Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters

Orange Shirt Day on September 30th is an important occasion to honour the more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children who attended Indian residential schools in Canada between the late 1800s and 1996, and to recognize the legacy of this system.

Below, we’ve highlighted materials from Koerner Library’s collections written by Indigenous authors that reflect on the impacts of the Indian Residential School system in Canada. You can request these items through UBC Library’s Materials Pick Up Service by clicking on the orange “Get It” button on the right toolbar, or check out e-books and other related resources through the included links.

You can also learn more about Orange Shirt Day events at UBC, as well as activities and learning resources at UBC’s Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre web resource on Orange Shirt Day.

 

The Education of Augie Merasty - A Residential School Memoir - New Edition

The Education of Augie Merasty: A Residential School Memoir by Joseph Auguste Merasty and David Carpenter (e-book version)

The Education of Augie Merasty: A Residential School Memoir by Joseph Auguste Merasty and David Carpenter (physical copy)

Merasty, a survivor of the Indian Residential School system in Canada, recounts the ways these schools did more than attempt to mold children in the ways of white society. They were taught to be ashamed of their native heritage and, as he experienced, often suffered physical and sexual abuse. Even as he looks back on this painful part of his childhood, Merasty’s generous and authentic voice shines through.

 

They Called Me Number One: Survival and Secrets at an Indian Residential School by Bev Sellars

Xat’sull Chief Bev Sellars spent her childhood in a church-run residential school. Beginning at the age of five, Sellars was isolated for two years at Coqualeetza Indian Tuberculosis Hospital in Sardis, British Columbia, nearly six hours’ drive from home. The trauma of these experiences has reverberated throughout her life. In this first full-length memoir to be published out of St. Joseph’s Mission at Williams Lake, BC, Sellars tells of three generations of women who attended the school, interweaving the personal histories of her grandmother and her mother with her own.

 

 

“Speaking My Truth” : Reflections on Reconciliation and Residential Schools selected by Shelagh Rogers, Mike DeGagné, Jonathan Dewar, and Glen Lowry

This collection of stories looks at the history of Residential School and possibilities for reconciliation from the perspective First Nation, Inuit, and Metis peoples. It features first-person accounts from survivors, intergenerational survivors, and seeks to provide students and educators with a resource for generating understanding and much-needed debate around difficult questions of Reconciliation among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada.

 

 

Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age by Darrel J. McLeod (e-book version)

Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age by Darrel J. McLeod (physical copy)

Growing up in the tiny village of Smith, Alberta, Darrel J. McLeod was surrounded by his Cree family’s history. In shifting and unpredictable stories, his mother, Bertha, shared narratives of their culture, their family and the cruelty that she and her sisters endured in residential school.This intimate autobiography reflects on the inter-generational impacts of the residential school system.

 

 

11994903

Indian Horse (a novel) by Richard Wagamese (e-book version)

Indian Horse (a novel) by Richard Wagamese (physical copy)

In this novel by Richard Wagamese (Ojibwe), Saul Indian Horse is in trouble, and there seems to be only one way out. As he journeys his way back through his life as a northern Ojibway, from the horrors of residential school to his triumphs on the hockey rink, he must question everything he knows.

You can also stream the 2018 film adaptation of Wagamese’s book through our Criterion On Demand Streaming Service, or watch a video of Wagamese speaking about the book at an event at UBC in 2013.

 

If you’re interested in learning more about the history and impacts of the Indian Residential School System in Canada, Koerner Library has several physical and electronic books on the topic. You can also consult the Indian Residential School System in Canada research guide created by Xwi7xwa Library for tips on how to find resources in UBC Library’s catalogue and databases, as well as other relevant collections or resources.

a place of mind, The University of British Columbia

Emergency Procedures | Accessibility | Contact UBC  | © Copyright The University of British Columbia