Finding My Talk

This book is the last that I was able to borrow from the Saskatoon library. It is a fabulous book that recounts the stories of individual women who were able to effect change in different areas while overcoming the trauma they suffered in residential schools.

The introduction to this book was written by Marlene Starr. She states that "I did my time for seven years, and there were significant lessons I learned in that institution. I learned how to be silent and how to be obedient to authority. I learned that being "Indian" is to be inferior. I also learned how to read and write" (Grant, 2004). This statement shows how limited to academic education was in residential schools and how assimilation policies were clearly placed at the forefront. When this fact is taken into consideration, it is astonishing how much these fourteen women were able to achieve in their lifetimes when they were indoctrinated of their inferiority and the fact that they should remain silent. It reminds me how strong First Nations women truly are and how they continue to triumph over the great odds that are placed before them.

These fourteen women, whether they had semi-positive experiences in residential schools or horrible ones, were able to use the education they were given in order to create change in the very institutions that suppressed them in their childhood. Many of these women have written of their experiences and their healing journeys in order to inspire those who follow their example. They created system to support the survival of their languages and cultures for future students and young women. They made sure that there would be a space in the future to speak about their experiences in the schools they were forced into.

This book is a wonderful example of how strong First Nations culture remains in Canada, in spite of efforts to make it otherwise. It shows the strength of women, despite the most trying of circumstances. It gives hope for the future, despite the horrific past of the individuals and the communities that were effected by government policies and European attitudes.

There is a quote from the forward that most fully describes these incredibly strong women who have triumphed over the circumstances that they were forced into. "There is a fierce undercurrent of determination: Never again will people from outside the culture determine how First Nations children will be educated. Never again will people from outside the culture be given an opportunity to destroy what the people themselves value" (Grant, 2004). Never again. Because there are strong women who will stand in the way and stop the past from repeating itself. Women who will protect their culture that was once decimated by European values. Women who will take back their rightful place of honor and respect in their communities and in Canadian society. Women who will not be stopped by racism, sexism or discrimination. Never underestimate the women.

References
Grant, A. (Ed.). (2005). Finding my talk: How fourteen native women reclaimed their lives after residential school. Canada: Fifth House.