Residential school survivors hope report brings healing

After five years and a lot of painful memories for the residential school victims forced to relive past atrocities, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is releasing its report on Tuesday.

The federal government has promised it will honour the report and take action.

While a number of years have passed, the memories are still quite vivid for Regina’s Noel Starblanket, remembering what he and his family endured.

“We were all abused, variously, in that school,” he said.

Starblanket spent 11 years in a residential school.

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“It’s been a long road to healing. For me, I spent 35 years trying to recover.”

Vern Bellegarde spent 12 years at the Lebret Residential School, insisting he was physically, sexually, mentally and spiritually abused.

“I still think about it. Things like that hurt,” he conceded.

Bellegarde said he was always a good student and a good athlete, at one point even playing Junior A hockey for the Melville Millionaires. However, because of these attributes, some teachers viewed him as a favourite, and he believes he was taken advantage of.

Strappings were not uncommon. Bellegarde can remember being hit in the head with a belt buckle and being smacked across the back with a yardstick. He recalls being made to kneel on gravel for three straight hours. Some spiritual ceremonies had to be done in secret or, as his grandfather warned him, they’d go to prison.

Bellegarde admitted he became an alcoholic years later. He never quite knew if the pain he went through as a child directly contributed to his addiction.

Now almost 75, he’s been sober for 35 years. Part of the healing process for him was remembering what his grandfather used to tell him about how there’s no harm in shedding tears because tears can be cleansing.

Getting in touch with his spiritual side helped him deal with his emotions and make peace with past demons.

“Today, I’m able to say I forgive my abusers and mean it.”

Both men hope this report can help shine more light on such a dark spot in Canada’s past. Starblanket thinks the history of relations between aboriginals and non-aboriginals has been largely ignored, but believes this document has the potential to bring more awareness to people across the country.

Teaching across a variety of levels in Regina, from elementary school to post-secondary, Starblanket insisted young minds are hungry for this kind of knowledge. He said students are willing to understand and work towards a better tomorrow.

“I have a lot of hope, a lot of optimism for our younger generation,” he said.

“We cannot undo the past, but we can certainly make a better future for our people,” said Bellegarde.