Warning: The details in this story may be triggering. Supports are available at the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) at 1-800-721-0066.
Community members in Revelstoke gathered to listen to a sharing by Terry Coyote Aleck and Jann Derrick, during an Okanagan College event on Sept. 16.
A survivor of the St. George's residential school in Lytton, Aleck took the Canadian Government to court in 1988. This was the same time that Derrick was employed as a family therapist for Tl'kemtsin, Lytton First Nations and working with Aleck.
Aleck opened the event by asking attendees to introduce themselves by sharing where theysa国际传媒檙e from and their family background. Sharing a story of heritage was important to Aleck as he sang a family song, while drumming.
sa国际传媒淵our family is standing with us on this journey,sa国际传媒� said Aleck.
September, known for harvests and the ending of summer, can also be a difficult time for residential school survivors, as fall marks the beginning of the school year in Canada, and this was the time of year survivors like Aleck needed to return to class.
Aleck shared his story of being taken from his family who lived outside of Lytton to St. Georgesa国际传媒檚 residential school.
He shared stories of growing up with his cousins, playing on haystacks, and how his extended family took care of one another.
sa国际传媒淚t was a fun time as a young one running on the farm,sa国际传媒� said Aleck.
Unfortunately, the fun times on the farm with Alecksa国际传媒檚 family were ripped away from him when a blue station wagon pulled up onto his family's driveway. Alecksa国际传媒檚 first thought was that it was the RCMP.
Alecksa国际传媒檚 grandmother told him and other children to hide in the woodshed.
sa国际传媒淭hat blue station wagon, itsa国际传媒檚 just a funny feeling that as a kid you get that theresa国际传媒檚 something going on here that doesnsa国际传媒檛 feel right.sa国际传媒�
That feeling was correct. The family was told that all school-aged children needed to go to class and that if they did not go, the parents would be sent to jail. Alecksa国际传媒檚 mother would gather him and his brothers and tell them that they were going away for a little while.
sa国际传媒淪he helped us pack our suitcases and we jumped into the blue station wagon, and on the side of it, it said Saint Georgesa国际传媒檚 Indian Residential School. Thatsa国际传媒檚 implanted in my brain and in my spirit, not realizing what we were heading into,sa国际传媒� said Aleck.
Aleck shared the traumatic happenings he and fellow survivors endured at the sa国际传媒榮choolsa国际传媒� such as having their heads shaved upon arrival, and not being allowed to wave to cousins during dinner.
sa国际传媒淎nd if we did, they had yardsticks or leather,sa国际传媒� said Aleck.
As for the meals, Aleck recounted how the food was like jail food, a far cry from the home-cooked meals he remembered.
sa国际传媒淭he soups were like dishwater soups,sa国际传媒� he said. Aleck remembered a time when there were maggots floating in his soup.
Aleck also recounted the wrath and punishment given to those who spoke in their languages, and the confusion of boys and girls not being allowed to play together.
When summer came, Aleck got to go home and reconnect with his family. Reflecting on this period, Aleck explained that he and his friends would play during the summer and never spoke about school.
sa国际传媒淭hat was the weirdest part about this whole journey, that our people didnsa国际传媒檛 talk about that system until years later,sa国际传媒� said Aleck.
It would also take Aleck and his fellow survivors many more years to talk about the abuse that they experienced at the hands of those who worked at the school. Aleck recounted being groomed and abused by a teacher who was also abusing one of his siblings.
sa国际传媒淚 didnsa国际传媒檛 realize my sibling was being abused because my body was absorbing all that,sa国际传媒� said Aleck.
When he was 12 years old, Aleck moved to Seattle with his siblings, his father and stepmother. Although he was able to find solace in the school choir, and later football, Aleck still experienced abuse when the same person who had abused him at the residential school visited him in Seattle. As well, his father struggled with alcohol, and Aleck received the brunt of abuse that came with drunken outbursts.
Aleck too turned to the bottle to deal with all the trauma he endured. He recalled an incident in December of 1986 that ultimately led him to the path of sobriety. Aleck was in Boothroyd Indian Band where he was working with the band and fell off the wagon after a night of partying. Aleck found himself asking the Creator to give him a sign. Five minutes later, someone who had a key to the apartment he was renting came in and poured out the alcohol as per Alecksa国际传媒檚 request.
After that, Aleck sought out help from the Alcohol and Drug counsel and entered a detox program. During his treatment, Aleck was gifted a marble to mark his sobriety. Aleck displayed that marble that he wore on a chain, still sober, 37 years later.
When Aleck returned to Lytton in 1985, he was introduced to therapist Jann Dannick to help him continue his healing. Dannick was contracted by Health Canada to help the community struggling with mental health issues, but was told not to get involved with sexual abuse issues because it was a sa国际传媒減assing fad,sa国际传媒� and was paid as a dentist since Health Canada did not have allocated funds for counselling at the time.
Aleck was the first person to come to Dannick to talk about sexual abuse. Prior to Aleck sharing his story with Dannick, she was alerted to the community effort in Ashcroft, to help survivors of Robert Noyessa国际传媒� abuse, and that in those investigations, another individual's name continued to come up, and that there was a possible connection to Lytton and the residential school.
Noyes was a teacher in Ashcroft, when he was convicted in 1986 of sexual and indecent assault involving 19 victims, aged 6 to 15. He was designated a dangerous offender shortly afterward.
Dannick continued to work with the RCMP and the community to uncover more stories of survival and gather evidence, but the Anglican Church which ran St. Georgesa国际传媒檚 Residential School was not in favour of this work.
Dannick received a call from the areasa国际传媒檚 Anglican Bishop who said, sa国际传媒淢ake the community stop this.sa国际传媒�
However, that didnsa国际传媒檛 stop Dannick or Aleck. The two would bring forward a civil suit against the Anglican Church and the Canadian Government for its hand in sexual abuse at St. Georgesa国际传媒檚 Residential School.
Ultimately, in 2001, Aleck and his fellow complainants were successful in their case as the Canadian Government and the Anglican Church were ordered to pay damages.
When the sharing ended with questions, Dannick reported to the audience that Aleck's abuser was was found guilty of sexual abuse.
According to the Supreme Court of B.C. Derek Clarke was found guilty of sexual assault in 1988 and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was a dormitory supervisor between 1964 and 1974 at the school run by the Anglican church..
True to his gentle and kind nature, Aleck offered warms of comfort and a smudging ceremony to the attendees to help them process what they had heard.
