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A Long Journey: Residential Schools in Labrador and Newfoundland
Left out of the national apology and reconciliation process begun in 2008, survivors of residential schools in Labrador and Newfoundland received a formal apology from the Canadian government in 2017. This recognition finally brought them into the circle of residential school survivors across Canada, and acknowledged their experiences as similarly painful and traumatic.
For years, the story of residential schools has been told by the authorities who ran them. A Long Journey helps redress this imbalance by listening closely to the accounts of former students, as well as drawing extensively on government, community, and school archives. The book examines the history of boarding schools in Labrador and St. Anthony, and, in doing so, contextualizes the ongoing determination of Indigenous communities to regain control over their children’s education.
For years, the story of residential schools has been told by the authorities who ran them. A Long Journey helps redress this imbalance by listening closely to the accounts of former students, as well as drawing extensively on government, community, and school archives. The book examines the history of boarding schools in Labrador and St. Anthony, and, in doing so, contextualizes the ongoing determination of Indigenous communities to regain control over their children’s education.
506 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 3, 2023
Required reading. Incredibly well researched and cited.
February 1, 2022
Not gonna lie had to finish this book on a deadline so I know I could have gotten more out of it if I took my time but wow.
This is a very interesting read about history of residential schools in NL. It was informative while keeping a fast pace. Lots to absorb in this book so I recommend taking your time while reading
This is a very interesting read about history of residential schools in NL. It was informative while keeping a fast pace. Lots to absorb in this book so I recommend taking your time while reading
April 6, 2021
This book was such an awesome experience. Procter does an expectional job at presenting the complicated and complex effect of residential schools in Newfoundland and Labrador on it's indigenous. I believe she aced at respectfully collecting the experiences of the Inuit
Getting to the root of the hurt and devastation of these schools, Proctor states it is the colonial mindset that has to be be addressed. A challenging read but an eye opening one that will stay with me for a long time.
Getting to the root of the hurt and devastation of these schools, Proctor states it is the colonial mindset that has to be be addressed. A challenging read but an eye opening one that will stay with me for a long time.
November 5, 2021
This is a powerful book. When I went through school, we learned about the Beothuk genocide, but in a very passive way. It was presented in a way that implied that colonialists weren't really responsible for the loss of the Beothuk, it was more circumstantial and just happened. We didn't learn about the history of the Mi'kmaq in Newfoundland. My education was very Newfoundland centered, so we most certainly did not learn about the Indigenous of Labrador. I don't know how the school curriculum is shaped now, but this book should be on it, especially for every Newfoundlander and settler.
Recently, an article in the local media discussed Wilfred Grenfell and his role in the residential school system, and a lot of people refused to believe it. Grenfell is generally seen as a hero who brought health care and education to northern Newfoundland and Labrador. The man did a lot of good, but was a key player in the residential schools in Labrador, including one in Newfoundland where children from Labrador would be taken from their homes and sent to the island, completely isolated from their families and culture. This book doesn't demonize the man, and acknowledges much of the good that he did, but also presents the attitudes and actions of the International Grenfell Association and how their actions did a lot to take children out of their culture and remove their language.
But the book does not just center on Grenfell and the IGA schools and boarding houses, but also the Moravian missions in northern Labrador. The two organizations had different ideas for how boarding houses and schools should be run. The Moravians did want to separate children from their families, but keep the language to the point where Inuktitut speakers were not supposed to learn English and vice versa, though many children did pick up a little of the other language. This book was challenging to read. It's very well compiled, and doesn't go in depth into the abuses, assaults, and strict discipline that happened in some of the schools over the years. Some children lived, and are living, with the trauma, while other remember the schools fondly. Many of the stories do talk about the loss of language and tradition, and, especially after confederation, how the schools were used to force many Indigenous to move into communities, give up their traditional lives, and force them into poorly constructed homes, to pay for settler foods, and often, end up on government assistance, rather than live off the land. This continues to have a huge impact on many throughout Labrador.
