Tsqelmucwílc: The Kamloops Indian Residential School―Resistance and a Reckoning

by Celia Haig-Brown, Randy Fred (Introduction), Garry Gottfriedson (Foreword)

In May 2021, the world was shocked by the news of the detection of 215 unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS) in British Columbia, Canada. Ground-penetrating radar established the deaths of students as young as three in the infamous residential school system, where children were systematically removed from their families and brought to the schools. At these Christian-run and government-supported institutions, they were subjected to physical, mental and sexual abuse while their Indigenous languages and traditions were stifled and denounced. The egregious abuses suffered at residential schools everywhere created a multi-generational legacy of trauma for those who survived and, as the 2021 discoveries confirmed, death for too many.

“Tsquelmucwílc” (pronounced cha-CAL-mux-weel) is a Secwepemc phrase loosely translated as “Wereturn to being human again.” Tsqelmucwílc is the story of those who survived the Kamloops Indian Residential School, based on the book Resistance and Renewal, a groundbreaking history of the school published in 1988―the first book on residential schools ever published in Canada. Tsqelmucwílc includes the original text as well as new material by the original book’s author, Celia Haig-Brown; essays by Secwepemc poet and KIRS survivor Garry Gottfriedson and Nuu-Chah-Nulth elder and residential school survivor Randy Fred; and first-hand reminiscences by other survivors of KIRS as well as their children on their experience of KIRS and the impact of their residential school trauma throughout their lives.

Read both within and outside the context of the grim 2021 discoveries, Tsqelmucwílc is a tragic story in the history of Indigenous peoples of the indignities suffered at the hands of their colonizers, but it is equally a remarkable tale of Indigenous survival, resilience, and courage.

Genres: Indigenous, Canada, History, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2022

Reviews

[Dasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am glad that Haig-Brown allowed the words of those she interviewed to really shine through, especially in chapter 7, although earlier chapters often have pages filled with quotes. She provides context and narrative flow to help the reader along but her voice is not what is strongest which is good. Moreover, she takes time in her introduction to discuss the rationale behind revisiting and revising this book (originally from the 1980s). She even notes that as a white woman she felt her voice was no longer needed. Such positionality is likely why she allows her writing to take a backseat throughout the book. This is an important piece of work that highlights resistance in its many forms and the ongoing legacies that these schools and Canada's genocidal policies left behind.

[kbbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandmother and other relatives attended KIRS and this book was an incredible testament to their survivance, and the strength/resilience of all survivors, descendants, and communities. The testimonies, memories, and contextual research notes help humanize and make the children’s experience real and visceral. I could only read a little at a time because of the emotions. There are so many questions I can no longer ask my mother and grandmother, and all those who have passed. It did make me wonder about the little I remember/know–family things passed down–and for that reason the book was also painful.

I am very glad the author and her collaborators published a second updated edition, and for the chance readers have to learn more about KIRS, Secwépemc culture, and the impact and response of Interior BC Indigenous communities to assimilationist education policy.

Also wanted to highlight the amazing cover art of this edition. I kept coming back to it, and the image left me feeling a deep connection to my maternal ancestors, and to their courage, bravery, and fortitude.

kᵂukᵂuscémxᵂ (thank you) to all who participated in the project.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to @arsenalpulp and @zgstories for a copy of Tsqelmucwilc: The Kamloops Indian Residential School - Resistance and Reckoning. This eye-opening look at one of the many residential schools demonstrates the strength of spirit of Indigenous peoples.

Using personal accounts, Tsqelmucwilc, shares with the reader the day to day experiences and the history of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. This is an expanded version of a 1988 release by the principal author, Celia Haig-Brown. The 2022 version includes forewords by indigenous individuals, information about the 2021 speeches to the current Prime Minister and a circling back to family members and original survivors of the school.

The author, a white woman, has received support from the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc (Kamloops) Chief and council and has been a secondary school teacher in the area at two high schools, has been involved in the rodeo community to which many indigenous people of the area are involved, and was a coordinator for the Indigenous Teacher Education Program.

Beginning with the Indian Act of 1876, the government wanted to wean ‘Indians’ from their “habits and feelings of their ancestors, and the acquirements of the language, arts and customs of civilized life.”

“The Oblates soon recognized the advantages of working with children in isolation from the influence of their parents and the importance of daily religious participation in moulding young minds.”

The authors have informed us about how the school was run with its minimal educational component, strict religious basis, food insecurity and agrarian training.

The title of this book means ‘we return to being human’ and a significant portion of the book discusses the resistance by indigenous students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Mentions are made of the sexual abuse by the school superiors and priests but many of the survivors found it too traumatizing to discuss openly. While some students graduated and others were sent home due to illness or because a family called them back, all too many died of disease, lack of proper food and supervision, suicide, and factors arising from the trauma including alcoholism. The 215 bodies discovered on the property tell the story of the horrors of the Indian Residential School system. Children, grandchildren and future family members of those who attended the schools will need support to heal and to revitalize the Secwépemc language and customs.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed when I realized that this was written by a white woman, but the book and research is supported by the Tkemlúps te Secwépemc Council, and is a compilation of interviews by survivors of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. It’s important to have their stories told.

I appreciated how current this version of the book was, and especially liked Chapter 7, Tsqeucwílc: We Return to Being Human. We hear the survivors perspectives of their lives looking back. A good overview of what these students endured, and their acts of resistance against the system. It made for a good addition to my reading journey.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad Celia Haig-Brown was convinced to come back to this book and update from it's first publication in 1988. It is so important to keep alive the stories of the First Nation children who were forced to go to Residential schools in the forefront of peoples minds.

[Fernando Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow if you really want to know how bad it was in residential schools then you should give this a read. I could have never imagined such atrocities on children. WTF?

[Devika · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important read