Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

The following passages are excerpts from two residential school stories that were shared on National Aboriginal Day, Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at St. Knox Church in Cornwall, Ontario. The Cornwall Interfaith Partnership with help from their Indigenous Representative Beverly Pyke sponsored the programming titled, “A Residential School Story.” The local Cornwall community as well as some Akwesasronon were in attendance.

Read by Beverly Pyke:

Akwesasne Mohawks Expelled from the Mush Hole and Other Bad Memories

By Doug George-Kanentiio

“I was a student at the Mohawk Institute (a.k.a. the “Mush Hole” for its unique brand of watery porridge) in Brantford, Ontario from January, 1967 to June, 1968 when I, along with a large group of Akwesasne Mohawks, were informed we would no longer be welcome at one of Canada’s most notorious residential schools...

We refused to become silent, passive victims of a system which used brutal physical force to enforce its rules, regulations designed to break our spirits and instill fear in each one of us. Add to this was the prison diet, strict regimentation of our time and the obliteration of our identities as Natives. The consequences were children hostile to the world and prone to personal and communal acts of extreme violence...

Together, the Algonquin-Akwesasne Mohawk gang brought a lot of trouble to the Institute’s administrators, “housefathers” and teachers...

Their logic was that by beating children into submission the use of violence would be exorcised from our behaviour.

The harsh truth was that the beatings led to a lessening of empathy towards those who were victims because the expression of sympathy led to more cruelty, more strappings.

...But our fighting, arguing, thieving and Mohawk arrogance finally exhausted the school’s administrator...

Rocky and Joey were, however, sent back in the fall of 1968. They were lost without their Mohawk friends and decided to hike to Golden Lake, reaching the edges of Toronto. After evading the cops. Joey was struck by an eastbound train in Oakville on September 3 and killed. He was described in the official report as a “trespasser”, not as a brave and hungry Native boy on his way to a distant home.

No one was held responsible for the death of Joseph William Commanda. I don’t know if a ceremony was ever done at the place where he was hit by the train, on the number 3 track in those railyards, I hope his spirit is not confined at the Mush Hole. As one of his many Mohawk friends I feel deep regret that we were not there with him, that he was left vulnerable at a place where we could not protect him. I hope that those who are compiling a list of the Mush Hole victims will not forget Joey, known to us and now to them.

It is Joey Commanda, the human being, a 13 year old Algonquin boy, who needs to be remembered. This is the one death of a Native child that I know of personally which occurred at the Mohawk Institute. There were whispered to be others.”

Read by Brittany:

Author: Brittany- Akwesasne

“In 1942, the Holocaust was organized and executed by Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s most controversial ideologies were what were termed racial hygiene. Joseph, a native boy... was torn from his family around the same time.

Today, he explains how coincidental it was, like something like the holocaust in Poland was happening, while there was residential school abuse practiced in Canada.

In 1928, the Canadian government predicted it would end the “Indian Problem” within two generations with residential schools for Native children. Their assimilation process consisted of physical, sexual and mental abuse. This is a story of one of many students who had attended.”

Provoked by the two stories, individuals in the crowd felt the need to express their grief. In a genuine heartfelt tone one man took to the stage commenting, “I felt so sick listening to these stories. It happened when it happened and how it happened; we can’t listen and forget. We leave this church with heavy hearts, but what have we accomplished? We have become more aware of these atrocities...The thinking was of that time. There was no humanity. Human principles were ignored. So how do we compensate that hurt which the native community is feeling? What, really, can we do?... Is it possible now that we can give them the double treatment? Bring them better opportunities so they can become strong and help their own. They deserve a lot more than we are doing at this moment.”

Joseph’s wife expressed her frustration with the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA). The IRSSA settlement was first announced in 2006, between the government of Canada and approximately 86,000 Native Canadians who were removed from their families as children and placed in the Canadian Indian residential school system during the 20th century.

“We have some Mohawks buried in Spanish, Ontario and we can’t bring them back because it’s a hard battle with the Catholic religion and the government...They could give him millions, but it doesn’t mean a thing...Many have brought a lawsuit, but once people die the lawsuit is tossed out, so families were never compensated for those people. It’s almost like they are waiting for us to die so they can just drop the lawsuit,” expressed Andrea.

Disheartened the family is now looking to their daughter to take over the lawsuit because of Joseph’s health.

Keith Ouellette, a resident of Cornwall also took to the stage to share his personal story. Keith Ouellette had experienced similar abuses from the higher ups within the public system in Cornwall.

“I was punished by the government. I was put in isolation for 8 months with no light, a mattress, a toilet and a basin...I tried to escape at times and punishment was no food, or the food was spiked with LSD.”

Despite the awful abuse and struggles he experienced he found guidance and consul in his mentor Beverly Pyke.

“The retelling of my abuse helps to cleanse me,” said Keith Ouellette as he thanked everyone for listening to his story.

Reverend Donald Wachenshwanz of the Cornwall Interfaith Partnership gave his closing remarks for the evening making reference to the Ohen:ton Kariwatekwen which was said at the start of the event, “Thank you everyone. Ceremonies have power...We can never ever forget these stories...the ceremony brought us together as “one mind” and we honor those who have shared their stories.”