​Trigger warning: reference to sexual abuse. Please see below for links to resources.

THE LEGACY OF RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL:
IN HONOUR OF ORANGE SHIRT DAY

September 30, 2020 
Keynote Presentation by Jay Jones
Moderator: Kat Pasquach

 

This selection of films make visible the intergenerational effects of the Residential school system. There is complexity of what has been experienced and carried forward by the families of survivors. For Indigenous people in Canada, institutions were sites of harm and assimilation into the settler colonial state. 

A Common Experience depicts the traumatic apprehension by school officials and the experiences of one survivor from the perspective of her daughter  The title of this film refers to the payment that was given to all living survivors from recognized institutions as acknowledgment of their experience and the impact on their lives. 

In her film SWEAT, filmmaker Kristin Snowbird states, “Many reserves because of residential schools, the religious realms shift back and forth between Catholic and traditional beliefs...Traditional ceremonies were never introduced to me through my family. It was out of my own curiosity that I began to learn about them”. Her story illustrates her resiliency and determination to connect to her traditional culture. 
 

The films Mia' and Roberta diverge from the other films into fiction, however they depict a struggle to conform to society norms. The main character Roberta, a grandmother illustrates complexity in her reason for being. In the film Mia, a street artist, connects to her elder’s stories through blood memory.  The characters in each of the films seem to be sleepwalking through their lives guided by unknown forces. What is made visible are the interiority of each of the characters as they undergo great change.

For those generations impacted by its legacy, how can they trust institutions that have benefited from systems of oppression that are continuing to shape the present?  Justice Murray Sinclair states, “The legacy can be seen in the myths, misunderstandings, and lack of empathy many Canadians openly display about indigenous people, their history, and their place in society”. Barnaby’s film the Etlinisigu'niet (Bleed Down) offers a strong counter narrative of Canada. This is power in filmmaking to redress these myths through storytelling and representation reflective of the filmmakers specific worldview and to build Indigenous framed narratives. 

 

ABOUT JAY JONES

Jay Jones is the proud son of Susie and Vernon Jones, both are Shingwauk Residential school survivors. He considers himself a “1st Generation Out Survivor”, but he is also a 5th generation Indian Residential School survivor. He is the current President of the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association and a proud member of Walpole Island First Nation. He is a designer by trade at General Motors and an advocate of the IRS story and Special Olympic athletes.

ABOUT JULIE TUCKER:

Julie Tucker is a the Director of Public Programs & Advocacy at the Arts Council Windsor & Region  Windsor-based artist, independent curator, and cultural worker. Tucker, earned her BFA from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and MFA from  the University of Windsor. She is Lunaapeewi from the Munsee Delaware First Nation.