I wanted to share the whole article since I had to access it through the EZproxy login it will be difficult to provide a working link. The Tobique First Nation took an interesting step in honouring the Tobique survivors of the residential school system. They made and unveiled an 8 foot tall public monument to commemorate the perilous journey of abduction, bondage and abandonment encountered by every student.
“So hear me brothers and sister, be not afraid to speak. They tried to keep us silent, they thought that we were weak.”
A 2003 poem composed by the late Wendell Perley is engraved in the back the of the new Tobique First Nation monument unveiled Saturday, honouring the Tobique survivors of the residential school system.
The notorious residential school system was set up to take First Nations children far away from their homes and force them to give up their language and culture.
On Saturday Tobique First Nation residents and their guests unveiled a monument to honour those who suffered and endured abuse at the residential schools. The new eight-foot high monument is located on the school grounds.
Residential school survivor and Tobique Coun. Wayne Nicholas told the crowd that the resilient Atlantic Salmon was a suitable symbol for the new monument.
“This monument commemorates the perilous journey of abduction, bondage and abandonment encountered by every student,” he said. “Our relatives, the Atlantic salmon, are an appropriate symbol of Indian residential schools.”
He said salmon encounter many dangers when they are young and finally make the difficult journey home.
Wendall Nicholas was MC for the event that took place in a large tent set up between the Health Centre and Mah-Sos School.
Tobique Elder Edward Perley spoke a prayer in Maliseet to open the ceremony as people sat at tables. As the speakers addressed the audience, volunteer servers brought dinner from the nearby school cafeteria.
Laurie Nicholas sang the opening song and Tobique First Nation Chief Brenda Perley welcomed everyone to the solemn ceremony of dedication.
“As community leaders we were humbled and honoured when we learned of your experiences at the Shubenacadie Residential School,” she said. “We truly respect your strength and determination to make Negootkuk strong.”
She paid tribute to the late Wendell Perley, a Tobique Elder who died last summer. He had made great efforts to work with residential school survivors who, like himself, had seen the experience damage his life and relationships.
The chief then asked the 15 or so survivors to stand so that she and band council members could go and embrace them.
Other guest speakers were MP Mike Allen, MLA Wes McLean, Barb Martin of the Mi’kmaq Maliseet Healing Centre, Health Centre director Roxanne Sappier, William Nevin, Chief of the White Eagle Sundance, (New Brunswick), Mike Torch, a survivor clinician, and a Shubenacadie survivor Wayne Nicholas.
“One can only imagine the strength of character for the survivors to go through what they did and come back and continue to tell their stories,” said Allen.
“The monument to be unveiled will be a testament to what happened during a sad and tragic chapter in our history,” said McLean. “We can learn the lessons of history to make sure that such a thing never happens again.”
Martin, who has been working on a project for several years to help the survivors, said that she had recently attended two similar ceremonies on June 11 and June 21.
Speaking to the survivors, she said: “It’s hard to be honoured, right? But we need to honour you; we need to say thank you for surviving and thank you for being here with us today. As part of your healing, we’re healing ourselves.”
She went on to say that Wendell Perley, as well as his family, had been important as things led up to the July 13 ceremony. His mother, Henrietta, had supported him, as did his brothers Gib, Leon, and Bernie. Bernie had been the main designer of the monument about to be unveiled. Martin also gave kudos to Gary Sappier, Allan Tremblay and the company Outreach Productions, which made a DVD about the residential schools.
Roxanne Sappier said she had spent a lot of time thinking about what the residential school survivors endured.
“Many of you are husbands, wives, grandmothers, grandfathers, mums and dads, but look how far you have come,” she said. “The resilience that you all possess and the hope and love that you give to us all – you’ve paved the way for our healing and wellness for our families and our community.”
William Nevin, Chief of the White Eagle Sundance, spoke of the “collateral damage” residential schools wrought.
“On Wednesday, I took a day off and I went to the residential school site,” he said. “I took pictures and picked up some earth and asked it to give back the spirit of our old ways.”
He said that the schools had taken away the ability of parents to hug their children and tell them they loved them because they were not there.
“That is collateral damage,” Nevin said. “I took the bowl of earth to the Sundancers and had them pray on i t… I brought the residential school to you – that earth. Your missing childhood and adulthood, I give it back to you.”
He asked survivor and Coun. Vaughn Nicholas to come up and receive some of that earth, along with other survivors.
LaFrance, R. (2013, Jul 17). Residential school survivors honoured12. The Victoria Star. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/1400382536?accountid=14656
