you know, it’s such bullshit that people say that residential schools happened so long ago and we should be over it. there are still residential school survivors here. the last school closed the same time i was born. there are still so many people who hold the memories of those who passed within them, those who remember seeing their friends go through the worst with them. all while you can’t see your family, can’t talk the way you’re used to, cant do the practices that could have brought comfort through it all.
then those kids grew up to be very hurt adults, and how on earth are you going to take care of yourself and your kid when all you knew of child-rearing was hurt and hatred? this hurts goes through our blood at this point because of how much of the horror those kids went through and how they had no choice but to carry it with them and it bled into their actions and how they view their self. you’re told your culture, your parents, your language, your blood, its dirty and bad, and that it’ll put you through all kinds of pain because it’s so awful and god hates it and will see you in hell for it. how so many of us hold those beliefs to this day. other indigenous people seeing others homeless or a drug addict or an alcoholic and calling them down even though they were given this pain the moment they were born. how are they supposed to deal with it? they can’t help their self if they think they’re as bad as we had all been taught before
it’s awful. it’s awful to have to realize they now have to identify 215 children who never got to see their family again. who was put through the worst abuse before their death. there’s so many of us who have to realize that 50 years ago, they killed our kids just for being who they are. just 50 years ago. those kids could have been grandparents now. they could have lived to now with their families and community as they shouldve. even now, theres no attention paid to indigenous kids and they end up going missing or committing suicide. this pain is there in our blood and it hurts a lot. so many kids that didnt get to see home ever again. it’s terrible. it’s a horrible thing, and the help given to our community is so piss poor.