I've read Isabelle Knockwood's memoir, Out of the Depths, about her time as a child resident of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, several times, first to learn, then as research when writing my own journalistic account of the only Maritimes-based IRS, and then again because it still haunted me.
Knockwood asked a child's questions about the school, including, who were these nuns and why were they doing this? The factual answer has been frustratingly obfuscated. My story, "Arsonists," mirrors that information gap and echoes the guilt I think settlers are finally starting to feel.
Knockwood, Isabelle. Out of the Depths: The Experiences of Mi'kmaw Children at the Indian Residential School at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Compiled by Gillian Thomas. Fourth ed. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 2015.
Chris Benjamin is a freelance journalist, a book editor, and the author of three award-winning books: Indian School Road: Legacies of the Shubenacadie Residential School; Eco-Innovators: Sustainability in Atlantic Canada and the novel Drive-by Saviours. Chris has published about twenty short stories in literary journals, magazines and anthologies. He is also the managing editor of Atlantic Books Today magazine. http://chrisbenjaminwriting.com
Add new comment