Andrew Woolford - Did You See Us?: Reunion, Remembrance, and Reclamation at an Urban Indian Residential School

Survivors of the Assiniboia Indian Residential School have shared powerful remembrances at our reunions and meetings and through the compilation of our stories in this commemorative book.

It is important to understand the meaning of the word story. In English, a story must be clarified as to whether its fictional or non-fictional. There isnt that distinction in the Anishinaabe language. You speak as if you were holding an eagle feather or had your hand on the Bible. Your word is your word and your story is truth. I would like to acknowledge and attribute this teaching to Roger Roulette, a renowned expert in the Ojibwe language.

Children from more than eighty First Nations and other Indigenous communities attended Assiniboia. The first students came from First Nations in Manitoba. Slowly, students from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec became part of the Assiniboia community. Those who survived genocide and violence while incarcerated in their first Indian residential schools became leaders in the evolution of the Indian residential schools system. Transition to life at Assiniboia brought us into a comfortable and safe urban environment. We are grateful to Reverend Father Omer Robidoux, Assiniboias principal, whose grace and leadership brought us individually and collectively to a better place.

This evolution is a testament to the adaptability of Indian children to survive colonization policies put into practice by governments, churches, and Indian residential school administrators. Yet approximately 60 to 70 percent of the former 600 students of Assiniboia departed this earth early. We miss them, and now, in our private moments, we relive the stories of the joy, love, and friendship we shared with those now departed from our realm.

We remember all of our departed schoolmates, too numerous to list, but never forgotten. We remember the first graduates of Assiniboia, Oliver Nelson and Joe Guy Wood, and the many who followed through different eras, including wonderful singer and performer Percy Tuesday; smooth skater Joe Malcolm; gracious Alma Patrick; the Burns sisters from KeeSee; storyteller Dennis Fontaine and all those from Sagkeeng; the Wood and Harper clans from the Island Lake area; the Nepinaks of Pine Creek; and our friends from Norway House, Gods Lake, Gods River, Cross Lake, Deer Lake, Roseau River, Eagle Lake, Couchiching, Sandy Lake, and many other communities.

Those who are gone have left their presence in our hearts. Their footsteps are indelible impressions in the grassy playing fields and on the wooden floors of our classrooms building. We hold their memories sacred. They are with us when we are on the grounds of Assiniboia, their spirits ever-present in our lives.