Edmund Metatawabin
Autor de Up Ghost River: A Chief's Journey Through the Turbulent Waters of Native History
Obras de Edmund Metatawabin
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Estadísticas
- Obras
- 3
- Miembros
- 73
- Popularidad
- #240,526
- Valoración
- 4.4
- Reseñas
- 6
- ISBNs
- 6
Edmund Metatawabin was raised in the James Bay area of Ontario by Swampy Cree parents. His mother was devoutly Catholic to the point that when Edmund's infant sister died when they were out on the land she insisted they take her to be buried by a Catholic priest. So when the priest in Fort Albany said that Edmund needed to go to the nearby St. Anne's residential school there was no argument. Edmund was only seven and he had never been separated from his family. From the beginning the students were dehumanized by being fgiven a number instead of a name.The nuns and priests in St. Anne's were some of the worst offenders in terms of how they punished the boys. Whippings were common and a device called the electric chair (just what you would imagine) was used when the offence was deemed particularly bad. Sometimes children were held in a small basement room overrun by rats for days. The food was poor and served at the same time while the nuns and priests were eating steaks and chicken and delicious desserts. When it was time to harvest the huge garden the school kept the young students worked for days in the cold and wet. One of the priests subjected the boys to a genital examination that was an excuse to fondle them. And sexual abuse went further and not just at the school. Somehow Edmund graduated from the school and was then sent away for high school. Foster parents in Kirkland Lake took in the students and, for once, Edmund had enough to eat. High school went pretty well for Edmund except for a traumatic incident one summer when he was sexually abused by a Northern Stores employee who took him to stay in Montreal (with his parents' approval). It took years for Edmund to come to terms with this trauma. In the meantime he met Joan, the woman who would become his wife, and he went to university. He had to drop out when his third child was born but a helpful professor arranged for him to complete his degree in Native Studies. Their marriage was under stress due to the fact that Edmund was drinking heavily as he tried to deal with the trauma he had experienced. When Joan moved out Edmund realized he had to get help. He accessed centres in Calgary and Edmonton which used native healing to help their clients. And Edmund started to open up about his traumatic experiences. When he and Joan got back together, they moved back to Fort Albany and Edmund ran for chief. He achieved significant changes for his band in terms of self-government during his time in office. Now he owns a sawmill and does consulting work aimed particularly at native youth.
The author's recollections are sometimes graphic and make for difficult reading. At times I had to put the book down and walk away and do something else for a while. I know some of the details about residential school life will stay with me for a long time.… (más)