At Ashmont Elementary, it's commonplace for students to speak Cree, take part in ceremony, sing, drum, and listen to traditional teachings. As Alice Quinney spoke to a gymnasium of students on Thursday afternoon, she recalled that when she was a child attending Blue Quills residential school, she wasn't allowed to do any of those things.
Looking into the crowd of young faces, Quinney noted that many of her grandchildren attend school in Ashmont, and they are happy to go to school. But for her, things were different as a child. She was taken away from her family.
“I didn't know how to speak English," she recalls, adding, "(Blue Quills) was a very lonely place.”
When Quinney was just six years old, her mother tried to prepare her before she was taken to Blue Quills. She cut her daughter's hair, knowing it would be cut when she arrived at the school. Still, Quinney recalls the nuns at Blue Quills cut her hair even shorter.
“I didn't understand any of it . . . I cried, and cried, all the time. But it didn't help for me to cry.”
While some of the teachers at Blue Quills were nice, Quinney is happy that her grandchildren can attend a different type of school, one where they can be proud of who they are.
In Grade 10, Quinney attended school in St. Paul, but still didn't feel like she belonged. It wasn't until years later that she would pursue her education further, and eventually become a children's advocate, working out of St. Paul.
She encouraged students to be serious about their education, and that “no matter how hard life gets sometimes, you can do something with your life.”
Also in attendance on Thursday to speak to students was Alsena White. She too is a residential school survivor, and shared her story with students.
“My number was 11,” says White, simply, as she recalled being known by a number, rather than her name. White attended Blue Quills also, first going at the age of five. Despite attending the school, White didn't learn how to read or write.
“I used to fear September,” she says, speaking of her time at Blue Quills. She adds that while she's had a hard time to “forgive and forget,” she teaches her own children and grandchildren the importance of forgiveness.
She also knows how important it is to become educated.
“I encourage every last one of you to keep learning,” said White.
On Sept. 28 and 29, students at Ashmont School celebrated Orange Shirt Day, “honouring and recognizing the indigenous people,” explained school assistant principal Candace Houle. One of the key messages delivered through the day on Thursday was that every child matters, and everyone has talents and gifts to share.
“You are very, very important,” said Houle. She encouraged students to take their education seriously, and reminded them that many of their grandparents had a very different experience growing up.
