'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
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for "all parties" to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
Taylor Swift drops 15 new songs on double album, 'The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology'
On Friday, the pop star released her 11th album and at 2 a.m. Eastern, she released "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology," featuring 15 additional songs.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.