Wednesday Weeviews: I Lost My Talk

 It's Wednesday! KidLit day! Featuring reviews of books written for wee ones!

I highly recommend I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe with art by Pauline Young.

This is Rita Joe's personal poem about her experience of losing her native language after being sent to a residential school in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. This moving poem creates an important opportunity to teach younger generations the importance of family, culture, and mutual respect. Parents and teachers can use this book to help children understand and discuss parts of history that, while ugly and inhumane, remain imperative to learn about.

Rita Joe's poem serves as a soft introduction into, quite likely, the darkest period of Canadian history. That makes it a wonderful book for children. But the reality was far worse.

Beginning in the 1880s, government officials forcibly removed thousands of children from their families. The goal of these schools was to repress and remove any semblance of their culture. The reeducation typically forbade the children from speaking their mother tongue or engage in anything related to their Aboriginal heritage. The rules were strict, and punishment for even minor infractions was severe, even brutal at times. With little to no accountability to the outside world, children experienced physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological abuse. While gradual reforms attempted to make the school system more humane, the fact that these institutions continued operating en masse throughout the 20th century solidifies the belief of many that these schools were a type of "cultural genocide." The last one finally closed in 1996.

Despite formal apologies from the Canadian government and some churches involved, the effects of this nightmare of history are far-reaching. Healing for many of the victims has been slow and painful, if it happens at all. A secondary result, and no less painful, proved to be an inability to assimilate into either culture. Many students left the schools with only a cursory education and often experienced just as much discrimination from white society as before. Some who returned to their families often felt lost, finding it a challenge to reconnect with their culture. Alcohol and drug abuse became (and still are) frequent crutches to try to escape the emotional and social pain, and suicide is all too common.

This book powerfully addresses the loss of one's identity and the consequences that can result, while also providing a basis for hope. She makes clear that each individual has a responsibility toward fellow humans. And that it should be cared for with deep respect.

Regardless if you have children or not, you should read this poem. Afterward, visit https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_residential_school_system/ to read a more in-depth history. I also recommend the documentary, "We Were Children," though it it not for the faint of heart.

AWBB Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. E - Appropriate for readers of all ages.

I received a free copy for review, however all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.