㽶Ƶֱ

Skip to content

West Coast B.C. chief says shadow of residential schools `gets longer and longer㽶Ƶֱ

Homalco Chief Darren Blaney: 㽶ƵֱBefore (Kamloops) 㽶Ƶֱ nobody took the genocide seriously㽶Ƶֱ
26686087_web1_211001-CPW-LJI-BC-Reconciliation-Day-homalco-orange_1
The t-shirts of attendees at Campbell River㽶Ƶֱs National Day of Truth and Reconciliation ceremony illustrate the continual effect of Canada㽶Ƶֱs residential school system on multiple generations. (Ronan O㽶ƵֱDoherty, Campbell River Mirror)

Editor㽶Ƶֱs note: The story below may trigger difficult or traumatic thoughts and memories. The Indian Residential School Survivors Society㽶Ƶֱs 24-hour crisis line is available at 1-866-925-4419.

By Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative ReporterCANADA㽶ƵֱS NATIONAL OBSERVER

Homalco Chief Darren Blaney has the tragic distinction of being a third-generation residential school survivor.

Like his father, and grandfather before him, Blaney was forced from his home, family, and culture in the small community of Church House in Bute Inlet along B.C.㽶Ƶֱs remote central coast.

㽶ƵֱMy great-grandfather was the first one from Homalco to go to residential school in 1875,㽶Ƶֱ said Blaney.

Blaney㽶Ƶֱs ancestor came home 12 years later, a victim to the cycle of violence, disconnection, and trauma associated with residential schools that would also ensnare his relatives and others of the Homalco Nation (named the 㽶Ƶֱpeople of fast running waters㽶Ƶֱ after the turbulent tides of their inlet).

㽶ƵֱThere㽶Ƶֱs been a lot of destruction from residential schools,㽶Ƶֱ Blaney said. 㽶ƵֱMy dad went, my brother went, and I went.㽶Ƶֱ

When he sees archival photos of Indigenous children in dormitories packed with beds, Blaney recalls the isolation he felt in his early teens during his first year at Sechelt Residential School, and the next five years he spent even farther from home at St. Mary㽶Ƶֱs Residential School in Mission, B.C.

㽶ƵֱIn Sechelt, my bed ended up being by the windows. I remember looking out the window at night time and I could see the lights of Nanaimo across the water,㽶Ƶֱ said Blaney.

But escape to the Vancouver Island city and possibly home was next to impossible because the only way out of Sechelt was by ferry, he said.

㽶ƵֱYou㽶Ƶֱre really homesick in residential school. You count the days before you go home,㽶Ƶֱ Blaney said. 㽶ƵֱAnd when you come back, you count the days since you㽶Ƶֱve been home.

㽶ƵֱIt was just a lonely place.㽶Ƶֱ

The Sechelt facility, also known as St. Augustine㽶Ƶֱs, was established in 1904, run by the Catholic Church, and funded by the federal government. Parents withdrew their children from the school in 1923 to protest the poor education, harsh discipline, and inadequate diet. Although funding at the school did increase, the facility did not ultimately close until 1975.

㽶ƵֱThere㽶Ƶֱs a whole generation of Homalco people (who) didn㽶Ƶֱt come home from that residential school,㽶Ƶֱ Blaney said. 㽶ƵֱThey㽶Ƶֱre buried somewhere in Sechelt.㽶Ƶֱ

Blaney thinks the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a good opportunity to educate Canadians about the harms and pain residential schools caused Indigenous children and communities.

But it was confirmation of 215 children buried at a gravesite at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., in May that sparked a wider consciousness in Canadians about the issue, Blaney said.

There㽶Ƶֱs a better understanding of what happened, he said, adding residential schools didn㽶Ƶֱt only expose children to violence, sexual abuse, malnutrition, and disease, but set out to destroy Indigenous culture and identity.

㽶ƵֱBefore (Kamloops) 㽶Ƶֱ nobody took the genocide seriously,㽶Ƶֱ Blaney said.

But, the new national day of commemoration and findings by the Tk㽶Ƶֱemlups te Secwepemc band, followed by subsequent burial sites confirmed by other First Nations, are only an initial step toward reconciliation, he added.

㽶ƵֱI take a look at all these investments with the orange flags. Those are fine and bring educational attention to residential schools, but it㽶Ƶֱs action that㽶Ƶֱs needed. Nobody in government is dealing with the trauma.㽶Ƶֱ

First Nations governments don㽶Ƶֱt have and are denied the resources they need to establish long-term treatment and healing for members in their communities, he said.

Indigenous groups are always scrabbling to generate revenue, not solely for the sake of economic development, but to help their communities overcome the legacy of the schools, Blaney said.

㽶ƵֱOur economic development will only go as far as our healing,㽶Ƶֱ he said.

㽶ƵֱAs much as we㽶Ƶֱd like to move forward, the instruments of residential schools are still tying us down.㽶Ƶֱ

First Nations leadership is left to struggle to rebuild governance and capacity with little support from governments that have long monopolized the wealth of Indigenous people, he said.

㽶ƵֱResources in our territory have been stripped,㽶Ƶֱ Blaney said, citing forestry as an example, an industry where even now, the province is only offering up a slightly bigger piece of a very small and diminishing pie.

㽶ƵֱAll our opportunities for revenues are gone and poverty is a weapon for the government,㽶Ƶֱ he said. 㽶ƵֱFirst Nations trying to defend their rights in court are easier to defeat if they don㽶Ƶֱt have money.㽶Ƶֱ

Regardless, Indigenous people are overcoming obstacles to provide better lives for their communities, he said.

The Homalco have invested in a number of tourism ventures and a radio station to build capacity and employment.

Funds from the non-profit station will go into cultural programming and healing for the community, especially to ensure youth don㽶Ƶֱt become intergenerational victims, Blaney said.

㽶ƵֱThe shadow of residential schools gets longer and longer, and the potential of our people is lost in alcohol and drugs from trauma,㽶Ƶֱ he said.

㽶ƵֱBut we㽶Ƶֱre working to shield people and give them a better chance,㽶Ƶֱ Blaney added.

㽶ƵֱEverybody wants to be useful, happy and whole.㽶Ƶֱ





(or

㽶Ƶֱ

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }