Healing and progress: B.C. descendant of residential school survivors works toward change
The trauma of living in a residential school didn’t disappear when the schools closed, nor did it die with the students that once walked the halls. It’s carried from generation to generation.
Diana Day is the lead matriarch of the Pacific Association of First Nations Women in Vancouver. She’s also a descendant of residential school survivors from Ontario.
“My mother and her mother went to the Mohawk Institute, it was known by our people as the Mush Hole,” Day told CTV News in an interview, adding her great-grandfather and aunt also went there. She says there are stories of her aunt running away a number of times.
Day relocated to Vancouver in the early 80s. Her mother died in 2004.
“Hunger was a big thing for her and they went to bed without food many times, they were starving basically,” Day said. “I remember her always, as an adult, eating before bedtime and making sure her belly was full before she went to bed because she never had that as a child.”
Day describes herself as an “intergenerational survivor,” carrying the trauma passed down through her family. She is also concerned about the impacts of the Kamloops discovery on those who went through the residential school system.
“I’m really concerned about the survivors that are out there that are hearing all of this that are experiencing trauma once again, retraumatised,” she said.
Day is working toward healing and progress. In her role, she’s an advocate for Indigenous rights and is constantly pushing for more resources that offer support and healing. In particular, she wants to build a Healing Centre.
“I’d like to create a house of healing, a house of healing for Indigenous women that’s based on our culture and tradition and it provides all the supports they need to be successful in this community,” Day said, adding “we need funding, we need support.”
Day’s organization is also running education programs around racism, one called Champions Against Racism.
“We’re creating some dialogue between First Nations people, within First Nations groups to learn about discrimination and racism. We know what it feels like, but how do we handle it,” Day said. “I’m really interested in growing an army of champions against racism who can stand with us.”
When it comes to the Kamloops discovery, Day hopes it will be an opportunity for Canadians to be more educated about the country’s history.
“I hope that Canadians will learn from this and they will reach out to indigenous people, First Nations people, their local people and to let them know that they’ve heard. They might not understand but they want to learn more of why it’s happened and to stop it and to help advocate for the resources that we need to ensure that our people have all of the supports they need.”
To learn more about the Pacific Association of First Nations Women, click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
The UN warns Sudan's warring parties that Darfur risks starvation and death if aid isn't allowed in
The United Nations food agency warned Sudan's warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don't allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.