A group of residential school survivors are gathering for three days at what is now Poundmaker’s’ Lodge outside of Edmonton to heal and receive closure from their time spent there in younger years.
The first event for survivors in 2021, and this three-day event is a continuation of that, with survivors who weren’t able to make it in the past now receiving some closure, said Siobhan Dreeland, community engagement officer at Poundmaker’s Lodge.
At the first event, there was discussion with survivors on what the next steps would be, she said, as they do have known graves at their site. It’s very important, she said, that the process remains interactive and all perspectives are included.
“It’s their stories, it’s not my story. I’m just here to help the story be told and I’m here to continue to tell their story. I think it’s important for them to be here to know we do care, we believe you, and we want to make sure everyone in Canada understands their history and it continues to be learnt.”
A group of field archaeologists from the University of Alberta also took part in the event, hearing stories from survivors and reviewing the land together. The team is there surveying the land, using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology, which will help them discover whether or not there are unmarked graves underground.
William Wadsworth, PhD candidate leading the field team said he’s been working on archaeological sites of residential schools since 2018 and it’s emotional work.
“It doesn’t get easier. It’s hard every time. It’s draining. I just hope that whatever we’re doing it helps and that it brings some sort of comfort to the people who are the most effected.”
This is Phase 1 of the project and will take six months to go through the information and deliver a report of their findings. They will then sit with the survivors and decide what they want to do with the information – whether it will be shared publicly or added to archives.
“We’re really working on drafting the history to make sure we have a really great report to share with the community,” Dreeland added.
The purpose is to protect the area and then commemorate it.
While it’s heartbreaking to hear some the survivors’ stories, Dreeland said it’s also empowering.
“It helps me do the work that I do, I really want to continue telling their stories. But, also, it helps support that healing process, because that’s something they want is the future generations to be able to move on past this, restore their culture and … carry it with pride.”
Raymond Jones spent six years at the residential school. His little brother was there with him, but was having a hard time, so they went home for two years. The school then stopped providing transportation from their village to the school, so Jones found his way back when he was 14-years-old.
“They told me I had three other choices: Go to Alberni Residential School … The other option was to come back here. The worst option was drop out of school, and there was no way my parents would let me do that. So, I came back here.”
He said being back in the place where he spent his high school years, and eventually graduated from, brings back both good and bad memories. Before COVID, a group of survivors went back to the land and had a traditional ceremony conducted so they could take back their spirits from the land.
“We stood where the school was here,” Jones said motioning to the space around him. “We hollered out our native name or Chief name, then our English name, then said in our language ‘take back our spirit,’” he said, chanting the phrase in his native language.
“It means freedom. It means freedom in your mind, in your body, your spiritual side – taking your spirit back,” Jones explained. “The bad memories of what you have going to school here is what disappears.”
Gatherings, like the one today, offers survivors the opportunity to speak and share their stories. Others, he said, hold it in, never sharing their experience with anyone.
As for the archaeological findings, Jones said it will offer a piece of mind for the families of those who died on the land.
“There’s a finality to it, that’s the important thing.”
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