‘Our hearts are broken’: Canadian senator delivers gut-wrenching speech on residential schools
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TORONTO, Ontario (CTV Network) — Sen. Mary Jane McCallum, a residential school survivor, has shared her personal story of trauma and abandonment.
McCallum, a senator from Manitoba, was taken from her home at the age of five and sent to a residential school. She now works to raise awareness and understanding of the residential school system at workshops and presentations across Canada.
“One of my most persistent emotions in residential school was overwhelming loneliness and the bewildering feeling of abandonment,” she said in the tearful speech on Tuesday. “It was so unlike my family. I came to realize that abandonment by my parents was not the issue, but that I was abandoned by the system, whether it was the church or the government, who initiated and perpetuated the kidnappings.
“This is Canada. Our hearts are broken. Canada is broken.”
McCallum added that she wanted to send a message to the families of children sent to residential schools, that she knows it wasn’t their choice.
“I know you love me. I never let you go. You were always in my thoughts, in my heart, in my tears, in my being,” she said. “I know you didn’t let me go, that you love me and carried me with you. Don’t feel guilty for what is not yours to carry. You have found me, and I’m so glad you never gave up.”
McCallum’s speech came in the wake of the discovery of 215 Indigenous children who had been buried in a mass grave near a residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
“Remember, they can never take away our love for each other,” she said. “Sending love and peace to the 215 innocent and trusting souls and their families, to the Kamloops First Nation, to the former students of residential schools, to our families, and to the specialists who discovered the remains.”
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If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
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