Indian Residential Schools
By Rita Joe (Mi’kmaw elder)
Today on television I heard a discussion
Of residential schools across the country.
I saw a man talking about sex abuse done to him.
He even had a hard time saying it.
I was in one of those schools, my daughter too.
There was physical abuse where I was
Not sex but mind mistreatment.
To me there was one individual who did this.
As always there are certain people who do.
The rest of the nuns were tolerable.
The priest in my time a kind man,
My daughter says she didn’t have it hard.
But again one person did her wrong.
And upon seeing her in later years
This person hugged her and cried.
My daughter knew the forgiving song.
I know for a fact that people who came from schools
Have turned into productive persons.
Even women who had it hard have become nuns.
And men from across the country their dreams realized.
In my case I’ve nobody to blame for being there
I put myself where I would receive training.
The four years have given me strength
My life to this day has gained courage
I know who I am, and my people are the prize.
From For the Children opens in a new tab by Rita Joe, Breton Books
Wreck Cove, Nova Scotia
