The Fallen Feather - Kinetic Video

I can remember when I first came in this school, this is where we were put we as
juniors. Many a night I cried for my grandma. It was so lonely. Not having her to
help me fall asleep. It was really hard on a child growing up. And often times
with our grandma, if I had hurt myself during the day and it’s still hurting I would
tell her, Grandma I fell and I hurt my, whatever, my leg or my arm. She would
rub it and rub it. And just rubbing it felt so good that it would help ease the pain.
But you didn’t get that here. So there was a big difference in the culture that we
were subjected to. As apposed to being raised at home and learning the way the
culture was. You know, you had to learn to be hard inside. And when you grow
up with that hard feeling inside you have no feelings for anybody, not even for
your self. And it’s tough, it’s really hard. I went through it.
Dr Mary Thomas
Just imagine what it would be like to be torn from your parents. To be boarded
up in this cold ouster barrack environment. Your whole world turned upside
down.
Along with the physical abuse, through beatings, hunger and sexual assaults,
there was also psychological abuse. Through separation anxiety, and Christian
indoctrination, Aboriginal faith and culture was ridiculed and demeaned; with the
purpose of replacing native ontology with catholic or protestant rituals. Consider
that they had been ripped away from their family. They were punished for
speaking their native language, forced to reject their community faith while
having an alien religion forced on them. They were ridiculed and neglected. As
there was insufficient funding they suffered from hunger and deplorable health
care. Clearly, there was institutionalized abuse for all children.
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