Trigger Warning: This episode is about the abuses that occurred in residential schools. It may not be suitable for all listeners. If you need emotional support, there is a 24-hour Residential School Crisis line which you can reach at 1-866-925-4419.
"We lost our names. We were never called by name. We had numbers. My number was 44."
- Robert Merasty, Île-à-la-Crosse Residential School Survivor.
Tansi and welcome to this first episode of One Nation, Many Stories, the podcast brought to you by the Metis National Council.
Every three weeks, we'll be bringing you new episodes including stories and interviews with the amazing people who make up our proud Nation.
We begin this series in the northern Saskatchewan historic Métis community of Île-à-la-Crosse. The town and its Métis roots go back hundreds of years, so it seems a good place to begin.
Sadly, as we mark Truth and Reconciliation Day, Île-à-la-Crosse is also home to an ongoing injustice; the failure of governments to recognize and compensate the Survivors of the church-run residential school that operated there for generations. The children there experienced systemic mental, physical and sexual abuse, but that history is being ignored by both the federal and Saskatchewan governments as they argue of jurisdictional responsibility.
As Métis National Council President, Cassidy Caron, says in the introduction to this episode, "It is imperative that both the federal government and the provincial government of Saskatchewan, alongside the church, come together to finally recognize these Survivors and ensure they can continue their healing paths."
"One Nation, Many Stories" host Matt LeMay, welcomes two Île-à-la-Crosse residents, Robert Merasty and Jordyn Burnouf, to discuss the history of the town, the residential school, and the ongoing impact of abuse, and neglect by governments and the church.
Robert Merasty is an Île-à-la-Crosse Residential School survivor. He is also a fixture in his community as an announcer of CILX Radio, where he can be heard each weekday, bringing news and interviews in English, Cree and Michif to his listeners in northern Saskatchewan. During his long career, he was also a broadcaster with CBC and APTN.
Jordyn Burnouf is proudly Cree and Metis from Île-à-la-Crosse. She serves as a senior advisor to the vice-president and justice minister of the Metis Nation Saskatchewan, taking a special interest in the case of the survivors of the Île-à-la-Crosse Residential School.
Host Matt LeMay is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario, with roots in the Red River, Drummond Island and Penetanguishene. He is a documentary film-maker and co-founder of Indigenous Geographic.
The voices at the start of this episode are from the following Île-à-la-Crosse Métis Residential School survivors:
Lawrence Morin, Pat Desjarlais, Dorothy Dubrule, Antoinette Lafleur, Louis Gardiner, Emile Janvier.
Their stories can be found in the "Île-à-la-Crosse Métis Residential School Documentary" produced by Matt Lemay and Crystal Martin-Lapenskie of Indigenous Geographic.
Our theme music is "Harry Daniels" by Métis fiddler John Arcand.
"One Nation, Many Stories" is produced by the Métis National Council, and David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions.