A few things that struck me was the concept of clean and the shameful way the Newfoundland government, especially before confederation, treated people in Labrador. Throughout the book, the people involved in the schools keep talking about children becoming "clean" after they spend some time in the boarding schools. I don't understand if they teachers and administrators saw the children themselves and physically dirty, or they viewed the traditional clothing as dirty or what, but this ide of "clean" comes up from the first Moravian school up until the last school closed in the 1980s. It just felt so racist and bothered me each and every time thinking about how an organization who believed they were there to help the children could start with the view that all of the children needed to be clean first, and clean seemed to mean they had to be away from their families. There is a point where an administrator is complaining about how when children return to see their parents they come back less "clean". The second one, and this really started to stand out as the book progresses, is how little the Newfoundland government, especially before confederation, cared about the education, health, or general well-being, of anyone in Labrador. The fact that there were no medical facilities in northern Newfoundland or Labrador in the last 1800s so that Grenfell had to come from away, establish these facilities, and continuously fundraise to get more money, should be seen as a shameful part of our history. The government, constantly talking poverty, would not provide the basics for their people, and didn't seem to even think of it until settlers started to fish the Labrador coast in greater numbers and started to colonize the area. The fact that these schools were established with little to no oversight, the government only reluctantly offered minimal funding, and never seemed to actually want to establish schools is a terrible part of our history. When the government finally got involved, they pushed a Newfoundland centered education on children, completely ignoring the cultures and livelihoods of Labrador. At the very least, some of the schooling, under the Moravians and Dr. Paddon, seemed to want people to keep at least some aspects of their culture, though there was a lot of picking and choosing over what was "acceptable" and what should be taught out.
There is so much to this book, and I really only commented on a couple of things. I am a settler, and recognize that I know far less about Labrador history than I thought. This book is something every settler should read, and I know that I will refer to it again and again, and will read it again in the future. I highly recommend it, because if we don't learn and acknowledge what we, as a province and as settlers, have done, reconciliation can never happen.
Recently, an article in the local media discussed Wilfred Grenfell and his role in the residential school system, and a lot of people refused to believe it. Grenfell is generally seen as a hero who brought health care and education to northern Newfoundland and Labrador. The man did a lot of good, but was a key player in the residential schools in Labrador, including one in Newfoundland where children from Labrador would be taken from their homes and sent to the island, completely isolated from their families and culture. This book doesn't demonize the man, and acknowledges much of the good that he did, but also presents the attitudes and actions of the International Grenfell Association and how their actions did a lot to take children out of their culture and remove their language.
But the book does not just center on Grenfell and the IGA schools and boarding houses, but also the Moravian missions in northern Labrador. The two organizations had different ideas for how boarding houses and schools should be run. The Moravians did want to separate children from their families, but keep the language to the point where Inuktitut speakers were not supposed to learn English and vice versa, though many children did pick up a little of the other language. This book was challenging to read. It's very well compiled, and doesn't go in depth into the abuses, assaults, and strict discipline that happened in some of the schools over the years. Some children lived, and are living, with the trauma, while other remember the schools fondly. Many of the stories do talk about the loss of language and tradition, and, especially after confederation, how the schools were used to force many Indigenous to move into communities, give up their traditional lives, and force them into poorly constructed homes, to pay for settler foods, and often, end up on government assistance, rather than live off the land. This continues to have a huge impact on many throughout Labrador.
A few things that struck me was the concept of clean and the shameful way the Newfoundland government, especially before confederation, treated people in Labrador. Throughout the book, the people involved in the schools keep talking about children becoming "clean" after they spend some time in the boarding schools. I don't understand if they teachers and administrators saw the children themselves and physically dirty, or they viewed the traditional clothing as dirty or what, but this ide of "clean" comes up from the first Moravian school up until the last school closed in the 1980s. It just felt so racist and bothered me each and every time thinking about how an organization who believed they were there to help the children could start with the view that all of the children needed to be clean first, and clean seemed to mean they had to be away from their families. There is a point where an administrator is complaining about how when children return to see their parents they come back less "clean". The second one, and this really started to stand out as the book progresses, is how little the Newfoundland government, especially before confederation, cared about the education, health, or general well-being, of anyone in Labrador. The fact that there were no medical facilities in northern Newfoundland or Labrador in the last 1800s so that Grenfell had to come from away, establish these facilities, and continuously fundraise to get more money, should be seen as a shameful part of our history. The government, constantly talking poverty, would not provide the basics for their people, and didn't seem to even think of it until settlers started to fish the Labrador coast in greater numbers and started to colonize the area. The fact that these schools were established with little to no oversight, the government only reluctantly offered minimal funding, and never seemed to actually want to establish schools is a terrible part of our history. When the government finally got involved, they pushed a Newfoundland centered education on children, completely ignoring the cultures and livelihoods of Labrador. At the very least, some of the schooling, under the Moravians and Dr. Paddon, seemed to want people to keep at least some aspects of their culture, though there was a lot of picking and choosing over what was "acceptable" and what should be taught out.
