A message for Inuit residential school survivors

From Survivors Tasiuqtiit

OTTAWA — This is an important time for the Inuit survivors of residential schools, especially for those who resided at Turquetil Hall and for those who attended Sir Joseph Bernier Federal Day School in Chesterfield Inlet during the period of 1950 to 1970.

We have been through so much since we were first taken from our loved ones and from those who would have protected us against the abuse we experienced at the hands of the residential school authorities. The guardians of the residential schools who were supposed to look after us did more than what they were supposed to do — they took a part of our childhood and our innocence for their own intentions, which deeply affected our life.

Now is the time for us to take back our lives by forming a group to formally complete the process of healing. Within each region and the communities, we need to organize — something that is hard to do considering the nature of the issues and due to the distances made more complex by the lack of resources. However, we have survived one of the worst kinds of treatment that can befall upon children. We have succeeded against the conditionings and now we are coming out with our experiences of what happened at the residential schools. Despite the odds against us, we are succeeding and we can achieve more by working together. We were abused in isolation as children; we need to get rid of that isolation which was imposed upon us; we need to do things together. We need to achieve justice by working together.

Specific mandate required

Our disclosures of what happened at the residential school are an important part of our healing process. In order to complete the overall healing process, some of us, if not all of us need to seek justice through compensation. Moreover, to have representatives in the discussion with the authorities, it would be better if we select those who will represent us rather than have volunteers speak for us as we are doing presently.

As volunteers, we can only do so much and cannot speak for all survivors and former students unless we get permission and direction. The process of healing and pursuit for remedy is slowed down by the fact that we presently do not have direction and permission from those that are going to be affected in the healing projects and remedy. To get clear direction and permission, we need to get together and formulate plans for specific actions.

Thus a group — an action or working group of former students and supporters — should be established. To form an action group that is representative of the survivors, we need to determine who will represent the former students in the discussions toward remedy and justice. For it to operate and function effectively, the action group would require resources. This group of individuals — elected by the former students and survivors — would have the responsibility of seeking resources and utilizing those resources on behalf of the students and survivors in the discussions on justice with the authorities, both the religious denominations and the governments.

Organizing an action group

The formulation of the group can occur at a gathering, such as a reunion or healing project workshop. Another way to formulate the group is through community elections in which the studens elect an individual from the community in question.

For the election of the residential school representatives to proceed to completion, a central site for processing the results from the different communities is needed. At this time, a couple of locations for central processing the elections are considered: IqaIuit, Igloolik, Rankin Inlet and Ottawa. Ottawa is considered because most of the volunteer work by a couple of former students and survivors living in the city; these former students are willing to volunteer time to the election. Iqaluit, Igloolik and Rankin Inlet are considered due to the numbers of former students residing in those communities who are willing to oversee the elections.

We need your input. We need your involvement. We need to work together in order to complete our healing journey. It is hard to work alone on those issues. They are too much for us to deal with alone. With each other we can do a lot and achieve things that we cannot do alone. Let us work together. By doing so we will produce wonderful memories for our future — of how we overcame assimilation policies and residential school abuse. Tavvauvusi tamasi.

With respect to all the matters of elections, selecting a central location for processing the elections and providing considerations for objectives and direction, you can contact the following:

Richard Immaroitok
1-140 Tabor Ave.
Vanier, ON
K1L 7J2
Tele:1-613-745.1324
Fax:1-613-745.1324

Simeonie Kunnuk
510-170 Laurier Ave. West
Ottawa, ON
K1P 5V5
Tele:1-613-238-8181
Fax:1-613-234-1991
E-mail: skunnuk@tapirisat.ca.

Marius Tungilik
P.O Box 227
Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
X0E 0G0
Tele: 867-645-2562