396 Years
Indigenous Children
Ripped away
Away from their home
Families, Traditions
Spiritual teachings
1600 the Catholic Church
Then shaking hands
With none other than
Canada Federal Government
For money to continue
Teach these children
English or French or both languages
And if caught speaking
Speaking Indigenous language
Physically punished
Yes, taking away language and culture
Forced to live in poor housing conditions
Their safety threatened
Scared and one eye opened
Sexual abuse ongoing
Dreadful unhealthy food or none
Sometimes so hungry
Eating from the swell barrel
Food intended for the pigs
Poor general health
Rates of chronic infectious diseases
Mental distress and depression
Becoming addictive
High stress and suicide
Then missing
Their bodies hidden underground with no marker
The legacy left
1600’s to today 2021
15,000 to 25,000 Survivors generationally
Income and health disparities
With shorter, poorer
More troubled lives
It’s time now – Yes now!
To respect and honour
Indigenous Peoples
Let them own their dynamic culture
All across the lands of Canada
Where they were first
Let’s hear their languages
Experience Spiritual Traditions
View their Artistic Expression
And be peacefully interwoven
Indigenous First Nations, Metis, Inuit
Living Canadian Rights and Freedoms Act
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