Karen Wildcat spent three years at Erminskin Residential School. She said she didn’t know it was a bad experience until hearing other experiences Truth and Reconciliation Commission Incident in Edmonton.
“There were people telling their stories and all brought candles for not celebrating birthdays. I was triggered by this. ,
The wildcat wondered how she was taken away from her family, even though they were nearby – in some cases in the same building.
“My two younger brothers were on the other side of the sleeping area of the residential school… it was divided into two parts. I never realized… they were there, and we were like a hallway away. ,
“It was one of my main triggers and my main treatment that I needed to do… was just that family life being robbed of me,” Wildcat said.
Wildcat struggled for years, and about 30 years ago she turned to the Catholic Church to help work toward healing.
“I didn’t allow the producer to come into my life until I was 29. I was angry with him since childhood.”
“I gave myself a choice, either I become an alcoholic or I follow you, because I had two daughters to think about,” she said.
The Pope’s visit is stirring up a lot of emotion. With the expected apology from Pope Francis for the role of the Church in Residential schoolThis is another step forward for the wildcat.
“It’s a really big deal for our kids and grandchildren — we don’t want them to carry that anger.”
“This is a time of healing and reconciliation. We have an opportunity to be open to this right now and start that healing journey if you haven’t already,” Wildcat said.
15,000 people are expected to attend maskavasis 25 July for the Pope’s visit. To help survivors who are struggling from day one, support workers are holding a listening circle for survivors to share. Members of the local Catholic Church are also invited to listen.
On the day the Pope is in the community, 150 support workers will be on site to assist anyone who is struggling.
“We are treating this as a triggering event. We don’t always know how people will react and feelings can be strong, and we want to support them in as respectful a way as possible,” said Payyasu Vutuni, Maskavasis Consulting and Support Services.
“Just being attentive to people’s needs and if they need mental health support or emotional support we will provide that.”
Bruce Catknife is a day school survivor. He remembers that the children were punished severely.
“We were in grade one, and it was called baby class and I wondered for years why they called it that way,” Cutknife said.
“There I realized it was because the kids were always crying in class.”
“It was cruel… to be slapped in the face, pulled by the hair, poked or beaten,” said Cutknife.
He remembers a girl being beaten up with a yard stick. She said that the teacher broke the stick in half while hitting her, and took both halves of the yard stick and continued to beat her.
“The idea that the church has beaten you somehow unless you are Christian and civilized, you are less than human.”
Catknife isn’t planning on going to the Pope, but he hopes the apology is sincere.
“Hopefully it’s honest and it’s heartfelt. That means coming in and issuing an apology because that’s what they want for so many of our people because of the damage they’ve done,” Cutknife said.
“What matters is what happens after this apology and how the reconciliation will continue.”
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