I am an Indigenous man. On my mother’s side, my ancestors have lived for thousands of years in and around Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba in what is now Treaty 1 territory.

This song is the story of the first mother and son who were separated by these schools and how the schools changed us forever.

CBM’s former publication, Enterprise Magazine, began to address this issue over 30 years ago.

Widen your horizons, listen to songs, and read stories from Indigenous contexts.

When I was a young boy, my grandfather, father and I travelled some distance from our home community to go fishing at a spot known only to my grandfather.

The year was 1939. The place, Vancouver. The occasion, England’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Canada. A year earlier, the Lion’s Gate Bridge, joining Stanley Park to West Vancouver, had opened. The King and Queen and their entourage were to drive over the bridge to “honour it.”

Read the TRC’s report to understand the devastating consequences of the IRS and the recommended Calls to Action.

I was eight or nine years old the day I just came out and asked my dad if there was something wrong with Indians. He stopped what he was doing, looked at me for a few seconds and then said, “Now why on earth would you ask that question?”

It’s time to face the harsh reality. Canada has a racism problem as great as our neighbour to the south.

The great aim of our legislation has been to do away with the tribal system and assimilate the Indian people in all respects with the other inhabitants of the Dominion as speedily as they are fit to change.