For Orange Shirt Day, 30 September 2017
tahto-awâsis mistahi itîthimâw / ᑕᐦᑐᐊᐚᓯᐢ ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃ ᐃᑏᖨᒫᐤ
tahto-awâsis mistahi itêyimâw / ᑕᐦᑐᐊᐚᓯᐢ ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃ ᐃᑌᔨᒫᐤ
Every child is thought of highly
nikotwâsik nikî-itahtopiponân nistam kâ-kî-sipwîhtahikawiyân iskonikanihk ohci kita-nitawi-ayamihcikîyân kistapinânihk. All Saints Indian Student Residential School kî-icikâtîw ikota kistapinânihk anima residential school kâ-kî-itohtahikawiyân…ikota kâ-kî-pî-kiskinwahamâkawiyân.
ᓂᑯᑤᓯᐠ ᓂᑮ ᐃᑕᐦᑐᐱᐳᓈᐣ ᓂᐢᑕᒼ ᑳᑮᓯᐿᐦᑕᐦᐃᑲᐏᔮᐣ ᐃᐢᑯᓂᑲᓂᕽ ᐅᐦᒋ ᑭᑕ ᓂᑕᐏ ᐊᔭᒥᐦᒋᑮᔮᐣ ᑭᐢᑕᐱᓈᓂᕽ᙮ All Saints Indian Student Residential School ᑮᐃᒋᑳᑏᐤ ᐃᑯᑕ ᑭᐢᑕᐱᓈᓂᕽ ᐊᓂᒪ residential school ᑳᑮᐃᑐᐦᑕᐦᐃᑲᐏᔮᐣ … ᐃᑯᑕ ᑳᑮᐲᑭᐢᑭᓌᐦᐊᒫᑲᐏᔮᐣ᙮
I was six years old the first time I was taken from my reserve to go to school in Prince Albert. All Saints Indian Student Residential School was the name of the residential school in Prince Albert where I was taken.
nikiskisin î-kî-mitho-kîsikâk ispî nitôsisak kâ-kî-itohtahicik kômipanihk ita-ohci kâ-kî-wî-sipwihtahikawiyâhk, nimisak ikwa nistîs wîstawâw. îkwîthâc nistam ikospî nîtha ikwa nistîs î-kî-sipwihtahikawiyâhk, sâsay wîtha nimisak ikotî kî-nâh-nitawi-ayamihcikîwak. nitôsisak kômipanihk nikî-itohtahikonânak athisk nikâwîpan âhkosîwikamikohk î-kî-ayât ikwa nohtâwîpan osâm mistahi î-kî-itîthihtahk ta-pî-wîcîwikoyâhk.
ᓂᑭᐢᑭᓯᐣ ᐄᑮᒥᖪ ᑮᓯᑳᐠ ᐃᐢᐲ ᓂᑑᓯᓴᐠ ᑳᑮᐃᑐᐦᑕᐦᐃᒋᐠ ᑰᒥᐸᓂᕽ ᐃᑕ ᐅᐦᒋ ᑳᑮᐑᓯᐽᐦᑕᐦᐃᑲᐏᔮᕽ , ᓂᒥᓴᐠ ᐃᑿ ᓂᐢᑏᐢ ᐑᐢᑕᐚᐤ ᙮ ᐄᑹᖭᐨ ᓂᐢᑕᒼ ᐃᑯᐢᐲ ᓃᖬ ᐃᑿ ᓂᐢᑏᐢ ᐄᑮᓯᐽᐦᑕᐦᐃᑲᐏᔮᕽ, ᓵᓴᕀ ᐑᖬ ᓂᒥᓴᐠ ᐃᑯᑏ ᑮᓈᐦᓂᑕᐏ ᐊᔭᒥᐦᒋᑮᐘᐠ᙮ ᓂᑑᓯᓴᐠ ᑰᒥᐸᓂᕽ ᓂᑮ ᐃᑐᐦᑕᐦᐃᑯᓈᓇᐠ ᐊᖨᐢᐠ ᓂᑳᐑᐸᐣ ᐋᐦᑯᓰᐏᑲᒥᑯᕽ ᐄᑮᐊᔮᐟ ᐃᑿ ᓄᐦᑖᐑᐸᐣ ᐅᓵᒼ ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃ ᐄᑮᐃᑏᖨᐦᑕᕽ ᑕᐲᐑᒌᐏᑯᔮᕽ᙮
I remember it being a good day when my aunts took me to he Bay from where we were to be taken away, me, my older sisters and my older brother. It was the first time for me and my older brother to be taken away, my older sisters had already been going to school over there. My aunts took us to he Bay because my late mother was in the hospital and my late father was too broken up to accompany us.
ispî kâ-kî-ati-sipwîtâpâsoyâhk pôsotâpânâskohk nikî-ati-mâcosin, î-mawihkâtakwâw niwâhkômâkanak. piyak awa oskinîkîs nikî-kitimâkinawik, kapî nikî-ati-otamihik ikospî, î-âh-âcimostawit poko-kîkway. pîthisk nikî-takotâpâsonân kistapinânihk. ikota residential school nikî-ayân mitâtaht pîsim tahto-askiy, nama-wihkâc nikî-ohci-kîwân kâ-makosîkîsikâk pâtimâ nikotwâsikosâp kâ-kî-itahtopiponîyân.
ᐃᐢᐲ ᑳᑮᐊᑎᓯᐿᑖᐹᓱᔮᕽ ᐴᓱᑖᐹᓈᐢᑯᕽ ᓂᑮᐊᑎ ᒫᒍᓯᐣ , ᐄᒪᐏᐦᑳᑕᒁᐤ ᓂᐚᐦᑰᒫᑲᓇᐠ᙮ ᐱᔭᐠ ᐊᐘ ᐅᐢᑭᓃᑮᐢ ᓂᑮ ᑭᑎᒫᑭᓇᐏᐠ, ᑲᐲ ᓂᑮᐊᑎᐅᑕᒥᐦᐃᐠ ᐃᑯᐢᐲ, ᐄᐋᐦᐋᒋᒧᐢᑕᐏᐟ ᐳᑯ ᑮᑿᕀ᙮ ᐲᖨᐢᐠ ᓂᑮ ᑕᑯᑖᐹᓱᓈᐣ ᑭᐢᑕᐱᓈᓂᕽ᙮ ᐃᑯᑕ residential school ᓂᑮ ᐊᔮᐣ ᒥᑖᑕᐦᐟ ᐲᓯᒼ ᑕᐦᑐ ᐊᐢᑭᕀ, ᓇᒪ ᐏᐦᑳᐨ ᓂᑮ ᐅᐦᒋ ᑮᐚᐣ ᑳ ᒪᑯᓰᑮᓯᑳᐠ ᐹᑎᒫ ᓂᑯᑤᓯᑯᓵᑊ ᑳ ᑮ ᐃᑕᐦᑐᐱᐳᓃᔮᐣ᙮
When we drove away on the bus I started to cry quietly, crying over my relatives. There was this one teenager who took pity on me, he spent time entertaining me, telling me stories about all sorts of things. Eventually we arrived in Prince Albert. I stayed in the residential school for ten months of the year, never going home for Christmas until I was sixteen.
âtawîtha tahto-nîpin mâna kâwi nikî-kîwân.
ᐋᑕᐑᖬ ᑕᐦᑐ ᓃᐱᐣ ᒫᓇ ᑳᐏ ᓂᑮ ᑮᐚᐣ᙮
At least I went back home every summer.
