Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

The history • 117Painter Judith Morgan attended the Alberni, BritishColumbia, school in the 1940s. Royal British ColumbiaMuseum, Image G-02437.who went on to become the first statusIndian to play in the National HockeyLeague. 502While hockey dominated boys’ sportsin most residential schools, BritishColumbia residential schools gainedrenown for their boxers. In 1947, theRoman Catholic school at Sechelt inNorth Vancouver advertised for a volunteerto run a school athletics program.Navy veteran Alex Strain took on thejob. At the time, the school had no recreationprogram and no facilities. UnderStrain’s direction, the students clearedout a storage building and turned it intoa gymnasium. Putting in four days ofvolunteer work a week, Strain createdwhat Vancouver Sun reporter Gerry Prattdescribed as “the smoothest tumblingteam in the province.” He then establisheda boxing program at the school. The limits of the first ring were marked outby four rows of chairs. The first punching bag was a navy duffle bag filled with tumblingmats. After two years, Strain purchased a used truck and took the students ona boxing tour of Vancouver Island. After four years in existence, the team had wonover 100 trophies. Sister John Lawrence made robes and shorts for each member ofthe team and also served as trainer. 503 Frederick Baker, the winner of the first nationalTom Longboat award, was a member of the Sechelt boxing team. Baker had won threechampionships in 1948, two in 1949, one in 1950, and one in 1951. 504Other students sought solace in the arts. A number of former residential school studentswent on to prominent careers in the visual arts, including Alex Janvier, JacksonBeardy, Judith Morgan, and Norval Morrisseau. Some, such as Beardy, were encouragedin their artistic endeavours by sympathetic staff. 505 Like sports, cultural activitieswere underfunded. They were also often intended to encourage assimilation. In1967, the students attending the Shingwauk, Ontario, school put on a four-act playcalled Arrow to the Moon. One act used a dialogue between an Elder and a young manto contrast what were seen as the old and new ways open to Aboriginal people. BillyDiamond played the role of the young man, who concludes at the scene’s end, “Thenew ways show a way to work and live but the old ways have shown us how to die.”The performance was filmed and shown to the James Bay Cree, who refrained from