Honouring the Truth Reconciling for the Future

118 • Truth & Reconciliation Commissionmaking any public comment, but were shocked to discover the degree to which theirchildren were being manipulated. 506Albert Canadien recalled in his memoirs from Akaitcho Hall:A few of the boys had guitars and there were other instruments in the commonroom. Sometimes, a few of the boys would get together and play to pass thetime. John, the boys’ supervisor, noticed this was going on and took an interest,encouraging us to play and sing.At first we got together just for fun. But eventually … we formed a band. Therewere five or six of us, and we call ourselves the Arctic Ramblers. We had guitars,fiddle, bass guitar, drums, and there was even a piano for a while.They played at dances at the residence and in Hay River. 507 Canadien went on toplay in the Chieftones, a rock-and-roll band that toured extensively across NorthAmerica. 508On the rinks, the athletic fields, and parade grounds, or in the arts and handicraftrooms and on performance stages, many students found a way to express themselves,and, through that, gained the opportunity to explore their own talents and sometimesother parts of the country or the world. Most importantly, they gained some confidencein their ability to achieve.Resistance: “I am the father of this child.”Parents and children developed a variety of strategies to resist residential schooling.Parents might refuse to enrol students, refuse to return runaways, or they mightrefuse to return students to school at the end of the summer holidays. They also calledon the government to increase school funding; to establish day schools in their homecommunities; and to improve the quality of education, food, and clothing. In takingsuch measures, they often put themselves at risk of legal reprisals. Almost invariably,the system declined to accept the validity of parental and student criticisms. Parentalinfluences were judged by school and government officials to be negative and backward.The schools also suspected parents of encouraging their children in acts ofdisobedience. 509 Once parents came to be viewed as the ‘enemy,’ their criticisms, nomatter how valid, could be discounted.Prior to 1920, when the Indian Act was amended to allow Indian Affairs to compelchildren to attend residential school, the most effective form of resistance that parentscould make was to simply refuse to enrol their children. This measure was so effectivethat it contributed to the closure of a number of residential schools. The Battleford,Saskatchewan, school, which had a capacity of 150 students, had an enrolment ofthirty-five in 1915. 510 The school was closed two years later. 511 The High River, Alberta,