Stories to be gathered from Metis

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An initiative that will focus on the residential school experiences of Metis people was launched on May 22.

Co-ordinated by the Metis Nation of Alberta, in partnership with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, the initiative is a three-year project that will see Metis residential school survivors and their families publish their experiences in a book called Metis Memories of Residential Schools.

Thousands of Aboriginal children were part of the residential school system for more than 100 years, and about 20 per cent were Metis. Carol Carifelle-Brzezicki, along with researcher/writer Donald Avirom, will spend the next three years gathering the stories using a variety of tools. In year two, personal interviews with the survivors will be collected.

"I think that our people have suffered in silence for many, many years," said Carifelle-Brzezicki . "Only recently have people recognized that there were Metis children in the residential schools."

Carifelle-Brzezicki said Metis people do not have the same support in place as other Aboriginal people have.

"That means that if you are a status person you can receive support from the federal government, but if you are a Metis person, therapy is something you have to pay for. That means if you have to choose between paying rent or food or therapy, most of our people wouldn't even consider it an option," she said.

Carifelle-Brzezicki's goal is to provide a safe environment for the Metis people to share their experiences.

"A lot of the Metis people will tell you how they were treated in the residential schools. They were not treated the same as other Aboriginal students because there was no money for the Metis students. They did not get any financial support."

Despite it all, said Carifelle-Brzezicki, Metis people have survived and survived well.

"This book's intent will be to capture their experiences and to leave the reader hopeful that despite the realties of residential school, there is hope for the survivors and for future generations," she said.