This quote really stood out to me because it demonstrates one of the many traumatic realities in Indigenous communities during this time. I feel like it demonstrates the strength and determination of these women, and it's amazing that after losing however many children, they're still willing to take in their grandchildren and help raise them as their own.

This is important because I feel like it is an example of the effects of residential schools over time. The inability to pass along skills like processing fish has resulted in generations of hard work and knowledge being lost, and it's truly heartbreaking to see. I feel like this would be very troubling for the elders of these communities to watch over time.

I can relate to this from my own experiences at home hunting with my dad. I learned from a very young age that we need to respect the animals and nature around us, and that when we do, they will provide for us. Hunting season is still my favourite time of year even after I've moved away from home because it reminds me of how lucky we are to live on this land, and it holds so many important memories. I can hear and feel the excitement in this quote, and it reminds me of my own excitement from my own experiences.

I grew up in a very small town next to the FNFN (Fort Nelson First Nations). Every year the schools would host Rendezvous and all of the kids would participate in learning traditional ways from the elders of the town. They taught us how to trap, tie lures, skin squirrels, cut wood, etc., and they spoke to us about the Creator as they taught us these skills. They thanked the Creator and taught us the importance of respecting our surroundings by demonstrating it themselves, and even though I was too young to fully understand when I started participating in Rendezvous, I understood that there was something bigger than us to thank for the opportunity to learn.

This reminds me of modern day societal pressures that are put on men. I’d be interested to hear the perspectives of some of the men who were put under this pressure during this time, and I’d like to learn more about how that affected their mental health. Feeling the weight of their ancestors, community, family, etc., and feeling like you’re letting them down if you can’t prove yourself as a man would be such a degrading feeling. I wonder if it was more or less acceptable during these times to be vulnerable as a man, compared to today.

When I was younger I heard many Indigenous stories in school as a means to learn lessons. As I enter the history academia sphere I've noticed many people use these stories as a means to explain indigenous history. They take stories out of context to explain the past. It seems quite problematic as you wouldn't use a fairytale to explain a European people's history. It seems to me that some extra measures could be put in place in order to stop misrepresentations of Indigenous history.

I found this really interesting because it shows how much has changed over the years, and it’s interesting to think about how modern day laws are so different from what was considered reasonable during this time. When I think of a twelve year old today, I think of a kid whose mom still drives them to school and makes them dinner, and definitely not someone who is ready for marriage. I also think it’s very interesting to see how much western society has changed “social norms” and roles of individuals over a relatively short period of time.

I feel like this is a very sad reality for a lot of Indigenous people, and it makes me wonder what effect this would have on their mental health. Struggling with identifying who you are as a person has been shown to cause psychological damage, and I’m interested to learn about the long lasting effects of the Department of Indian Affairs through generations.

This quote demonstrates the power of communication among Indigenous communities. Passing along knowledge through storytelling was a primary source of knowledge, and unfortunately due to residential schools this is something that has been lost slowly over time. Children now generally don't grow up learning their native language, making it difficult for them to communicate and learn from certain elders in the community.

I feel like this quote is important because it demonstrates the unspoken aspect of respect among Indigenous culture. We've talked a lot about respecting the land and thanking the Creator for opportunities, the land, nature, etc., respect for the elders and other members of the community, but I feel like theres an unspoken spiritual level of respect as well. Dance and music is an example of this as they're used to express feelings and pay respect.

This sentiment speaks truly to that level of respect and repaying someone when you disrespect someone. It could be considered interesting from a Euro-centric lens that someone would apologize by cleaning their house but this sort of action would be very meaningful in Indigenous communities. Food and acts of service are held in much higher regard than money and materialistic items in Indigenous communities from my experience. This apology demonstrates some very distinguishing cultural differences.

Respect is a topic that always comes up in Indigenous cultures. Respect for others, respect the land and respect your elders. As important as respect is in other cultures it seems to hold an extra dimension with Indigenous cultures. When comparing to European lifestyles, the European peoples often put their importance of respect on people because they believed they held the most importance. In Indigenous culture that respect takes a step beyond from respecting others to respecting them and all else. Respect seems to not only be something they give people but rather a way of life.

I feel like this is something that has really been lost in society. We don't learn to appreciate our abilities and small moments and I often catch myself complaining about irrelevant things. This is something that I would like to work on more in my life, and it's something that I respect and admire the elders in these communities for.

In my experience, this seems to be a significant cultural difference. My grandmother on my father's side is not Indigenous and she seems to ask my father and his siblings to do nearly everything for her even if she is able. On the other side, my grandmother would only take a break when she was finished. After a short break, she would go to my mom's or one of her sister's houses and start working. I'm not sure if this experience is universal but I'm curious to see if this may be common practice.

I find it extremely disturbing that police officers would do this to Indigenous peoples. Police officers are meant to stop crimes and make people feel safe. By barging in to Indigenous people's homes because of racial prejudice (assumption) Iit would cause people in the police officers community to feel unsafe. I understand police officers didn't care to make Indigenous people feel safe at this time (some to this day) but still extremely disturbing that this disrespect went on from law enforcement. Not just this but all discrimination from the legal system.

