My Gratitude to the People from a Residential School Survivor

By Doug George-Kanentiio.

I was pleased to see the displays of support for the missing Native children across Canada, the victims of the residential school era. Now that 215 of these children have been located at the former Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia, I am hopeful the grounds of the Mohawk Institute, the notorious ‘mushhole’, will also be examined by professional forensic investigators to see if the stories told by the former residents will be verified.

That there were missing children at that place is certain but what happened to them remains a mystery which may be solved, in some instances, by a formal inquiry. I was at the Institute from January 1967 to my expulsion, along with the other troublemaking St. Regis Boys, in June 1968. My 18 months was enough to leave its scars.

For those who are wondering, it was called the mushhole because of the watery gruel we were fed each morning along with burnt white toast and oleomargarine-a weird thing served in small tablets which we hurled to the ceiling-those tabs would stick like glue and remain there, painted over many times, for decades. Our diet was worse than what was served in jails. I challenge anyone to eat what we did for a week by which time they would understand the daily hunger each one of us endured.

I am glad the organizers of the event in Cornwall had my brother Dean (also a survivor along with my brother Dennis and three dozen other Akwesasronon) address the people. It is vital our testimonies be heard. As we told David Zimmer, the former Indigenous Affairs minister of Ontario “nothing for us without us”.

I have asked the Akwesasne Mohawk Board of Education to have members of the survivors speak to the students beginning with the middle school group and into adult education. With the younger ones our testimony would be sensitive as to their age, but they have questions and need to know directly from us. We are waiting for a response.

I have also asked the GC of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Abram Benedict, to take direct action by having his research staff make it a priority to interview, record and preserve the memories of the survivors as we are now in our 6th decade. We also need a formal letter of explanation as to the part the St. Regis Band Council and the St. Regis Tribal Council played in the removal of the children. We need the remains of those who died at those places of abuse to be found and returned to the community.

Then there are those Mohawk children who made it through those institutions and were then lost to us. Who are they? How many? Where are they now? We need to have them with us if true healing is to take place; their families need to be made whole with appropriate compensation as we know those kidnappings could not have taken place without compliance at the local level.

I suggest that the two elected councils set aside a place for the survivors where they may live their remaining years in peace. For the MCA the Dundee funds could be used to buy Hopkins Point and offer the houses there to the survivors; to turn that area into a retreat. It is a place of beauty and would be a powerful indicator of the commitment the Council has to those whose lives were forever damaged at the residential schools.

People are considering a march through Akwesasne to mark this sad era in our history-I suggest carrying headstone signs marking each of the children who died or disappeared at the residential schools and placing them where they would be most visible-at the bridge in Kawehno:ke and the bridge across the St. Regis River.

More graves will be found, there will be additional acts of remorse and it is right that we now are confronted with this terrible event, but we need more than words. Please extend to the survivors the dignity and respect and ask them-us-what would you have us do?