It keeps going on
Children gather for a class photo in front of a campus building at Thomas Indian School, circa 1900. The group ranges from toddlers to young adults and are accompanied by school staff in the top rows. (Courtesy: New York State Archives, NYSA_A1913-77_64)
Story told by Mitch Deer
Growing up, I saw a lot of shit I wasn’t supposed to see.
In my house, sex was crazy. I didn’t talk about it because I was just a kid.
My mother was very promiscuous. And that’s because she was in the residential school from five years old. She was beautiful, my mother. Beautiful.
They treated her like a piece of meat in that school. And they took advantage of her. The staff took advantage of her, the Indians took advantage of her.
So, she didn’t know what was up, down, sideways, anywhere.
Things used to bother her more, but she didn’t tell us about it. She just said, “I was in a residential school.”
She would cry sometimes.
As a kid, I was so confused with my mom. I never knew what she went through.
I couldn’t say anything about it. If I had known the way she grew up, then I would’ve understood better. She didn’t tell us what she went through. All she would do is start crying when she mentioned the school.
Here I am trying to figure out things: She’s crying. I go to school, I don’t cry.
Why would she cry?
As a kid, you don’t question something like that. You know it’s the way it is, but you don’t know why.
This is what happened to a lot of Indian people. They went through the same shit. They abuse each other too. It’s a learned behaviour that they see in school. From the headmaster, the teacher, the brothers, the woman who’s raising them.
He’s diddling with the kids, the kids couldn’t take it. They died. And they would bury them, or burn them, or they would throw them in the water, in the river.
That’s why you’re never gonna actually find out how many died. Because a lot of them, a lot of the young girls, when they got pregnant, those schools took the baby and threw it in the furnace.
That’s murder. They did that in a lot of the schools in Canada and the United States too.
They’ve been killing our people for the last 500 years, ever since they got off the boats. Killing and raping our people. They didn’t treat us as human beings.
And it still goes on today where they’re taking our women off the roads. Young girls go walking around and then they’re missing.
We’re just like innocent fucking sheep over here. We’re just moving around and doing our stuff on the rez. Some are into drugs because of all the heartache and all the problems that the residential school brought to our kids and their kids. It keeps going on.
KANIEN’KÉHA VERSION
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KANIEN’KÉHA VERSION ↓
Shé:kon tho niiohtonhátie’
A young Lily Deer models in her regalia. Lily was a model in her youth and posed at places like Yale University. (Courtesy: Mitch Deer)
Mitch Deer ROKÁ:RATON
Shiwakatehiahróntie’, nia’tekanennerì:take wakatkáhthon néne iah teió:wen aonkwatkáhthon.
Ne akenónhskon, wa’tewatenòn:ianihte’ tsi wa’thonnikò:shen'. Iah énska tewakatatià:ton ase'kénh nek ken’ nikà:’ahkwe’.
É:so shos teionhónhtes nake’nisténha. Eh niiohtòn:ne’ ase'kénh tehonwatikhahsiónkwen tsi thonterihwaienstáhkhwa’ ié:ien'skwe’ tsi náhe’ wísk sha’teiakaohseriià:kon. Kwah í:ken tsi iakoia’taskatstòn:ne’, ne istén:ha. Kwah tokèn:’en.
Tho’ nontahshakotiié:ra'se' tsi ní:ioht tóka’ o’wà:ron naieia’to’ténhake’ eh nonkwá:. Tánon' wahshakonatié:sahte’. Rotiio’ténion wahshakonatié:sahte’, Onkwehón:we wahshakonatié:sahte’. Thia’teká:konte’ iahshakoti’nowà:ren. Ne ki’, iah teieienteríhne’ ka’ nonkwá:ti ne è:neken, ehtà:ke, aktóntie’, kwah káneka.
Sénha shos iotkà:te’ wa’tiako’nikonhrhá:ren' nahò:ten', nek tsi iah thé:nen tha’teionkhirihwathe’tén:ni. Nek wa’ì:ron', “Tehonwatikhahsiónkwen tsi thonterihwaienstáhkhwa’ ié:ke'skwe’.”
Sewatié:rens wa’tionhséntho’.
Ne ken’ shikà:’a, é:so tsi wa’tewakani’tónnien' tsi nonkwá: nistén:ha. Iah nonwén:ton tewakaterien’tarà:’on nahò:ten' teiakotohétston.
Iah teiotòn:’on thé:nen aonkwatatià:ton. Tóka’ aonkwaterien’tarà:’on tsi ní:tsi iakotehià:ron sok ki’ sénha ioiánere’ aonke’nikonhraientà:’on. Iah teionkhihró:ri nahò:ten' teiakotohétston. Nek shos tenionhséntho’ nó:nen teniakowennawískwahte’ ne tho tsi thonterihwaienstáhkhwa’.
Ó:nen ki’ teskerihotaríhsions: Teionhsénthos. Enkaterihwaienstà:na’, iah tha’takahséntho’.
Oh nontié:ren shos tenionhséntho'?
Female dormitory at Thomas Indian School, where Mitch’s mother, Lily Deer, attended school. Thomas Indian School was located on the Cattaraugus Reservation in New York State and was considered one of the worst Indian Boarding Schools in the United States. It closed its door in 1957. This photo was taken circa 1890s. (Courtesy: New York State Archives, NYSA_A1913-77_18)
Nó:nen ken’ nihsà:’a’, iah thé:nen thahserihwanón:ton' eh nahò:ten'. Saterièn:tare’ wáhi tsi nek tho ní:ioht, nek tsi iah tesaterièn:tare' oh nontié:ren.
Ken’ nahotiià:tawen' ne nia’teionkwehonwehserá:ke. Ne sha’kanennerì:ta wa’thontóhetste’. Wa’thontatkenhren’serón:ni’ ò:ni’. Rotiweientehtà:’on thí:ken shihonaterihwaienstonhátie’. Ohén:ton í:iente’ tiotáhsawe’, tsi niió:re iakorihonnién:ni, ronahsì:takon, sok tsi niká:ien' tsakothonwí:sen néne ronwanehià:rons.
Thieshakoié:nas ne ratiksa’okòn:’a, ieshako'nowahéhrha’. Kwah wahoti’shén:ni’ ne ratiksa'okòn:'a. Wahonníheie’. Kwah shos enhonwatiia’táta’, tóka’ ni’ enhonwanatia’tátshahte’, tóka’ ni’ awèn:ke thienhonwatiia’tón:ti’, tsi kaniataratátie’.
Nè:’e tiorì:wa’ tsi iah nonwén:ton thaiesató:kenhse’ tó: nihá:ti kwah tokèn:’en ronenhé:ion. Ase'kénh é:so rá:ti, é:so kón:ti ne kontiià:tase's, sha’kontháwa’ aotinekwèn:takon, iahshakotiia’ténhawe’ nowirà:’a tánon' karístakon iahshakotiia’tóntho’.
Ronwanahséhton. Eh nihotiié:ren é:so ionterihwaienstaniónhkhwa’ nonkwá:ti Korahnéhshon ò:ni’ Wastonhronon’kéhshon. Ó:nen wísk tewen’niáwe niiohserá:ke shihshakotírios ne ontionkwe’ta’shòn:’a, tsi náhe' shithonatitáhkwen kahón:
Translation by Karonhí:io Delaronde