There is so much to this book, and I really only commented on a couple of things. I am a settler, and recognize that I know far less about Labrador history than I thought. This book is something every settler should read, and I know that I will refer to it again and again, and will read it again in the future. I highly recommend it, because if we don't learn and acknowledge what we, as a province and as settlers, have done, reconciliation can never happen.
June 30, 2021
A comprehensive history of residential (boarding and day) schools in Newfoundland and Labrador. Essential reading for all people of the province, and indeed, Canada as a whole. In light of recent events and the recovery of children in unmarked graves on the properties of former residential schools, it is now even more important for us to acknowledge the atrocities committed there: the abuse, the erasure of Indigenous culture and the church/government sanctioned seizure of children from their home and family.
This book takes us back to the roots, to the colonial way of thinking that initially spawned the system. It respectfully relates the enormity of the consequences of these schools, how the experience has negatively impacted Indigenous lives for countless decades; the long-term effects on survivors of residential schools and the tragedy of intergenerational trauma.
Profound and thought provoking, “A Long Journey: Residential Schools in Labrador and Newfoundland” asks readers to reflect on Canada’s shameful past and and how the only path forward is towards truth and reconciliation.
This book takes us back to the roots, to the colonial way of thinking that initially spawned the system. It respectfully relates the enormity of the consequences of these schools, how the experience has negatively impacted Indigenous lives for countless decades; the long-term effects on survivors of residential schools and the tragedy of intergenerational trauma.
Profound and thought provoking, “A Long Journey: Residential Schools in Labrador and Newfoundland” asks readers to reflect on Canada’s shameful past and and how the only path forward is towards truth and reconciliation.
February 15, 2022
I appreciate the work, dedication and research that went into the creation of this book. It's so important to have this, I wish they would include it in the school curriculum.
My rating of 4/5 stars is based on the book itself. The writing is informative, but a bit dry. Without having such a strong personal motivation to finish it, I probably wouldn't have. I believe a visual timeline of events for all communities would be a great addition to the book to help grasp what was happening at each point in time.
I would encourage anyone to read this book, it's an important step towards reconciliation.
My rating of 4/5 stars is based on the book itself. The writing is informative, but a bit dry. Without having such a strong personal motivation to finish it, I probably wouldn't have. I believe a visual timeline of events for all communities would be a great addition to the book to help grasp what was happening at each point in time.
I would encourage anyone to read this book, it's an important step towards reconciliation.
September 29, 2021
Andrea Procter's study of residential schooling and the impact on the People of Labrador is outstanding. Well-researched with documentation from a variety of perspectives, this work captures the essence of what was lost - how the cultures of Labrador were viewed as deficient, how belief in the "superiority of the Euro-Canadian culture and way of life" caused such pain. It is highly readable and well-annotated, without sensationalism or subjectivity, but profoundly moving. Deepest thanks to the People whose vision brought this story to us.
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April 9, 2022Required reading for all NLers.
August 11, 2021
Procter does a great job of relaying the history of residential schools in Newfoundland and Labrador. Testimony of survivors is threaded through a history of the the organizations, individuals and governments behind the schools, and a detailed look at what life was like - both day to day and on a more general scale - at the various locations.
This book is very effective in providing a history of NL's residential schools. The intent behind the establishment and operation of the schools is effectively illustrated not to provide solace that we colonizers had good intentions, but as a warning of the extreme cost of wielding a privilege derived from oppression to position ourselves as the standard of a good and correct way of life.
This book is very effective in providing a history of NL's residential schools. The intent behind the establishment and operation of the schools is effectively illustrated not to provide solace that we colonizers had good intentions, but as a warning of the extreme cost of wielding a privilege derived from oppression to position ourselves as the standard of a good and correct way of life.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews