The Survivors Speak

64 • Truth & Reconciliation Commission
brings it back the next day. So, after you’ve made your bed and the supervisor has
inspected it to make sure there’s no wrinkles or crinkles—if there is, he’ll just rip off
the whole thing again and you have to do it over ’til you get it right. First few times I
was there, I couldn’t get it right every morning. I used to have to do it at least twice
and maybe if—if I’m—or if he’s in a pretty bad mood, I could probably—he’d probably
make me do it about three times. 203
At the Sturgeon Landing school in Saskatchewan, one former student said, the students
had to stand like soldiers: “We had to hold our head straight and not look anywhere else.
We couldn’t at all look at anybody. Especially not the boys where they were. No, we weren’t
allowed to look anywhere. We had to line up when we walked in school.” 204
Daniel Andre had a detailed memory of the routine at Grollier Hall, the Roman Catholic
residence in Inuvik, Northwest Territories.
Our day consisted of just getting up the morning at, I don’t know when, 6:30, 7:00,
and we’d get up and say our prayers, and then go, and get dressed, and go for breakfast.
And then after breakfast, we were all assigned a chore, so we did the chore, and
then from there we just did whatever we did until school, and then we’d get dressed
and go to school. And then come home at lunch, and have lunch, and then go back
to school, and then come home, and, and or go to Grollier home. And then from
3:30 to 5:00, we would just, we’d play outside, or play in the gym, or whatever was,
maybe something was assigned, like, go for a walk or whatever, and we’d do that until
supper, and then have supper. And then in the evening after supper, about a half an
hour later, we were assigned to gym time, which was in the evening from six to eight,
something like that. It was ’til 8:00 o’clock, anyway. And then after we were done in
the gym we’d just go back upstairs, and then everybody had to have a shower. So, we
showered and put on our pyjamas, and then the boys would be, they’d be sent to bed
by groups, like the first group, second group, third group, depending on your age.
And so we went to bed, and then we’d just get up the next day, and it happened all
over again.
And then on Saturday and Sunday, we have a late breakfast. Sister Tremblay would
bring our cereal and whatever, toast and whatnot, up to the, the boys’ end, and, and
we’d have breakfast, cereal and toast. And then, yeah, and sometimes we went down
to the cafeteria, but depending how many students were upstairs, she would bring
the stuff up, and then we’d eat, and then have lunch after that, after, and then we’d go
for a walk in the afternoon. In the winter, or summer, spring, whenever it was, we always
went to our walk to get out of the building, by a supervisor, a student supervisor
from downstairs, the seniors, and sometimes they hired adults from the community
or whatever. And, and yeah, so that was our life. 205
Many students spoke of life that was regulated by the ringing of a bell. At the schools
that Percy Tuesday attended in northwestern Ontario, everything