Shi-shi-etko

Shi-shi-etko — page 1 — In loving memory of my godmother Patsy Boston April 29 1929 December 16 2004 Nam’es xwescin Skiyxeza I love you with all of my heart Mom nic For Jesse kl Acknowledgments The author would like to thank the UBC First Nations House of Learning and the UBC Department of Creative Writing

Shi-shi-etko — page 2 — This story is about a little native girl named Shi-shi-etko which means she loves to play in the water Shi-shi-etko’s people have always lived in North America hunting ﬁshing and gathering traditional foods and medicines making their own clothing and building their own houses making their own rules and taking care of their traditional territories telling stories singing and dancing Native children were loved so much that the whole community raised them together parents grandparents aunties uncles cousins and elders But now Shi-shi-etko has to go to Indian Residential School It is the law The school is far away from her home and she will have to travel for a couple of days to get there Once she arrives at school she won’t see her parents for many months or even years she will lose her traditional name and she will be forced to speak English a language she doesn’t know For a long time the Canadian government believed that native people were uncivilized and made laws forcing native children as young as four although generally between the ages of ﬁve and six to go to residential school to learn European culture and religion Parents were put in jail if they didn’t send their children to these schools Can you imagine a community without children Can you imagine children without parents Residential schools had a huge impact on native people around the world not only in Canada but in the United States Australia and New Zealand as well They resulted in a devastating loss of native traditions languages and cultures The last residential school in Canada closed in 1996 The effects of the residential school system continue to hurt native people today It is said that it will take seven generations for our people to heal Nicola I Campbell

Shi-shi-etko — page 3 — One two three four mornings left until I go to school said Shi-shi-etko as she watched sunlight dance butterﬂy steps across her mother’s sleeping face When streams of light sent shadows across her mother’s cheeks she said Mom wake up It’s time for us to bathe down by the creek Her mother blinked You woke early today Shi-shi-etko she said swinging her feet to the ﬂoor

Shi-shi-etko — page 4

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