Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsI already knew that Canada's residential school was terrible; that children had been beaten
Reviewed in Canada on July 24, 2015
Before I read this book, I already knew that Canada's residential school was terrible; that children had been beaten, molested, denied medical care, and were not allowed to speak their own languages or practise their own traditions. Reading this book taught me even more about the evils of the school system - rotten food and the associated food poisoning, sleeping quarters not heated in the depths of Canadian winters, rampant lice, etc. The book goes on to talk about the psychological effects of surviving this kind of torture - high rates of depression, substance abuse, suicide. It seems to me that when Native groups protest this treatment, the media often portrays the pain and anger without delving into WHY it's there - the result being that I've actually heard people ask before, "Why are Natives so angry?" If anyone has ever had this question - READ THIS BOOK. You'll be angry too by the end of it. Our country systematically oppressed an entire group of people and much of the atrocities were still occuring even through the 1960s. My only wish is that the author had expanded a little more on the healing process for her.
