We’re the students of the Gr 11/12 Social Justice class at Xet’olacw Community School in Mount Currie, and we’re writing about Orange Shirt Day and Truth and Reconciliation Day. Not everyone knows, but residential schools were not actual schools. These institutions were designed to “kill the Indian in the child,” to take away our culture and make us more like the sama7s. Many children were taken away from their families and put in homes that were far away. This destruction of culture and identity has had a huge impact on the present. Many of us have relatives who are survivors of residential schools. These survivors have PTSD and their intergenerational trauma has caused addictions and other mental illnesses.
Looking forward, we want more of our culture brought back. We want to learn more about our cultural practices like name giving ceremonies and traditional gatherings. We want to be immersed more in our language so that it stays alive. Shama7s need more education and awareness of the impact of residential schools, because there still are some people who don’t know or don’t believe what happened. We need to get more of our land back. Some burial grounds and sacred sites are being used for skiing and biking, though they should not be touched.
More education, awareness and real action are the bare minimum response given what our people have gone through.
Kùkwstum̀ckacw,
Xet’olacw Gr 11/12 Social Justice class
This letter was written together by the Gr 11/12 Social Justice class at Xet’olacw Community School in Mount Currie. The students wrote notes in small groups, which were then discussed/shared and combined into one letter on a Smartboard, with students giving feedback and creating the final product together.
