Tony Stevenson has a goal to travel across Canada to tell the story of what happened in residential schools, and to help everyone understand the intergenerational trauma this has caused.
He also believes that by educating both sides we can spark a light to understand the past and work toward a better shared future.
The Wheatland Library partnered with Stevenson to hold presentations at Warman and Waldheim last week. Stevenson is scheduled to speak in Martensville on Monday, September 27 at the North Ridge Centennial Community Centre.
Part of the presentation included a showing of the film We Were Children which showed the impact of the residential system of the 1940s and 1950s conveyed through the eyes of two children as they suffered and/or saw the physical, sexual and emotional abuse suffered by those attending the boarding schools. At school they were not known by their names but were instead given numbers, 99 and 118.
The film was interspered with clips from the now-elders, Lyna and Glen, as they shared what happened and the effect that had on them into their adult lives.
Stevenson shared that although the residential schools of the 1980s when he attended were run by their own people, those in charge continued to run the schools with the same methodology as when the schools were first started.
Stevenson attended Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School at Lebret from 1979-1991. The memories and abuse that he experienced had a negative impact on what he did with his life. As a very talented hockey player he was widely recruited by a number of junior hockey teams but wasn’t comfortable pursuing that. As he went on his own he didn’t complete his legal education. Much of that was caused by repressed memories and not knowing how to deal with them.
Although not completing his law degree, his education made him more than capable of acting as an agent and representative for the survivors. during the Independent Assessment Process (IAP) hearings that allowed survivors to make claims for abuses and wrongful acts suffered at Indian Residential Schools.
Also, since it had been something he experienced himself, the elders he worked with felt more comfortable in sharing their stories, creating a springboard in their healing journeys. The painful truth of what was experienced is still being felt today across communities.
Stevenson stated for good things to happen you need to plant the seed. It is at the grassroots level that real change can occur if both sides work to understand one another. For non-indigeneous people it can be as simple as taking time to talk to an indigeneous person. By creating communication it can make them feel important and spark a sense of hope as you learn and know their story.
This event gave attendees much to reflect on as we look to September 30 and the Orange Shirt Day:Every Child Matters and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a federal statutory holiday which gives the public a chance to recognize and commemorate the intergenerational harm that residential schools have caused to Indigenous families and communities, and to honour those who have been affected by this injustice.(McGillUniversity)