Conference inspires hope

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The conference sponsored by the Indian Residential School Survivors Society titled Survival and Beyond: Hope, Help & Healing Gathering, brought survivors and their families, along with church and government representatives together on the beautiful University of British Columbia campus last month. From July 4 to 7, participants and had the chance to network and move forward in their healing journey.

Christine Buckley, a survivor of 18 years in the "horrendous" Golden Bridge Industrial School in Ireland, now helps other survivors. She talked about the Irish government's 1999 apology, its institution of nationwide counselling, and its measures to financially compensate those affected by the church-run regime.

The Squamish Valley Elders' Group, formed in 1995, held a workshop to give their perspective on healing. It was clear their work is year-round, involving being available for Squamish Valley Education Department programs such as sharing and healing circles with students, participation in ceremonies and dedications, Big House longhouse teachings, and much more. About half the conference was given over to workshops, although there were plenty of other activities of a less serious nature, such as the Healing Through Laughter comedic entertainment evening.

Theatre in the Raw put on an excellent two-act play called Medicine, by LaVerne Adams. It put a real face on a typical girls' residential school experience in the 1950s.

The general public was invited to a daily free lecture series in the student union building, which explained how residential schools came into being, their effect on present-day Indian people, and healing modalities being taken up by survivors now. Information sessions for frontline workers, healing project planners and community leaders were an important part of the conference. The Ktunaxa-Kinbasket All Nations Healing Program addressed the process of family reconstruction. Therapeutic Re-enactment showed how adult survivors can get through traumatic events. Healing the Hurt and Shame of the Intergenerational Impacts of Residential Schools was another session put on by Four Worlds International Institute.

A highlight of the information sessions was a Special Session with Jane Middelton-Moz, a clinical psychologist with more than 35 years treating mental health and substance abuse problems. She talked about generational trauma, the forms of oppression that have been visited on residential school survivors, and methods to turn that around. She also delivered an inspiring plenary session on living in balance.

An Artist Marketplace ran for the duration of the conference.