Werklund grad's philosophy shaped by experiences in residential school

The subject of residential schools has been in the news recently, as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its findings on the history of the schools and the legacy of loss and hardship they generated for thousands of aboriginal children. Along with the report, the commission produced 94 calls to action, a first step towards repairing the damage done to so many for so long.

Sandra Manyfeathers was one of those children.

The Werklund School of Education Bachelor of Education graduate wasn't given a choice when, as a small child, she was sent to St. Mary’s Indian Residential School on the Blood Indian Reserve. 

She says she was obligated to attend the school as part of the federal government's policy on education for First Nations students. 

Manyfeathers explains that her experience of the school was that "First Nations students were inferior to children immigrating to our lands, which became Canada." As well, she says, an underlying "mandate was to suppress us from learning anything substantial in terms of education, and as a result, our educational experiences were rudimentary.”

Yet Manyfeathers sees herself not as a victim, which she says serves little purpose, but as a survivor. And she credits the teachings and support from her family with allowing her to work through the challenges and difficulties she faced to successfully complete her studies, both then and now. 

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As a young girl, Manyfeathers says her grandparents and parents instilled in her a desire to learn; they taught her how to speak her language and the ways of the Blackfoot people. They taught her to respect the land and to appreciate others, and to pray and give thanks.

But with school came a different world — one that no young child should experience. 

“On one side I had been nurtured and loved by my parents and grandparents, and in school I was physically tortured, mentally drained and abused spiritually,” she says. 

Experience has taught her to let students lead the way in learning

Her experiences taught her that each and every student has personal gifts that will allow them to be successful in school, and today she is passionate about bridging understanding between First Nations people and Canadians as a whole. And she plans to bring that philosophy into her classroom.

“As a result of both my parents’ and grandparents’ teachings and my Indian residential school experiences, I have a desire to allow every student I teach an opportunity to lead in their learning,” she explains. 

“I know that emotional, physical, spiritual and mental well-being is at the core of a successful student. I know these things because I have experienced both sides of the spectrum in the most extreme way.” 

Manyfeathers, who was hired as a cultural instructor to teach Blackfoot language and culture for the Calgary Board of Education, looks forward to being placed in a classroom in the near future, a place she knows in her heart she belongs. 

“I want to encourage students to celebrate the fact that they are unique. I want to support every student while guided by that student, their parents or guardians, the curriculum and the school culture," she says.

“Every student possesses a gift of some sort. I want to learn what their gift is and help them grow personally and intellectually.”