Voices From Here

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement came into effect in September 2007. It has five main components: Common Experience Payment, Independent Assessment Process, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), Commemoration, and Health and Healing Services. Learn more about the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement on The Canadian Encyclopedia website. Using the circle discussion strategy, open a discussion about Madeleine Basile’s interview. Teachers are encouraged to create and select questions that are appropriate for their classroom, but possible questions include: 1. Does anything require clarification? 2. In her interview, Madeleine Basile shares this statement about the impact of residential schools: “The parent forgotten, the child uprooted.” How are the childhood experiences she shares indicative of this experience? 3. What examples of resistance to indoctrination at the Pointe Bleue school does Madeleine Basile share? 4. Attending the federal government’s apology to former students of residential schools was a meaningful experience for Madeleine Basile. Why do you think that is? How do you think other Survivors may have felt? 5. Madeleine Basile was a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Survivor’s Committee. In that role, she attended national events where she listened to Survivors’ testimonies. What role do you think storytelling can play in healing? What about the act of witnessing others’ stories? 6. What else about her testimony stood out to you? PART II: CIRCLE DISCUSSION ACTIVITY 2 MADELEINE BASILE INTERVIEW PART I: WATCH THE INTERVIEW As a class, watch Madeleine Basile’s interview. Ask students to pay close attention to what she shares about her experiences at the Pointe Bleue residential school and the work she has done with other Survivors. TEACHER TIP: Have students watch Madeleine Basile’s video around Orange Shirt Day. What connections can they make to the story Madeleine tells about her dress? 8 To view this video in the language of your choice, select the appropriate subtitle oion in YouTube settings.