'Made us believe we didn't have souls': Elder talks about time at Sask. residential school where graves were found
At the start of a virtual news conference joined by media outlets from around the world, elder Florence Sparvier began with a prayer.
When she finished, Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme revealed that as of Wednesday, through the use of ground radar, 751 unmarked graves had been discovered at the site of a former residential school located in the community.
The revelation comes nearly a month after the unmarked graves of 215 children were found at a former residential school in Kamloops.
When Delorme finished his remarks, the focus returned to Sparvier, who attended the Marieval Indian Residential School, not to offer prayer, but to share her story.
"If the parents didn't want to allow their children to go to boarding school, one of them had to go to jail. So in order to keep the family together. We went to boarding school. They brought us there we stayed there," Sparvier said.
"They told us our people, our parents, our grandparents … didn't have a way to be spiritual, because we were all heathens."
The school operated for nearly a century in the community before closing its doors in the late nineties.
"They made us think different. They made us feel different. A lot of pain we see in our people comes from there," Sparvier told reporters.
"They made us believe we didn't have souls," she said.
The elder spoke about the harsh treatment children were subjected to at the school.
"They pounded it into us and really they were very mean when I say pounding, I mean pounding. Those nuns were very mean to us. I don't know, I don't think they liked it being there either."
On another day which likely has stirred up difficult emotions for those with connections to Canada's residential schools, Sparvier closed out her remarks with an offer to help.
"But if you need an elder, you know, people want to come, they can come. I have a lodge, my husband had built me a little (sweat) lodge so that's where I see people," Sparvier said.
"I don't tell anyone who was there, but I'm busy."
If you are a 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
Regina/Treaty Status Indian Services is also openoing a crisis line Wednesday afternoon that can be reached by dialing 306-522-7494
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.