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From the Regina Leader Post ...

School aftermath spans generations
Michelle Hugli - August 15, 2007

The deadline for the residential school settlement is only days away, but we're just getting started on realizing the full impact these schools have had on several generations of First Nations people.

To even start the process of moving forward took years of legal work. It took a painful process of reopening old and unhealed wounds by former students. It will cost billions of dollars in legal fees and settlement costs. And now, finally, we just might be starting the long journey of putting the past behind us. But it's going to take a lot more than just agreeing to the settlement to start moving on. It doesn't end here. This is just the first step.

You don't take two generations of children and strip them of their culture, language and dignity and fix it with a big fat cheque. It's going to take years of counseling, sharing experiences and attempting to reclaim languages and culture and integrating them into our lives. Money being put into healing programs and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission should help get that process started. But again, it is just a beginning.

So far, this entire process has only addressed the experiences of former students. Very little has been said about the impact the residential schools have had on the children of former students. As children of former students, we escaped the horror of attending these schools -- but we did not escape the intended consequences.

The purpose of the residential schools was to prevent my generation from learning our languages and culture, so that we could be successfully assimilated into Canadian society. It was definitely a long-term plan. The Canadian government did not want the languages and cultures passed on to future generations.

It was the most aggressive assimilation campaign Canada has ever administered. And it was so close to being a success that it will take at least another generation or two to recover. The children of former students have had to live with the impacts of our parents' and grandparents' experiences at those schools. Reclaiming our stolen languages and cultures and rebuilding our communities will take time and dedication -- and will require support and resources.

I've gone to the residential school settlement Web site. I saw the word "inter-generational" once. I called the information line to find out how this settlement may affect the children of former students in the future. I was told: "This has absolutely nothing to do with you."

But these schools have everything do with the First Nations people of my generation. We were clear targets of the assimilation policies Canada had in place when they sent our parents and grandparents to these schools.

Many of the problems facing our aboriginal youth today can be attributed to the broken cultural values in our communities. We all see and experience the impacts of these schools every day.

As the child of a former student, I'm not interested in money. No amount of money could ever replace the years I grew up yearning to understand my culture, my language, my connection to my past, my connection to my family and my place in our society.

The settlement money can help former students because it allows for easier access to healing programs and other ways to try to reclaim what's been stolen, but it can never replace the years spent growing up without my language and culture and in a home where the pain and shame inflicted within the residential schools trickled down into our everyday lives.

By only acknowledging how the schools affected former students, we deny the true purpose of the schools and the impacts we are still experiencing today. I just want people to realize that these schools have had far-reaching and devastating impacts that go far beyond what happened within the walls of the actual schools.

First Nations people have until Aug. 20 to make a decision about the residential school settlement.

Former students have three options. They can accept the settlement and request a claim form. The common-experience payment provides $10,000 for the first year of school and $3,000 for each additional year. Former students can claim more if they suffered additional sexual or psychological abuses.

Former students can also choose to opt out of the settlement, which means they will not get a payment, but can sue on their own if they choose to do so. Fewer than 5,000 former students need to opt out for the settlement to go forward.

Or, former students can do nothing and not receive a settlement payment AND lose their right to sue in the future.

While our parents and grandparents decide whether to accept the settlement or opt out, my generation is struggling to pick up the pieces. My generation is trying to find a way to reclaim our culture and values and work them into our lives and be successful in the society we live in today.

As this process continues to move forward, Canada will need to hear from my generation as well. Otherwise we'll never truly understand the devastation brought on by these schools.

- Hugli can be heard on News Talk 980 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.