Patricia Ballantyne says she can no longer stand by quietly and do nothing. (Submitted photo/Patricia Ballantyne)

By Nigel Maxwell

The long road to healing

‘We were herded away like cattle’: Residential school survivor aims to inspire change by walking to Ottawa.

Jun 3, 2021 | 4:00 PM

A woman who spent nearly 10 years at a residential school in Prince Albert will begin a journey stretching three provinces and cover over 2,300 kilometers on Saturday.

Patricia Ballantyne, 47, plans to walk from the old school site in Prince Albert, to the federal parliament building in Ottawa. She told paNOW she was inspired to take action after hearing the recent tragic story from B.C. where the bodies of 215 children were found in an unmarked grave.

“What exactly did they tell the parents when they lost the kids. Were they telling them that they were runaways? I couldn’t imagine what the parents have gone through,” Ballantyne said.

Ballantyne admitted she was not completely surprised when she heard about the finding, adding she always believed there were more bodies to be found. Ballantyne was only four, when she herself was taken from her home at Deschambault Lake and sent to Prince Albert.

“For me it was still like yesterday…them coming to my house and putting me on a bus. I didn’t even know what a bus was at that time,” she said. “We were herded away like cattle.”

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Ballantyne’s residential school story

Ballantyne attended Prince Albert Indian Student Residential School from 1978 to 1987. As her mother had passed, Ballantyne was living with foster parents at the time she was taken. She recalled her foster parents were threatened by the government officials; if they did not let her go, they would take the other siblings as well.

“Being a foster kid, I wasn’t their kid. They felt, to keep their kids safe, they had to send me away which was hard for my mom,” she said.

Ballantyne also recalled the lack of communication between the school and her home, and for the first two years, she was only allowed to go home for two to three weeks at Christmas time.

“When we were able to talk to [our family over he phone] it was only like two minutes and the supervisors were always there standing beside us, watching us, and listening to what we said,” Ballantyne explained.

Ballantyne can also vividly remembers the long trips by bus from Deschambault Lake to Prince Albert, and how with children from Pelican Narrows and Sandy Bay also being transported, space was limited.

“Just imagine all of us kids standing up in a half ton truck. And then there was always two to three trucks picking up kids,” she said.

Ballantyne fought back tears when discussing the various forms of punishment she received at school for simply speaking up in her own language—typically a strap or having her ears pulled. At the age of five, Ballantyne and a few other children tried to run away.

“When we got caught, we got taken back to the residence and we got strapped. We tried to run away and [the supervisor] just kept chasing us and whipping us with her belt,” she said.

Ballantyne explained how every two years, a child would get moved to a new dorm and there was anxiety, wondering how strict or what set of rules the next supervisor may have. When Ballantyne was 10, she was sexually assaulted by one of those same supervisors.

“At that age, I didn’t know what was what and when I think about it today, and all the kids that were younger than I was, and how terrified they would have been,” she said.

In addition to raising awareness about the realities of residential schools, Ballantyne said she also wants to help put a stop to all current provincial programs that, to this day, still take kids away from their families and place them into foster care.

“I just can’t keep quiet anymore. I have to do something,” she said.

Planning for the trip

Ballantyne admitted she has never done anything like this walk before, but hopes, depending on the weather conditions, she can arrive in Ottawa in two months. She also plans to live off the land.

“My plans are to be simple as possible. I’ll have my backpack with maybe change of shoes, some water and some food. I’m not worried about carrying too many things,” she said.

As of Thursday afternoon, Ballantyne was venturing out alone, but was still hoping others will join her when she leaves at 8 a.m. Saturday. Ballantyne has also received support from Prince Albert Grand Council, as well as donations from a number of sponsors to help with costs.

“This is something I want to do to try and heal myself, but I also want to put it out there that I am also walking for other people that lost their family members in residential schools, or were victims themselves of residential schools,” she said.

Anyone can follow Ballantyne’s progress, through her Walk for Sorrow Facebook group.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell