84-year-old survivor of Kamloops residential school: 'There was rumours of a graveyard'

>>> EMMA BAKER JOINS ME ON THE PHONE FROM STELLAR BRITISH COLUMBIA. SHE ATTENDED THE KAMLOOPS RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL FROM GRADE NINE TO 12. THANK YOU FOR GIVING US YOUR TIME. >>> WELCOME. >>> WHAT IS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU HEARD OF THE DISCOVERY? >> IT MADE ME VERY EMOTIONAL AND I CRIED A LOT ALL DAY YESTERDAY. >> Angie: I CAN ONLY IMAGINE. WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAD HEARD RUMOURS ABOUT THIS MASS GRAVE WHEN YOU WERE A STUDENT THERE? >> YEAH. I WAS A STUDENT THERE. WE DIDN'T REACT TOO MUCH WITH THE LOWER GRADES. WE WERE IN GRADE, WE ALL LIVED IN THE SAME BUILDING AND THERE WAS RUMOURS OF A GRAVEYARD BUT NOBODY SEEMED TO KNOW WHO IT WAS AND WE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IF IT WAS TRUE. AND THERE WAS A BIG ORCHARD THERE AND WE USED TO MAKE UP STORIES ABOUT THE GRAVEYARD BEING IN THE ORCHARD. >> Angie: WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE LIKE AT THE SCHOOL? >> IT WAS GOOD AND NOT GOOD, BUT IT WAS TOLERABLE, YOU KNOW, BUT BEING LOCKED UP WAS LIKE BEING IN JAIL. WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO GO ANYWHERE AND IF OUR FAMILY WANTED TO VISIT THEY COULD DO THAT ONCE A WEEK. IT WAS THE SAME AT THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL WHERE I STARTED, LIKE, I ATTENDED KAMLOOPS HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE WE WERE ONLY ALLOWED TO ATTEND HIGH SCHOOL IN OUR OWN SCHOOLS, LIKE, THE WHITE SCHOOLS DIDN'T WANT US. >> Angie: WHAT DID YOU WANT, WE'VE HEARD APOLOGIES AND STATEMENTS AND SO MANY THINGS HERE, BUT WHAT DO YOU NEED NOW? WHAT DO MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY NEED BEYOND AN APOLOGY? >> APOLOGY DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING TO ME, PERSONALLY. AND WHAT I WANT THE PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THIS WENT ON. IT WAS ALL HUSH-HUSH BY THE PRIESTS AND THE NUNS AND I WANT THE WHOLE WORLD TO KNOW WHAT WE WENT THROUGH AT KAMLOOPS AND IT WAS LIKE THIS IN ALL THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS NOT JUST IN KAMLOOPS. AND I JUST WANT THE WHOLE WORLD TO KNOW WHAT WENT ON. WHAT HAPPENED TO US. LIKE, WE WERE FORCED TO -- IT WASN'T A CHOICE. IN HIGH SCHOOL IT WAS A CHOICE BECAUSE WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO GO TO THE WHITE SCHOOLS BUT IN THE LOWER GRADES THEY LOCKED US AWAY AS SOON AS WE WERE SIX-YEARS OLD AND THAT'S BAD. >> Angie: EMMA, THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME YOUR TIME AND YOUR VOICE. THIS SHOULD VERIFY HAVE HAPPENED, WE KNOW IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED AND YOUR VOICE WILL BE HEARD ACROSS THE COUNTRY. EMMA BAKER, 84-YEARS OLD JOINING ME ON THE PHONE FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA. EMMA ATTEND T

Channel: CTV News

Views: 138,470

Keywords: CTV, News, CTV News, Residential schools, residential schools Canada, Canada news, Canada, indigenous history, indigenous racism, indigenous rights, british Columbia news, Kamloops news, residential school system, residential school history, catholic church, Justin Trudeau, Marc Miller, Carolyn Bennett, racism in Canada, Canada racism, Canada history, colonialism Canada, Canada colonialism

Id: RqaDpjYLch8

Length: 4min 39sec (279 seconds)

Published: Mon May 31 2021