Wawahte
Subject: Canadian Indian Residential Schools
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Watchea (Hello) I am Esther. You are reading Wawahte today because Bob, an old friend, called me on the telephone and said, “Esther, you are a very special person; you and other Indian residential school survivors have a story that needs to be written.” His call was as if the Great Spirit had answered my prayers. I am a very private person. I do not naturally seek recognition or exposure. However, I have worried that soon there would be no one left to tell about how life was for many Aboriginal people living in the boreal forest regions and elsewhere in Canada. I knew that Bob and I would talk and that he would handle my story with honesty and sensitivity.
Wawahte is a non-fiction book. Although this is the story of Bunnie, Stanley and me, it is not unique to the three of us; it was much the same for more than 150,000 Aboriginal children who, between 1883 and 1996, were forced to attend 130 residential schools across Canada.
As a child, my home was Mammamattawa Village, also called English River Village/Indian Reserve. That was until a man came one day and took me, along with other children, to live at Pelican Lake Indian Residential School near Sioux Lookout, Ontario.
As Elders reflecting back on events in our lives, we no longer need to do so in anger. We are eternally grateful that the wrongs of the past have been acknowledged. The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement has blazed a trail for all to make a better future. All three of us in our own way say, “You cannot be wholly angry if you are grateful for the life skills learned, especially now that Aboriginal people and all Canadians have been given the vision to see a morning sunrise that gives the promise of a better day.”
We have done everything possible to tell our stories truthfully. Wawahte is our legacy and our gift to present and future generations to help both young and old to better understand a piece of Canada’s history that will soon be lost from living memory. Love,
Esther
"Wawahte’"Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uH9brg6OJA
"Wawahte” Educated Minute - Radio Feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=648XYDljSj0&feature=youtu.be
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About the Book
Indian Residential School Survivors Society
British Columbia, Canada
For all the people who read this book may they be forever
enlightened. By shining the light on a dark part of our past
we have a chance to create a bright new day for aboriginals
and all Canadians. We will all know what happened and then
come to realize that what happens now and our vision for a
future together is what really counts. Together we will stand
for what is right and the intention of Indian residential schools
and colonization will not happen again!
With Deep Respect,
Chief Robert Joseph,
Executive Director
About the Author
Growing up in the 1940s and ´50s at my family’s fishing lodge in northwestern Ontario was very different from what my life is now. We were isolated, living in roadless Quetico, 104 miles down the railroad track from now Thunder Bay. We did not have the convenience of indoor plumbing, electricity, or stores. There was more work to everyday living. Neighbours were few and far between. As children, we spent much of the time outdoors.
As a child I was not aware of what a special place and Aboriginal friends I had. The trees and water were there to play with or to use for whatever was needed. To think of your backyard as enchanting or special was absurd; it was just there – a part of everyday life. Whatever nature threw at you, you adjusted life to accommodate it. The only times I vividly remember as exciting and looked forward to with anticipation were spring break-up and fall freeze-up. This truly marked the end of one season and the beginning of the next.
As I grew older, I became more and more aware, how much my friends and growing up in the Canadian bush are a part of who I became. I married Inge, who was born in Germany, and we became parents to a blue-eyed blond-haired boy whose out-of-doors play language was Anisinabek. My Aboriginal friends, my life as a fishing and hunting guide, fur trapper, and twenty-eight years as an Ontario Conservation Officer have resulted in my appreciation for nature and an interest in First Nation(s) cultureand their history.
I had a difficult time organizing my thoughts about the story of forced integration, Indian residential schools, and the post-generational impacts. I strongly believe that the pervasive problems of alcoholism, drug use, domestic violence, and high rates of incarceration and suicide are not First Nation problems alone. Those of us who are not personally affected need more than a clip on the evening news that something is not right on some Indian Reserve somewhere back in the bush.
We have become sufficiently mature not to hide from this dark chapter of our colonial history. The time has come to chart a new course. The history of forced integration and residential schools, and the history of Canada’s first people ought to be taught in all Canadian schools.