'It's still a lot of hurting': Survivors of former North Vancouver residential school return to the site
Survivors of a former North Vancouver residential school were among hundreds who gathered at the site for a pilgrimage Friday.
St. Paul’s Indian Residential School ran from 1899 to 1958, on what is now the parking lot of St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School.
For survivor Gloria Guss, her time at the school is still too painful to discuss.
"It's still a lot of hurting, it's kind of hard right now,” Guss said.
Guss and three of her sisters came to honour their father, Ernest “Boydie” Guss.
“He went to the residential school in Mission, him and his brother, until they both ran away,” Guss told CTV News.
For the family full of survivors, it’s been a tough road. Guss said the trauma she and her relatives experienced attending residential schools and day schools impacted future generations. "It was hard on all of our kids and grandkids,” Guss said.
Guss and her sisters then joined the large crowd to walk over eight kilometres to the Tseil-Waututh Nation.
It’s a walk survivor Stan Thomas made every Friday, when students were sent home for the weekend.
"I just remember not learning my language. It being a Roman Catholic school, I knew more Latin than our traditional language,” Thomas said.
His daughter Jennifer Thomas, who’s currently the Chief of the Tseil-Waututh Nation, says her father had never spoken about his time at St Paul’s until last year’s walk.
"Last year was a really good day for him,” she said.
"We don’t pressure him to talk about it with us but it has opened him up – the walk has made him feel supported.”
Her father described seeing so many strangers coming out to support him as “overwhelming.”
While their may be a long road to go on the path to reconciliation and healing, Stan Thomas is encouraged with what he’s seeing.
“I was out at White Spot last night and even the little school kids had orange shirts on early,” he said.
“Even that meant a lot, that they were teaching their young children about residential schools.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
NDP calls out Conservatives for effort to quash pharmacare legislation
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
DEVELOPING Hamas accepts Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar
Hamas said it has accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar which seeks to halt the seven-month war with Israel in Gaza.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic form of late-in-life Alzheimer's disease
For the first time, researchers have identified a genetic form of late-in-life Alzheimer’s disease — in people who inherit two copies of a worrisome gene.
Manitoba Court of Appeal dismisses Peter Nygard's appeal of extradition order
The Manitoba Court of Appeal has dismissed Peter Nygard's application for a judicial review of an order to extradite the former fashion mogul to the United States, where he faces sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
B.C. court date set for 3 accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three suspects accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year are scheduled to appear in court in Surrey on Tuesday.