Survivors of the Winnipeg boarding school speak to Sweden’s truth commission about their experiences
A survivor from Winnipeg was invited to Sweden to speak to its truth commission, as the country undergoes its own truth and reconciliation process.
Geraldine Shingoose, who attended Muscowequan residential school in Saskatchewan from 1962 to 1971, was invited to Sweden earlier this month to speak to the country’s truth commission, which was first announced in 2019 to expose injustices against the Sami by the Swedish state. .
Shingoose was asked to describe his experience living at a school and with Canada’s path to truth and reconciliation.
“They call it the truth commission,” Shingoose told the CBC. “They left the ‘reconciliation’ out, and I commended them for that, because we cannot have reconciliation until that truth is shared.”
The Sami today live in Sápmi, which stretches from the northern parts of Norway through Sweden and Finland to Russia. They once faced repression of their culture, including bans on the use of their native language.
“Also, the sad thing was that they took their sacred objects and they burned their drums… I could feel that connection to the Sami people when I heard that story,” Shingoose said.
“Here in Canada we were not allowed to participate in our native ceremonies and our sacred objects were stolen and taken.”
In 1977, the Riksdag — Sweden’s Riksdag — recognized the Sami as an indigenous people in Sweden.
Today, the Sami live mostly modern lifestyles but still herd reindeer, and some still wear their traditional bright national costume.
Shingoose said she told the truth commission how the abuse she suffered at school affected her mentally, physically and spiritually. She also described how the schools in Canada were set up to “take the Indian out of the child, out of me.”
“They needed to understand that history,” she said. “My language was taken. I was taken from my family. They were very open to hearing my feedback, and very open to hearing my experience and learning from my experience.”
She also recommended that the Swedish commission be led by Indigenous commissioners, as was the case for Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which looked at the history and legacy of Canada’s residential school system and submitted its final report in 2015.
Dr. Kim Anderson, a Canadian research chair in indigenous relations, agrees that keeping “reconciliation” out of the name of Sweden’s truth commission was a good place to start.
“Here, sometimes people think we jump straight to reconciliation without actually addressing the truth or without people actually knowing the truth,” said Anderson, an associate professor at the University of Guelph.
“Ideally, out of that, then you can start the reconciliation process.”
The beginning of a special relationship
The Sami share similar experiences with indigenous peoples in Canada because of their history of oppression and marginalization, as well as the dispossession of land and culture, Anderson said.
Last summer, she took a group of indigenous and foreign students at a field school to Sweden last summer to engage with the Sami.
The trip was a profound experience for Indigenous students, who were able to recognize pieces of themselves on the other side of the ocean, Anderson told the CBC.
“We could understand what each other was saying,” she said. “We kind of already speak each other’s language, and that’s the language of the indigenous people and the similar experiences we have.”
For non-Indigenous students, the trip was an opportunity to consider their own roles in reconciliation in Canada, as they were able to view the process through a different lens.
The field school was ultimately an exchange of knowledge to help everyone involved move forward, Anderson said.
“I think it’s great that they can have these conversations so that we can share our knowledge.”
Shingoose hopes that sharing her story will ultimately help the Sami people and Sweden on their path to reconciliation.
She brought gifts, including a flag for each child and Métis sashes.
“The Métis bow is so similar to their colors that they use. They were just amazed by that gift,” she said, adding that she received gifts like dried reindeer meat, which reminded her of smoked elk meat from back home.
Anishinaabe elder says she learned coffee when she was in Sweden a custom where people take a break to eat, drink and reflect a couple of times a day.
Shingoose’s journey marked the beginning of a special relationship, she says, and she hopes Sweden’s truth commission continues to reach out to indigenous peoples like her in Canada.
“I just want them to know that if they ever need support or any guidance, we here in Canada will certainly support them.”