'It's recent': Survivor reflects on last Sask. residential school closing 25 years ago
Warning: Some may find details in this story disturbing.
It’s been 25 years since Saskatchewan’s last residential school closed, but some are still healing.
Muscowequan Indian Residential School opened in 1889. It officially closed on June 30, 1997.
“Twenty-five years ago — it’s recent,” Geraldine Shingoose said.
Shingoose attended the school for nine years, between 1962-1971.
She remembers crying every September having to leave her parents and northern community to go to the government-run school.
“We knew that we wouldn't see them for a long time, and one of the huge impacts on me was the separation from our parents,” Shingoose said.
“They were the ones that were left behind and alone — they didn't have any children to take care of.”
Shingoose said she and her siblings weren’t allowed to go home for holidays and stayed at the school for 10 months of the year.
She said she experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse at Muscowequan Indian Residential School.
“I have hearing loss from the blows and the hits and the punches to the head during school. Just randomly, we would get hit on the head,” Shingoose told CTV News.
Shingoose said she would be punished for speaking her Saulteaux language.
“I don't know my language. I don’t speak my language,” she said.
“When I went there, I only spoke Saulteaux. And when I came out, I only knew English.”
Federation of Sovereign Indian Nations (FSIN) Chief Bobby Cameron said the effects of residential schools follow not only the students but their children and grandchildren.
“There’s a misperception that it happened centuries ago. We’re still dealing with the aftermath and intergenerational trauma. It’s pretty recent,” Chief Cameron said.
“This is something that definitely is not going to be forgotten.”
At least 35 unmarked graves have been found at the Muscowequan Residential School.
The building has been saved from demolition and named a national historic site.
The school is located about 250 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon.
If you are a former residential school survivor in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.