From 1963 to 1973, Paul Dixon was forcibly sent to residential schools. Even after the last residential schools closed, he writes Cree families are still shy to hug each other. He wonders if intergenerational trauma is a lasting curse.
Every fall, children were abducted from small, scattered hunting
villages or reserves. The mob — an Indian agent, RCMP, priest and a nun —
arrived, picking up Cree kids. After some shoving, shouting, dogs
barking and crying parents holding on to their children, police pulled
out their guns. They threatened our parents and grandparents with jail
time if they didn’t let us go. Some went to jail.
Parents could
only watch as kids were wrestled onto buses, trains or planes. Family
visits ceased. Couples hid from each other to cry.
I was six when I
was sent to the Mohawk Institute Residential School run by Anglican
priests in Brantford, Ont. Later I would move to the La Tuque
Residential School in Quebec.
FIRST PERSON | I spent 10 years in residential schools. This is what I want my grandchildren to know | CBC News: From 1963 to 1973, Paul Dixon was forcibly sent to residential schools. Even after the last residential schools closed, he writes Cree families are still shy to hug each other. He wonders if intergenerational trauma is a lasting curse. Every fall, children were abducted from small, scattered hunting
villages or reserves. The mob — an Indian agent, RCMP, priest and a nun —
arrived, picking up Cree kids. After some shoving, shouting, dogs
barking and crying parents holding on to their children, police pulled
out their guns. They threatened our parents and grandparents with jail
time if they didn’t let us go. Some went to jail.Parents could
only watch as kids were wrestled onto buses, trains or planes. Family
visits ceased. Couples hid from each other to cry.I was six when I
was sent to the Mohawk Institute Residential School run by Anglican
priests in Brantford, Ont. Later I would move to the La Tuque
Residential School in Quebec.Read More