I think this quote is very strong because it conveys that harsh ultimatum of what you want to do in life. What I find most interesting about this quote is what the correlation was for Indigenous kids during this time. The ultimatum takes somewhat of a drastic turn from what I want to do to what can I do. In a time when Indigenous populations were under surveillance and being controlled by settlers many restrictions were put on these younger people. Rather than what they wanted to do they had to think about what they couldn't do first.

This shows the importance of passing down traditions and showing the importance of it. She finds it extremely important to her and she wants to convey that feeling so that it transfers over. It's pretty heartwarming to read this as you can tell how much this passing down of respect means to her. It shows the value she holds in her tradition and in her grandchildren. This is the essence of transmission of way of life and her reaction is that of someone who truly cares.

I wonder if early on with the introduction of instruments post-colonization if this was a common event. After colonization I could believe that the European populations did not want to teach Indigenous populations how to play these new instruments due to their early discriminatory behaviours. However I wonder if down the road during this period if it was still common that Indigenous people still had to find their own means to learn? Also was this simply a more natural way to learn due to most musical experience in Indigenous populations being percussion?

Looking at Euro-centric versus indigenous culture is very polar when considering the community. In my past experiences white/euro-centric communities aren't extremely important and not many gatherings happen outside of the church. Whereas I find Indigenous groups hold a much higher importance on community as well as the frequency of community gatherings.

This exert resonates with me personally. In my experience, my grandmother didn't speak on our heritage very often due to her past experiences. Whenever she would it was shocking and almost something she wanted us to ignore. The phrasing "sI should have listened" speaks to that. I understand that feeling of regret from not picking up on these details in the moment. To this day I still wish I had those moments of reflection with her.

1. Elsie and her team have created a video conveying the message of the importance of listening. The video emphasizes the need to listen to our elders, teachings, ancestors, land, and language. It is not enough to just listen; we must act upon those teachings as well. Personally, I enjoyed watching and listening to Elsie. It felt like I was sitting with an Elder, having a cup of tea.

This passage evokes so much sadness in me. While we know that the children in residential schools experienced abuse, it always hurts to know they were so neglected that they were left on their deathbeds. My late grandfather Xey’telq, Dr. Ray Silver Sr. from Semà:th, attended Coqualeetza and then Port Alberni Residential School with his brother, Dalton. My grandpa was sent home with his brother in a tiny wooden box, not knowing how he died. Elsie’s story of her great-aunt, neglected during her time in residential school, reminds me of this. Still, I am also glad that she is not a lost child buried in an unmarked grave somewhere, like so many others who did not survive residential schools.

Ways of loving and parenting children were lost to countless family lines as a result of residential schools. Without proper love, care, attention and teaching, children grew into adults who didn't know how else to raise their own children besides what they picked up from the people who ran the schools. From there, trauma continues on through generations.

Shame is a huge feature of residential schools that come to my mind. School officials relentlessly treated Indigenous children poorly, and attacked them if they did not behave or perform in a manner that was acceptable to them. Right at the start from entering the school, then having their belongings taken away, to being forbidden from speaking their language or practicing their culture, to having to pray for parents back home because they were “sinners,” as Elsie Paul had said, were all ways of making the children feel ashamed of who they are.

This is so real. What she is saying. I know first hand what it is like to be forced into something and it is not a good feeling. I like what she said about just showing respect instead, it really is that simple. The honesty in how she talks is very real. I appreciate real. Being is real about things like this is important to learning how things were.

I used to go clam digging with my extended grandparents and I loved it. It was a little hard at times to get the clams because they would be so far into the sand but it was rewarding when you got some. I loved steamed and smoked clams, so good. I did not know about how they would preserve the clams back then because they did not have freezers. That is cool to know. We would put them in a little steamer basket and put in on a rack over the fire.

My aunt makes her own 'fruit leather" she calls it just like this in the summer. All the berries she uses are from her garden. Nothing beats the little crunch from the seeds of the raspberries. I love it. We also would make our own jelly to, the best. I like how Elsie describes her love for real "fruit roll ups" nothing is quite like it honestly.

This makes me think about who enforced these laws and the methods used to maintain this. The pass and permit system, not legislated by the Indian Act, held people on the reserves and prevented people from moving around like many families and communities had before settler colonial powers took over and enforced their regulations on Indigenous society.

Grief comes in so many shapes and forms. There is no right way to grieve. Throughout my grieving process, I have had many people question and or judge the way I am going through this. So when I read this, I teared up because it slightly validated me that doing what is right for me through this is not wrong. I really love how honest and down to earth she is by talking about grief. Grief is a very difficult thing to understand. No one should apologize for putting themselves first when grieving.

As someone who is going through grief right now because I lost my brother, reading and hearing how she talks about grief is actually really inspiring. Using the analogy "You are in this fork in your life. You're either going to go left or you're gonna go right." "It's always easier to go left. Because you don't have to make any decisions." Spoke to me and is actually opening my mind to taking better care of myself through this time. I have 100% been going left and I never really thought of it that way till I read this. I really like that she touches on so many real life things and in a way not many people do because it's based around the teachings in her life and culture.

I really love hearing about how music would bring them together. Music was a huge thing in our family to bring everyone together so that warmed my heart. I like how she describes what she remembers and which instruments they played. It felt real when I listened to her voice light up when she talked about this ceremony.