Indian residential schooling histories need to centralize the voices of Survivors and Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, and Did You See Us? will not disappoint readers. In this beautiful collection of stories, we learn about Survivor experiences, Indigenous storytelling methodologies, and the complicated and diverse nature of the genocidal Indian residential schooling system in Canada. The book is concerned with not only the history of the Assiniboia Indian Residential School (1958–73) but also its legacy, which Survivor Theodore Fontaine calls “an experience of reunion, reconciliation, and reclamation” (xxi). This is a prolific example of how a collaboration between community and academia can result in an Indigenous-driven research project.
There has been an explosion of publications related to Indian residential schooling histories since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada published its final report (2015), but this book in particular tells a unique story of an institution that was an exception to the...
