In Their Own Words

Summary

What is the cost of an education?

Is education an additive process or a reductive one?

How does one weigh the benefits of tradition against the threat of being at odds with the future?

How does one refuse the offer of a better life for their children?

What if the offer is compulsory?

What happens when the tree of knowledge bares rotten fruit?

While the history of Canada's Residential School program is only just beginning

to be unearthed, there are already enough first hand accounts to begin asking

some of these questions. The words of the individuals included in this book

offer just a glimpse of the results of the effort of one group of people to

educate people who were in many cases not seeking the knowledge being

offered. These are tales of lessons learned, languages lost, traditions

replaced, & charity corrupted.