By Jennifer Feinberg
Hope Standard
August 30, 2007
http://www.hopestandard.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=13&cat=23&id=1054449&more=0
Settlement cheques are on the way for residential school survivors, but whether the historic agreement leads to any healing or reconciliation is up for some debate, according to one Sto:lo elder.
With a total of 201 former students opting out of the deal by the Tuesday deadline, the $2-billion dollar settlement is now set in motion.
Former students will be paid between $8,000 and $30,000 for time spent at government-sanctioned and church-run boarding schools, while those who suffered sexual or serious physical abuse may qualify for up to $275,000.
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| Cheam elder Eleanor Stephenson is a survivor of a residential school. |
Cheam elder Eleanor Stephenson said she doesn't think the relatively "small" cash settlement being offered will provide any tangible sense of healing. She preferred not to specify any amounts, nor if she opted in or out of the settlement.
"For me there's no closure, because the wounds are still there," said Stephenson. "They'll never go away."
Like many Sto:lo children, she was shipped off to residential boarding school at St. Mary's in Mission.
For Stephenson, the 10-year experience started in 1948.
She was in Grade 1.
"I was very lonely, even though I had family members like siblings and cousins there. There was something missing. I felt empty and I it was because my parents weren't there."
It's still a very hard subject to talk about, she said.
"Our family has discussed it over the years. But there were times when it was quite touchy," she said.
It's impossible to really get across fully what the settlement means, she offered.
"I don't actually think people will ever understand, even what the compensation means. They'll never understand it because they didn't go through it."
Chawathil Chief Ron John, elders' rep for the Sto:lo Tribal Council, said the settlement brings "a certain finality" to the chapter of Canadian history, but added he would also have liked to see a written apology of some kind. "In some ways the Conservative government was looking for an easy way out."
He does envision it helping a little.
"It might ease some of the pain for some to know that something like this will never happen again," he said.
"Without a settlement, it just would've went on and on."
Chief John was sent to boarding schools in Mission and in Kamloops in the 1940s and said he witnessed abuse of fellow boarders.
"I also saw people in charge taking advantage. I remember how they'd seek out the weaker ones."
He didn't see any reason to opt out, and hasn't heard anyone speak against the settlement agreement.
"I don't see much else happening," he said. "At least they're recognizing what people went through."
Some survivors might have benefited from learning how to manage their personal finances better before getting their settlement cash. As an elder he already received partial payment from the deal. What's he going to do with the rest of the settlement money?
"The first thing will be to pay bills," he said.
Another Sto:lo leader is eager to see things moving along.
"It's about time this was settled," said Sto:lo Tribal Council president Clarence Pennier, who was at St. Mary's from 1951 to 1961, and spent a year in Kamloops.
"It's been hung up in the courts for so many years that some survivors didn't make it to see the settlement," he said.
Opting in to the settlement agreement wasn't a tough decision, Pennier said. He sees the "common experience" payment as a form of recognition by the government of the time he spent at boarding school away from his family.
"Most are opting in I think," he added. "For some the money will make a difference. It will help me pay my bills, which is always a good thing."
However, for some of the older Sto:lo members for whom there is no record of their attendance at residential school, it's been a particularly difficult process.
"There's no records for some people for whatever reason," he said.
But an appeals process is going to be in place for those unable to confirm residence at one of the schools, according to Residential Schools Resolution Canada. Those affected are being advised to send in claims anyway.
As a representative of Cheam elders, and Coqualeetza elders, Stephenson said she could not say with any certainty how other survivors in the community are feeling about the settlement agreement.
"I can't imagine what they're going through," she said. "Some told me they'll only believe it when they see a cheque in their hands."
Then the elder described a light-hearted remark that her nephew threw out recently.
"He said the elders are going to be missing in action when they get their money. I thought that was real cute."
To request a claim form for a common experience payment, former students may visit www.residentialschoolsettlement.ca, call 1-866-879-4913, or write to Residential Schools, Suite 3-505, 133 Weber St. North, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3G9.
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