to his face for half an hour. He told the story in a lighthearted way and, while people laughed, there was a somber and similar understanding between those who attended the school. Others joked about how they would be punished for farting or forced to recite words in Latin in order to get food. The children were known by numbers, not names, while students.
Across the board, the stories that were most emotional were of the way the survivors’ parents were coerced into sending their kids to school. The kids had come from surrounding communities like Jans Bay. In one case, parents were told to sign a form by a priest who was accompanied by Mounties whose pistols were visible, one man said.
Gardiner said speaking openly about his past was a way of healing and knowing that he was not alone.
Anger and addictions are among the issues survivors say they struggle with today.
Bennett points out that all the stories, which were littered with cruelty, show a lack of love and resulted largely in a loss of identity.
Bennett is taking it all in while she prepares a plan to reconcile the past with the future of these students.
She has agreed to a six-month period to sit at the table and determine what the feds can offer in terms of healing.
Many survivors have said they want compensation while others say they want health initiatives.