'They took us': Metis elder's residential school experience on display at CMHR
A respected Metis elder is reflecting on her residential school experiences at an exhibit depicting them at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR).
In 1947, at just eight years old Angie Crerar was taken to the St. Joseph's Residential School in Fort Resolution in the Northwest Territories with her two younger sisters.
"See the RCMP there? They took us. They took me from the school," said Crerar. "My little sisters were crying and screaming 'I want to go home,' and I couldn’t help them."
That experience, along with many others, is now the focus of "Metis Memories of Residential Schools," an exhibit currently running in the CMHR's Community Corridor.
The art installation is a series of 24 panels telling stories of strength, survival, resistance and healing.
Crerar said being taken away from her parents was a traumatic experience.
"I didn't know anybody there. We didn’t know where we were going, what we were doing, where is everybody?" she said.
"We had nobody, we were absolutely alone. No mail, nothing. We didn’t know what happened to our families, they didn't even speak our language," she added.
Crerar, now 84, said her youngest sister won't talk about her time at the residential school.
"She will never ever speak about residential school. No, we tried," she said.
"Metis Memories of Residential Schools" is on display at the CMHR until January 13, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.