A Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearing is getting underway on the Buffalo River Dene Nation today.
Over the next two days, survivors will get the chance to tell their stories about what happened to them during their time at residential schools.
A residential school survivor says sticking up for a fellow student put her in a world of hurt.
Celine Catarat testified earlier today about her time at the schools in Beauval and Lebret.
She said, during her time at Beauval, she took pity on a fellow classmate who was the target of abuse by supervisors.
However, Catarat says, by standing up for the girl, she herself became targeted:
“I stood up for her, because I didn’t like what was happening to her. And for that, the sister treated me mean the whole year through.”
Catarat recalls later having to hitchhike home from Lebret for Christmas because the school wouldn’t give her a ride.
Buffalo River Chief Debbie Billette says her own father went to a residential school when he was five years old, but never knew how long he had actually been there until he got the paperwork as an adult:
“So, he lived there 10 years — and the impacts, we’ve seen it. As a family, we’ve seen it. It’s still there — the impacts, the intergenerational.”
She adds the next two days will be tough as survivors re-live their days at the residences.
Health workers from the Meadow Lake Tribal Council are on hand to assist those students giving testimony.
The TRC hearings on the reserve conclude tomorrow.