Residential Schools: The Stolen Years
Reviewed by Richard Van Camp, Instructor and First Nations Resource Member

Residential Schools: The Stolen Years should be in every library, high school, college, university and government centre across Canada. Twenty-six contributors grace this collection describing the impact residential schools had and continue to have on First Nations people. Narratives are told through poetry, an interview, reports, creative non-fiction, and personal essays, while Sarain Stump’s artwork complements the writing in this collection perfectly.

Flying Eagle Woman sets the tone of this profound anthology with a short story about her 12-year-old brother, Charlie Wants, who froze to death while trying to escape the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School in Ontario. Charlie died trying to walk the 700 miles that would take him home in the middle of winter, a trip that had involved a bush plane, a train, and several vehicles.

This is an excellent resource for students at the basic literacy level because the stories are short and told with everyday language and in several genres. On the other hand, due to the volatile nature of the subject matter, instructors should preview this book before offering it to students.

One of our students, Shirley Brown, who read this collection, wrote the following book report about Residential Schools: The Stolen Years.

“Residential schools are of the past, yet they still exist here today in the hearts and souls and the spirits of all who were placed in the residential schools. Reading Residential Schools: The Stolen Years gave me some understanding of what my parents and others went through. I was able to gather an understanding as to why some First Nations people are silent; they are just learning to speak out. When reading the book, Residential Schools: The Stolen Years, it became clear that First Nations dignity, pride, culture, language, and parenting skills were taken away from us; moreover, residential schools took away both their childhood and their opportunity to show love in a family environment. This book was very interesting to me. The poems are so straightforward yet very raw and emotional.”