Reminder From a Survivor

One of the difficult things about doing research is that you often come across great material that doesn’t always make it into the final paper. This is a quote I thought was worth sharing, whether or not it makes it into the research paper:

“As Survivors, we ride waves of vulnerability for a lifetime and for generations. We were subjected to real risk factors including hunger, loneliness, ridicule, physical and sexual abuse, untimely and unseemly death. As we struggle to throw off the shackles of colonization we lean heavily toward healing and resilience becomes our best friend.”[1]

Most people know that residential schools were a horrible, abusive experience for many who attended but it usually seems overlooked that the Survivors and the generations that follow them are resilient. This quote is a reminder of everything that was endured and also that the Survivors pushed forward.

[1] Madeleine Dion Stout, “A Survivor Reflects on Resilience,” in Speaking My Truth: Reflections on Reconciliation and Residential School, (Ottawa: Aboriginal Healing Foundation, 2012), 49-50.

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