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EPL Great Stuff News: Truth and Reconciliation

For over a century, generations of Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their parents and raised in residential schools across Canada. The national Truth and Reconciliation Commission collected official statements by those who have been affected by Indian residential schools and released their final report a year ago. All Canadians are encouraged to learn the dark history of residential schools, to understand their legacy, and to participate in the work of reconciliation. Suggested Grade levels are included for the materials on this list that are suitable for sharing with children.

11 items

  • The Inconvenient Indian

    a Curious Account of Native People in North America

    King, Thomas, 1943-
    While the chapter 'We Are Sorry' is directly relevant to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's work, the residential school system is part of a larger historical narrative, and so the rest of King's warm and witty book is relevant too.
    eBook, 2012Toronto, Ontario : Doubleday Canada, 2012. — Internet Access
  • Muffins for Granny

    Des Muffins Pour Grand-maman

    'They didn't take just one. They took all of us.' In this powerful documentary, survivors of the residential schools talk about their experiences.
    DVD, 2008[Toronto] : Mongrel Media, [2008] — DVD 371.82997 MUF
  • We Were Children

    Nous N'étions Que Des Enfants

    Bear witness to the injustices recorded in this documentary about two survivors, taken from their families at age four and six, to residential schools in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
    DVD, 2012[Montreal] : NFB, [2012] — DVD 371.82997 WE
  • An older sister counsels her 6-year-old brother to remember the good things they are leaving behind while they are enroute to attend a British Columbia residential school, reinforcing the significance of what was lost to thousands of children in…
    Book, 2008Toronto : Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press, [2008] — E CAM
  • A gentle, inspiring, and unsentimental memoir of Loyie's teen years, including his final year at a residential school near Slave Lake, Alberta, and his entry into the workforce when he left school at age 13. See also the prequel: As Long as the…
    Book, 2008Penticton, B.C. : Theytus Books, 2008. — J 928.2 LOY
  • In 1944, 8-year-old Olemaun begged her Inuvialuit family to send her to school so that she could learn to read. Five days journey from her home on Banks Island, nuns at the school in Aklavik renamed her Margaret. Olemaun/Margaret's resourcefulness…
    Book, 2010Toronto : Annick Press, [2010] — J 371.829 POK JOR
  • In order to soften the harsher realities of her experiences, Sterling fictionalized this account of her time as a 12-year-old in a residential school in BC during the 1950s. Grade 5 and up.
    Book, 1992Vancouver : Douglas & McIntyre, [1992] — J STE
  • In this novel that was a Canada Reads contender in 2013, Saul Indian Horse heals his broken spirit by revisiting his traumatic experiences at a residential school in northwestern Ontario.
    eBook, 2012Vancouver : Douglas & McIntyre, 2012. — Internet Access
  • The lives of two long-standing friends revolve around their alcoholism until they finally face their pain and anger from their experiences at a residential school in the NWT. This novel is also notable for its depiction of the profoundly destructive…
    Book, 2002Toronto : Stoddart, 2002. — ALE
  • Broken Circle

    the Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools : a Memoir

    Fontaine, Theodore, 1941-
    Fontaine, a graduate of the Civil Engineering program at NAIT, explores the impact of his psychological, emotional and sexual abuse experienced during his 12 years at a residential school in Manitoba.
    Book, 2010Victoria, B.C. : Heritage House, [2010] — 371.82997 FON