-'It affected the whole community'-
OSOYOOS TIMES-June 18, 2008-
By Andrea FlexhaugrnOsoyoos Times
A local survivor of the infamous government-run residential schools, where many aboriginal students suffered sexual, psychological and cultural abuse for decades, said last week's apology from Prime Minister Stephen Harper felt hollow.
Harper made the apology on behalf of the Canadian government and all Canadians in a televised speech on June 11.
Osoyoos Indian Band member Bernice Falkus lived through eight years in a residential school in the 1950s in Kamloops.
She first went there when she was about eight or nine years old and was only allowed to come home to Oliver to visit with family during the summer months.
It has taken a lot away from me, she said. I still have nightmares once in awhile.rnFalkus said she questioned how genuine Harper's words actually were.
I didn't think it was that sincere, she said.
She added, however that she felt NDP Leader Jack Layton's apology that followed was more sincere than the prime minister's.rnIt was kind of hard to watch, Falkus said about the apology, adding that it stirred up bad memories. To me it didn't mean anything.
In her opinion it was made too late and was an act to save face with the rest of the world.
Other members of the band had mixed reactions to the apology.
I thought it was pretty significant, said band Chief Clarence Louie.
He appreciated the fact that, in addition to Harper, the leaders of all the federal parties in the House of Commons and members of the aboriginal community also had a chance to have their say.
Louie said there were about 40 residential school survivors still living in the Osoyoos Indian Band community and that there's a whole range of feeling amongst them.
The inter-generational effects are still with us today, he said.
Louie watched the apology at the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre with a small group who were visiting with the Governor-General's Tour, a program that takes place every four years where 200 Canadians are chosen to spend a week in different parts of the country and expand their horizons by visiting its local landmarks.
Louie said he appreciated the fact that the visitors stopped their visit of the centre to watch the apology on TV with him and felt that generally the apology would help raise awareness of what residential school survivors went through.
He added that apologies are only as meaningful as the actions that follow.rnCharlotte Sanders, the centre's manager, was one local band member who watched the televised apology.
I don't know if it was necessarily a long time coming, but I just thought it was a really good idea that that would come from the government, she said. To me it appeared that the government apology was very sincere.
I think that it means a lot, especially to those that did go to residential school, she added. And even though some had good experiences, it seemed to me by what I heard from the broadcast that so many just had bad experiences.
Especially the taking away of families from homes.rnBand elder Modesta Betterton said that she thought Harper's apology was good and that he seemed sincere.
Although Betterton did not personally attend a residential school, she noted that their existence still affected her and other band members.
When you throw a pebble in the water it has a ripple effect, she said. It affected the whole community as a whole.rnAlthough she appreciated the speech being made, Betterton said that it opened a lot of wounds, the speech and the memories.
She said she felt that you can't undo what has been done already.rn[email protected]
