Warning: Some may find details in this story disturbing.
During a tour of the site of a former residential school in British Columbia, now used as a kindergarten and office space for his nation, the survivor found a prison cell with a small bed and toilet.
Leader Ralph Leon Jr. of Sts’ailes First Nation told APTN reporters that he was forcibly taken from his community to India’s St. Mary’s Residential School when he was 10 years old.
During the tour, APTN and Leon reporters discovered the prison cell overlooking a playground. He said he did not know he was there before.
“I knew about certain places,” Leon said. “But they didn’t let us in there and we didn’t know.”
APTN has not been able to confirm whether the cell is from the residential school era, but other survivors from across Canada say they remember prison cells at other residential schools.
St. Mary’s was first founded as a boarding school in 1863, but then reopened as a resident school in 1882. It was officially closed in 1984.
During the tour of the site, Leon said some parts of the school have particularly horrific memories.
“This little room you didn’t want to be in,” Leon told one of the rooms at the former residential school. “The things I have witnessed in this room are devastating to every human being. All the abuses have taken place in this room.”
Prior to this APTN tour, Leon had not returned to St. Petersburg. Mary’s from her days there.
“I did not come back here because of what is still in my mind that I have witnessed here: mental violence, physical violence, sexual violence, verbal violence,” Leon said. “So no amount of money, no counselor could take that out of my mind.”
The investigations of St. Mary’s led to the conviction of a former school employee in 2004 on 12 counts of indecent assault and sentenced to three years in prison.
Leon and several members of his family participated in the indigenous delegation that traveled from Canada to Rome last month to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
On April 1, the pope issued an official apology on behalf of the Catholic Church for its role in school abuse and reiterated plans to visit Canada.
Leon said the apology helped him and his wife on their healing journey.
“The spirit of our ancestors is with us and that’s why it’s emotional,” Leon said.
If you are a former survivor of a housing school in distress or have been affected by the housing school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour crisis line of Indian housing schools: 1-866-925-4419
Additional mental health support and indigenous resources are available here.
Add Comment