Monday, Sept. 30, is National Truth & Reconciliation Day – a day dedicated to recognizing and honouring the survivors of residential schools, their families and communities.
It’s a day that hits home for Springhill’s Carol Ann Knockwood as it brings back memories of how tough it was growing up as an Mi’kmaw child in Springhill and the five terrible years she spent at a residential school.
“They were the five most terrible years of my life,” Knockwood said during a talking circle the Municipality of Cumberland hosted for its staff to start the commemoration of National Truth and Reconciliation Day. “It got easier as you got older. The first few years were terrible because you didn’t know what you were doing wrong. It was a very difficult place.”
Knockwood was joined by her daughter, Michelle Parsons; Tammy Drew-House of Indigenous Affairs and Gerald Gloade of the Mikmawey Debert Cultural Centre in sharing the healing circle with several municipal representatives.
With her daughter holding her hand, Knockwood fought off tears as she told how parents told their children not to play with the “dirty Indian” when she was growing up Springhill.
She wants people to know that what happened at the residential schools was real because she experienced it.
Municipality of Cumberland Deputy Mayor Rod Gilroy signs a proclamation for National Truth and Reconciliation Day with (back, from left) Bill Green, Carol Ann Knockwood, Michelle Parsons, community engagement coordinator Stephanie Keilhack, Tammy Drew-House and George Drew. Darrell Cole – Municipality of Cumberland photo
“What went on at the residential schools was not a figment of our imagination, it actually happened,” she said. “When they found the bodies at the residential schools I had a heart attack because I thought it could’ve been me, or some of my classmates. How many of them never got to do what I did and return home?”
She recounted one time a nun, Sister Roberta, kept sending her to wash her neck to the point the skin became raw from the friction. The nun then flippantly said, it must be the colour of her skin. The nun would grab students by their cheek and shake them violently the angrier she got.
She said students were expected to eat everything on their plates and if they threw up, they had to eat it too.
It was so dehumanizing that students were called by their number instead of their name.
“My first number was 138,” she said. “It was on everything. Your clothes, your facecloth, everything. Sometimes they’d forget your name, but they knew your number and it was dehumanizing.”
Harder was being separated from her older brother, Bernie.
She compared living at the residential school to be like living in jail and when she finished the school she had to learn how to live on the outside.
“Coming out of residential school you don’t know anything about society. It was like being in jail. You had to learn how to dress properly, how to talk to people. You had to rehome yourself,” she said. “I learned how to do that and my foster mother was so good to me.”
She eventually made her way back to Springhill to live with her mother and said it was very difficult living in the community because everything thought she belonged in Indian Hill, which is now part of Springhill Junction. Despite the racism, she found friends who stuck up for her and she would graduate high school, thanks to the principal who wouldn’t give up on her, and eventually go on to law school and have a successful career working for Indigenous rights.
Her story is like those of thousands of Canadians, who spent years at residential schools.
A talking circle was part of the Municipality of Cumberland’s observance of National Truth & Reconciliation Day. Darrell Cole – Municipality of Cumberland
The province recognizes Monday, Sept.30, as Truth and Reconciliation Day – a day Also known as Orange Shirt Day, people can wear orange in support of the message that every child matters.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities.
Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
Tuesday, Oct. 1, is Treaty Day – a day to celebrate the significance of the treaty relationship and to recognize the important contributions of the Mi’kmaq to Nova Scotia. It kicks off Mi’kmaw History Month, which provides an opportunity for all Nova Scotians to learn about and celebrate the Mi’kmaq and their culture, heritage and language.
“I encourage all residents of the Municipality of Cumberland to take the opportunity to learn about our Mi’kmaw history and to reflect on what happened at these residential schools that are a difficult part of our history,” Municipality of Cumberland Mayor Murray Scott said.
“Each and every one of us are treaty people. It’s important that we recognize the contributions of the Mi’kmaq to our communities and province.”
The theme of Mi’kmaw History Month this year is food and its significance in Mi’kmaw culture.
Michelle Parsons (left) looks on while her mother, Carol Ann Knockwood, recounts her experiences at a residential school. Darrell Cole – Municipality of Cumberland