Description

For generations and generations

In the late 1800’s the Canadian government decreed that all Canadian Aboriginal children should be assimilated into white society. Children were taken away from their homes, families and communities to attend schools far away. Generations of families attended the schools managed by Christian churches.

Residential schools operated until 1996 when the last one was closed, just as survivors started sharing their stories.

The Government of Canada offered a public apology to Aboriginal people on June 11, 2008. The same year, the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation commission was formed to bear witness to the stories of residential school survivors and to support their healing.

This book and the enclosed video documentary are some of the stories of our Poplar River Elders who attended residential schools in Manitoba, Canada.

We thank our Elders for their courage and wisdom.