Documentary about Sask. residential school fire premieres at First Peoples' Festival in Montreal
A documentary that tells the story of a fire that destroyed a Saskatchewan residential school is premiering at the Montreal First Peoples Festival this week.
“Ashes and Embers” tells the story of the fire in January 1948 that burned down Delmas Indian Residential School. Witnesses say a group of boys who attended the school deliberately burnt it down, but warned students and relatives ahead of time.
“I was always interested in the fire of Delmas because my deceased father, he was present that night, along with most of the people of this generation from our community in Poundmaker (First Nation),” said producer and writer of the film Floyd Favel.
“We pass by that town every time we go to North Battleford so it’s always been there and last year I thought I’d like to interview people, the last remaining survivors of the fire in 1948.”
(Courtesy Miyawata Culture Inc.)(Courtesy Miyawata Culture Inc.)
Floyd says the school was built by Father Delmas, a priest from France, who wanted a French Catholic community in the area.
He says the main reason the boys wanted to burn the school down, according to oral stories, was because they “had enough” of the treatment at the school.
“It was known for lack of food, abuse of the students and that’s why many students were running away. They would always get caught so it had resembled almost like a prison, some of the former students had said,” Floyd told CTV News.
The identities of the boys who burned down the school have remained anonymous as to prevent repercussions, many are also already dead.
Favel says he’s honoured his film is being featured at the First Peoples Festival and happy fragments of the story are living on.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.