Books to Read to Your Kids about Residential Schools

Pictured are some of the covers of the powerful books listed below on the subject of residential schools

Residential schools, which operated from roughly the 1880s to 1996 in Canada, stripped Indigenous children of their culture in an attempt to assimilate them into Euro-Canadian culture. About 150,000 children attended these schools. At least 6,000 of them died there and many others were subjected to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Residential schools disrupted Indigenous communities and caused intergenerational trauma.

While Indigenous peoples have heard apologies from the Canadian government in 2008 and from the Pope in 2022, much more needs to be done to achieve true reconciliation. One way the average Canadian can do this is to educate children about residential schools and about the lasting and ongoing effects they have had on Indigenous peoples and communities. Below is a list of books, ranging in reading audience from toddlers to pre-teen, that can help parents begin this difficult but important conversation with their kids.

Phyllis’s Orange Shirt by Phyllis Webstad (ages 4 to 6)

Phyllis’s Orange Shirt is a story about a young girl named Phyllis who lived with her grandmother on Dog Creek reserve. Her grandmother bought Phyllis a bright orange shirt, which she wore on her first day of residential school. The orange shirt was promptly taken from her at school. Phyllis later became the inspiration behind Orange Shirt Day in Canada. Every September 30th since 2013, Canadians are encouraged to wear orange to remember all the children who were sent to residential school. Phyllis’s Orange Shirt, which has simple text and rhyming words, is a great way to introduce young children to a difficult topic.

Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell (ages 4 to 8)

In this book, we meet a girl by the name of Shi-shi-etko, which means “loves to play in the water.” Every night, she counts the sleeps before she must go away to residential school, which is far from her home. During the day, she lives and breathes her culture. Shi-shi-etko canoes with her father, picks plants and natural medicines with her grandmother, and bathes in the creek with her mother. Shi-shi-etko promised to remember everything about her home, her land, and her people when she was away at school. While we know that Indigenous children were punished for practicing their culture at school, this book leaves the reader hoping that Shi-shi-etko was able to resist those forces of assimilation.

 Be sure to check out Nicola I. Campbell’s other book about residential school called, Shin-chi's Canoe (ages 4 to 8). In this story, Shi-shi-etko is about to return to residential school for the second year, to be accompanied also by her six-year-old brother. A sad and lonely Shin-chi clutches a small cedar canoe his father gifted him as he waits for the time he is reunited with family.

Kookum's Red Shoes by Peter Eyvindson (ages 4 to 8)

Peter Eyvindson smartly and effectively weaves analogies to Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz into this story about Kookum, a woman who takes us on a journey through her memories of residential school. Snatched by a “tornado,” Kookum was taken as a young girl to residential school. She was forced to abandon her Indigenous culture by the abusive nuns. She and the other children were turned into tin soldiers, living sad and rigidly structured days. She missed her home, her family, and the red shoes her parents had purchased for her before she was taken. Kookum’s Red Shoes is a story about intergenerational pain, trauma, and healing. Kookum had to relearn the old ways, and she makes it her life goal to teach generations to come about them.

When We Were Alone by David Robertson (ages 4 to 8)

When We Were Alone is a story about a little girl who has a lot of questions for her Nókom to answer. Why do you wear colourful clothes? Nókom’s clothes are so colourful, she blends into the flowers. The reason for this is because Nókom couldn’t wear colourful clothes at residential school. The uniforms the children wore were dull and sad like storm clouds. Nókom remembers how the children found colours outside, rolling in the fallen autumn leaves. Nókom goes on to teach the little girl and the reader other lessons, like why she wears a long braid, why she speaks Cree, and why she cherishes family time. When We Were Alone is a beautiful and powerful book that demonstrates how the legacy of residential schools continues to impact the daily lives of survivors and their families.

