healing – ETEC521: Indigeneity, Technology and Education

Where are the children

Shared Stories is a collection of stories about survivors of the residential schools. Using technology, survivors are able to share and archive their stories. As the number of survivors diminishes, it is important to see and hear their painful stories in order to share a deeper understanding of the trauma that was inflicted on these people, helping to create empathy for them and reconciliation for them.

This site is part of a larger site called Where are the Children? Healing the legacy of residential schools. The site features a virtual journey through the experiences of survivors of the residential schools operated in Canada. It is hope that It is their hope that the website will provide healing and restoration to healthy First Nations communities. The site encourages children to ask their parents and grandparents questions about their families histories. This site is sponsored by The Legacy of Hope Foundation, Aboriginal Health Foundation, and the Library and Archives Canada.

A young student at the Old Anglican Mission School on the Blackfoot Reserve, Alberta, ca. 1900.

Photographer: Glenbow Archives, NC-5-53, Retrieved Nov. 7 from Where are the Children website. http://www.wherearethechildren.ca/en/assimilation.html

Aboriginal Healing Foundation

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) is an Aboriginal managed, non-profit, national corporation based in Ottawa. Funded by a one time government grant of $350 million dollars, their mandate was to encourage and support community based Aboriginal healing initiatives to deal with the legacy of physical and sexual abuse suffered in Canada’s Indian Residential School System and the multigenerational impacts. This organization is necessary due to the institutional abuses suffered which has resulted in lateral violence, suicide, depression, poverty, alcoholism, lack of parenting skills, and difficulty maintaining healthy relationships. They hope that in the future these effects will have been meaningfully resolved and that Aboriginal people can return to healthy lifestyles for themselves and their future generations.