Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

The history • 115Boys playing hockey at the McIntosh, Ontario, school. Many students said that they would not have survived theirresidential school years, were it not for sports. St. Boniface Historical Society, Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Manitoba ProvinceFonds, SHSB 29362.me alive, that’s what kept me going was the sports.” 494 At the Lestock school, GeraldineShingoose took refuge in extracurricular activities.One of the good things that I would do to try and get out of just the abuse wastry to, I would join track-meet, try and be, and I was quite athletic in boardingschool. And I also joined the band, and I played a trombone. And, and that wassomething that took me away from the school, and just to, it was a relief. 495Paul Andrew spent seven years at Grollier Hall in Inuvik. One of his strongest andmost positive memories related to school sports. “There were times when I felt dumband stupid. But put me in a gym, there was not too many people better than I am.” 496Recreational activities were always underfunded and undersupplied at theschools. A national survey of Indian Affairs schools (both day and residential) in1956 concluded:In most of the schools there appeared to be little or no physical education program.A number of schools had no facilities for such activities. Basement areaswere obviously designed for playing areas, but they were very inadequate andwere utilized for storage or for assembly purposes. A large number of school siteswere not properly cleared, graded, and prepared for playing purposes. Manywere still in the wild state; others were overgrown with shrubs, thistles, grassesand other weeds presenting a very unkempt and neglected appearance. 497