This article contains descriptions of abuse endured or witnessed by children at residential schools that may be triggering. It mentions violence against children including sexual, physical, mental and emotional abuse.
This is the third instalment in a special series prepared by Black Press Media. You can find more of the series and other articles on truth and reconciliation online at or in this weekB次元官网网址檚 edition of Greater Victoria papers.
Outside the Alberni Indian Residential School on Vancouver Island, four-year-old Kathleen Horne cried out as the institutionB次元官网网址檚 supervisors forced her mother to leave the grounds. The youngest of nine siblings, Horne was scared from that first moment in 1959 because of what happened to her brothers and sisters when they were taken. The supervisors then told her if she didnB次元官网网址檛 stop crying sheB次元官网网址檇 be strapped, meaning theyB次元官网网址檇 strike the child with what resembled a very thick belt.
That was the first threat Horne, a member of Tsawout First Nation, faced at the residential school, where for the next decade of her young life she would be beaten, sexually abused, and punished for expressing any form of her culture. ItB次元官网网址檚 why she now shares the truth of what happened to her B次元官网网址� for the children who never made it home.
A family fractured
Many of HorneB次元官网网址檚 brothers and sisters were at the residential school at the same time, but they were separated and werenB次元官网网址檛 allowed to see or speak to each other. She hadnB次元官网网址檛 seen any of her siblings for a long time during her first year when all the children were brought to an auditorium. Horne was crying because a film they were being shown had frightened her, through teary eyes, she spotted her sister a couple of rows away. She ran over and collapsed into her sister, who pleaded for Horne to go back to her seat or else theyB次元官网网址檇 both get in trouble.
B次元官网网址淪he held me for a minute, then the supervisors saw us and I was yanked out of her arms, forced to sit back in my chair and smacked,B次元官网网址� Horne said. B次元官网网址淚 was told if I went to my sister IB次元官网网址檇 be beaten again.B次元官网网址�
She didnB次元官网网址檛 see her sister for a long time after that and knew if they were seen together, theyB次元官网网址檇 be punished. Those first couple of years were sad and lonely, so Horne forced herself to bottle up her emotions.
B次元官网网址淚 was so small and I didnB次元官网网址檛 realize how it was changing me at the time.B次元官网网址�
The children couldnB次元官网网址檛 show any form of affection, just a hug or holding hands would mean theyB次元官网网址檇 face beatings. Long after aging out of the residential school at 14, Horne wasnB次元官网网址檛 able to embrace her own family, except for her mother.
Her mom was only allowed to visit once or twice a year, and one time arrived with a girl by her side.
B次元官网网址淚 was hugging my mom and I said B次元官网网址榃ho is that?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she remembered. B次元官网网址淢y mom said, B次元官网网址楾hatB次元官网网址檚 your sister GloriaB次元官网网址� and I didnB次元官网网址檛 even know her because I hadnB次元官网网址檛 seen her for so long.B次元官网网址�
Gloria is seven years older than Horne.
B次元官网网址淭hat was really shocking when I didnB次元官网网址檛 even know my own sister.B次元官网网址�
Her brothers were grown men by the time she left the residential school. They suffered from alcoholism due to the abuse they faced during their time there B次元官网网址� with three of them dying from the disease. Her brothersB次元官网网址� fighting and drinking eventually became too much and Horne had to separate herself from them.
TheyB次元官网网址檝e since reconnected, but the togetherness of their family never really recovered.
B次元官网网址淚 know that it wasnB次元官网网址檛 their fault, they didnB次元官网网址檛 know how to live a normal family life because it had been taken away from them.B次元官网网址�
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The B次元官网网址渟choolB次元官网网址�
Before being taken, she was walking by and saw one of her brothers calling to her from the fenceline. He begged Horne to run to their house and get him something, anything, to eat. The children never knew what they were being fed at the institution, but it wasnB次元官网网址檛 enough as they were always starving.
They survived by plucking roots and other things growing from the yard and eating those, she said.
Horne only spoke in her Nuu-Chah-Nulth language when she arrived at the residential school and was struck with the strap for it. To this day, more than 50 years after leaving the institution, itB次元官网网址檚 too painful for Horne to learn how to speak or understand her own language.
And like many others, Horne was sexually abused at the residential school.
B次元官网网址淣ot being able to protect myself or get away B次元官网网址� youB次元官网网址檙e stuck there,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 why I dedicated my life to my children because I never wanted that to happen to any child.B次元官网网址�
In 1995, a former Port Alberni residential school supervisor, who worked there from 1948 to 1968, was convicted of 18 counts of indecent assault against students and sentenced to 11 years in jail, according to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
In May, the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at a former Kamloops residential school site was traumatizing and heartbreaking for Horne. In trying to explain what she felt in that moment, she let out a long and defeated sigh before going silent for a couple of moments.
B次元官网网址淲e knew it was happening but we had no way of saying it,B次元官网网址� Horne said.
Kids in the dorms would suddenly disappear and the supervisors would say they went home or ran away, Horne said. If the children kept asking about them, the supervisors would punish them and tell them not to speak about it anymore. Horne said they just wanted the punishments to end and so, out of fear, they never brought up the disappearing kids again.
B次元官网网址淲hen you were threatened like that, you just didnB次元官网网址檛 say or do anything because you just donB次元官网网址檛 know,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚t made me realize how lucky we are to have gone home, to be alive.B次元官网网址�
Overcoming
That fear and trauma instilled in the children lived on for decades and stopped Horne, her siblings, and countless others from talking about what they went through. Many in HorneB次元官网网址檚 family felt ashamed theyB次元官网网址檇 been abused and, about half a century later, they were still scared.
Things started to change when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) started having hearings with local survivors to learn the truths about residential schools. Horne and some of her brothers initially didnB次元官网网址檛 want to speak, but her oldest daughter convinced her to go.
B次元官网网址淪he said, B次元官网网址楳om you have to go, you have to tell somebody what happened to you.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Decades after leaving the Port Alberni residential school, with her husband and daughter by her side, Horne finally voiced her experience for the first time at a 2013 TRC hearing.
B次元官网网址淲e, as the survivors, can tell the stories for the ones who didnB次元官网网址檛 get to go home and the things that we had to endure to stay alive.B次元官网网址�
After hiding the horrors for so long, Horne found it was liberating to tell her story.
B次元官网网址淚 felt like it was gone, it was lifted off of me and I didnB次元官网网址檛 carry that around with me anymore,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 wasnB次元官网网址檛 afraid anymore of being reprimanded or being ashamed.B次元官网网址�
She hopes stories like hers will help build a better foundation of history so future generations can embrace their Indigenous culture and language without fear.
A family was stolen from Horne at the age of four, but the one sheB次元官网网址檚 built is what saved her and helped her overcome what she faced as a child. Today, HorneB次元官网网址檚 husband, three children, six grandchildren and two soon-to-be-born great-grandchildren are what she treasures most.
B次元官网网址淭he ones who didnB次元官网网址檛 get to come home never got to experience that, so I feel really blessed and IB次元官网网址檓 not scared anymore of telling people what happened.B次元官网网址�
Support for survivors and their families is available. Call the Indian Residential School Survivors Society at 1-800-721-0066, or 1-866-925-4419 for the 24-7 crisis line. The KUU-US Crisis Line Society also offers 24-7 support at 250-723-4050 for adults, 250-723-2040 for youth, or toll free at 1-800-588-8717.
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Do you have a story tip? Email: jake.romphf@blackpress.ca.
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