Looking at Sasha Perron, itB次元官网网址檚 nearly impossible to tell heB次元官网网址檚 a survivor of intergenerational trauma.

HeB次元官网网址檚 warm, easy-going and charismatic. His smile radiates and his laugh is contagious. HeB次元官网网址檚 soft-spoken, and if you met him, youB次元官网网址檇 feel like youB次元官网网址檝e already known him for a lifetime.

But heB次元官网网址檚 just one generation removed from a residential school system that attempted to wipe away the traditions, cultural practices and languages of thousands of Indigenous youth.

Perron, the youngest of three children, was born in Quebec to a French Canadian father and KwakwakaB次元官网网址檞akw mother from the DaB次元官网网址檔axdaB次元官网网址檟w First Nation. With his father in the military, the family of five moved around a bit before settling in Greater Victoria when Perron was in Grade 3.

In a lot of ways, his upbringing would feel familiar to a number of Canadians. He attended French immersion and spent much of his free time playing sports, especially soccer and hockey. He considers himself lucky for the opportunities heB次元官网网址檚 had thus far in his life.

But from the very start, he was caught between two worlds, often finding it difficult to reconcile the conflicting nature of his ancestry.

B次元官网网址淕rowing up for me was conflicting because I knew, growing up, (about) residential school,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 really quite grasp the concept but I knew it was bad B次元官网网址� I knew that the church had these schools and my mom went.B次元官网网址�

When his mother was just 12 years old, PerronB次元官网网址檚 grandmother had a hard decision to make. She was a single mother raising four young girls and, in order to have a chance at providing her children with a better life, enrolled in school to become a nurse.

Attending school full time, however, meant sending her daughters away to residential school.

Residential schools werenB次元官网网址檛 often discussed by PerronB次元官网网址檚 mother or aunts. B次元官网网址淚t was something they didnB次元官网网址檛 want to talk about B次元官网网址� their experiences being there,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e just kind of knew that residential school was something that they had been through.B次元官网网址�

They werenB次元官网网址檛 the only family members who attended.

PerronB次元官网网址檚 late grandfather was taken from his home on Village Island, B.C. at the age of five and brought to St. MichaelB次元官网网址檚 Indian Residential School in Alert Bay, operated by the Anglican Church of Canada, where he remained until he was 18 years old.

Perron knows little beyond that because his grandfather never openly spoke about his experience in residential school.

Like countless others, his grandfatherB次元官网网址檚 stories have been lost. Perron can only imagine what his grandfather may have endured at the hands of an institution designed as an instrument of genocide.

But last May when the remains of 215 children B次元官网网址� some as young as three years old B次元官网网址� were discovered at an unmarked burial site on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, the horrifying truth was in plain view for Perron B次元官网网址� and the rest of Canada B次元官网网址� to see.

It was a hard blow, he said, admitting that he had previously been oblivious to the egregious mistreatment and abuse that occurred during the more than 160-year history of residential schools in Canada.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 when I really started believing everything,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 actually shocking that I didnB次元官网网址檛 realize what exactly happened before.B次元官网网址�

The discovery was overwhelming for many residential school survivors. And for others, it was simply too much to handle.

When the facts began to emerge, emotions came flooding back and generations were instantly re-traumatized.

For Perron, however, the discovery in Kamloops marked a major turning point.

He said it was then that he knew it was time for him to take up some of the burdens that survivors have carried for so long.

And he said he wanted to do it in the most physical way he could B次元官网网址� running.

Perron ran 216 kilometres in just 18 days B次元官网网址� one for each child found at the Kamloops residential school, plus an extra one for all the children who werenB次元官网网址檛 found.

B次元官网网址淚 wanted to show survivors that I was there. In a really physical way I wanted to support them,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 important to continue to share survivorsB次元官网网址� stories and share their strength and their wisdom because they suppressed their traumas for me to be here today and for me to be successful in this society.B次元官网网址�

Listening to survivorsB次元官网网址� stories, running with those stories, and sharing them not only eased some of the burden for his family but also sparked his own healing journey.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 important to continue to spread that knowledge that IB次元官网网址檝e collected over the years so my peers and I can come together to build that strength and build that resilience in our generation.B次元官网网址�

ThereB次元官网网址檚 still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done. But Perron, now 28, said his generation is ready to take up the challenge.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 my turn to continue that story of strength and resilience.B次元官网网址�

This is part four in a special series prepared by Black Press Media. You can find more of the series and other articles on truth and reconciliation online here.

READ MORE: Stories about truth and reconciliation

Do you have a story tip? Email: vnc.editorial@blackpress.ca.

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