a class action trial filed by survivors of Ile-a-la-Crosse school against the governments of Saskatchewan and Canada.
The Ile-a-la-Croce Survivors Committee says those governments “violated their statutory/constitutional, fiduciary, and common law duties to all Ile-a-la-Croce School survivors and their immediate family members”. Is.”
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The Ile-à-la-Croce School operated in Canada from the 1820s until the mid-1970s before burning down.
The committee noted that the students of that school were excluded from the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement because the school was not considered Indian. Residential school,
It added that they were also excluded from all other settlements.
The committee noted that the students at Ile-à-la-Cros were forbidden from practicing their traditional cultural practices.
It states that Ile-a-la-Cros is a Métis community that was predominantly Cree-mischiff-speaking, with many children from neighboring Dene communities being sent to school.
Six survivors of the school and generation after survivor are seeking compensation from the government for the damages and abuse they say were experienced at the school.
He said the lawsuit was filed last month after several years of unsuccessful attempts to negotiate fair compensation.
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Plaintiff and survivor Louis Gardiner said, “I hope that by bringing this lawsuit forward, the survivors of Ile-a-la-Cros will finally receive the justice we deserve and our truth heard.”
“We have lost our language, our culture and our identity at school. We deserve justice and recognition for moving forward.”
Gardiner said he was five years old when he attended the school, noting that many survivors never got the chance to tell their stories.
They said that they were separated on the basis of gender and that boys could not speak to their sisters.
Gardiner said that they were not allowed to use their names, but were given a number to which they had to respond.
“And if you didn’t, they called it the strap, was the weapon. The strap – I’m sure a lot of you’ve seen it – it did a lot of damage. And if you tried to back off, it was an extra There’s two (smack).
He said that he was one of the few survivors who had fled the school, noting that search parties were sent in search of him.
Everyone is tired, and the survivors are, Gardiner said, adding that the file has been with him since 2005.
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“We stand ready for dialogue and invite the Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan to work with the survivors and their families,” said Ile-a-la-Cros Mayor Duane Favell.
“The survivors and their families deserve recognition, justice and compensation. Survivors are dying and we are losing time. The time to act is now.”
Favell said the Métis people were part of the residential school system and dealt with the same abuse.
“All we want is to be respected, appreciated as Métis people, and get the recognition we deserve.”
Favell said he commends First Nations and Inuit groups for getting the settlements and some of their people locked up, adding that they are trying to get there.
“Metis was a part of that systematic process, we still don’t have closure,” Favell said.
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You can see the effects of these schools in northern Saskatchewan today, said Michelle LeClair, vice president of Métis Nation-Saskatchewan.
“We have many intergenerational children who have been affected, and you look at our communities in northwest Saskatchewan and you see the damage. You see the suicides, you see the drug and alcohol abuse, you see beautiful communities. But loss of language, loss of culture, mourning for the land. This was the result of this residential school.”
Leclair said that these things have not been accepted.
He said many survivors have died expecting acknowledgment and compensation.
He said he hears a lot of agreement from the provincial and federal levels, but said nothing gets done until these issues are taken to court.
“Communities need to be compensated.”
Global News has reached out to the governments of Saskatchewan and Canada for response.
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