The Train by Jodie Callaghan (ages 6 to 9)

Ashley talks to her uncle as he waits for the train to come down the tracks. Ashley reminds him that the train doesn’t come that way anymore. He knows this. It was then that Ashley’s uncle began telling her about a time when the train did come into town. He and other children were put on the train and sent to residential school. He tells Ashley the story of his six years there. The Train teaches about racial discrimination, the legacy of residential school, intergenerational trauma, and reconnecting with culture.

 

The Boy Who Walked Backwards by Ben Sures (ages 6 to 9)

Leo Day is a fun-loving boy who lives a traditional Ojibwe life. He loves to play hide-and-go seek in the forest with his friends. One day, he and his friends were taken away by the Indian agent and sent to residential school. When Leo is allowed to return home for Christmas, he devises a plan to stay at home. The Boy Who Walked Backwards tells the story of a clever boy who manages to trick the nuns and Indian agents and grows up to be a leader of his people.

Stolen Words by Melanie Florence (ages 6 to 9)

“How do you say grandfather in Cree?” This is the question a little girl posed to her grandpa. “I don’t remember,” he answered. As the little girl continues to ask her grandfather about why he didn’t remember, the reader learns about his time at residential school. There, grandfather’s words were taken away. Powerful illustrations by Gabrielle Grimard show children’s voices being sucked out of their little bodies. The voices form a black bird above them that is then locked into a cage by a priest. Stolen Words is a story about a little girl who tries to give those words back to her grandfather. It’s a lovely and emotion-evoking book that shows the power in healing and the ways that language revitalization is an important part of that healing process.

I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer (ages 7 to 10)

The book begins with a heartbreaking story about an Indian agent who forcibly takes Irene Couchie and her brothers away from their loving parents and home. When the siblings get to the residential school, Irene is separated from the boys. She is given a number and told to wash away her dark skin. Her hair is cut, she is made to eat mushy food, and she is abused for speaking her language. When Irene and her brothers go home for a visit, her father comes up with a plan to make sure they never return to residential school. I Am Not a Number is a gripping true story based on the life of author Kenny Kay Dupuis’s grandmother.

As Long as The Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden (ages 8 to 13)

As Long as the Rivers Flow is a true story, based on the life of Larry Loyie, known as Lawrence as a child. It's about the last summer he spent with his family before going to residential school. He helped prepare for the hunting season and observed as his grandmother made moccasins. These memories of living happily at home starkly contrast Lawrence’s later memories of the children leaving for residential school. This short chapter book is a poignant tale about the ways residential school completely disrupted Indigenous ways of life.

 Loyie and Brissenden co-wrote another powerful book about residential school, Goodbye Buffalo Bay (ages 8 to 13). In this book, Lawrence is a teenager. He returns home from residential school a stranger to his family. Goodbye Buffalo Bay is a story about self-discovery, moving beyond anger, friendship, and the realization of dreams.

No Time to Say Goodbye by Sylvia Olsen (ages 9 to 12)

This book features the accounts of five Tsartlip children and their experiences at Kuper Island Residential School. Isolated on an island and made to live in a strictly regimented environment, the children naturally come to miss home. In spite of all their hardships, they manage to find adventure and make friends. No Time to Say Goodbye is a wonderful multi-perspective book. It’s a heartbreaking story that introduces a difficult yet necessary discussion to young readers.

Fatty Legs by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton (ages 9 to 11)

This is a story about eight-ear-old Olemaun, a vibrant Inuk girl, who is later given the name Margaret at residential school. There, Margaret encounters a cruel nun. One day, the nun gave all the girls gray stockings except Margaret, who was teased and called “fatty legs” by some of the children. Margaret was given red stockings; the colour circus clowns wore. In the face of bullying, Margaret stood up for herself and got rid of the red stockings. This book is based on the true story of Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, a residential school survivor.

 She and Christy Jordan-Fenton also authored the picture book, When I Was Eight, based on a similar story, but for a younger reading audience (ages 6 to 9). Be sure to also read their co-authored book, A Stranger At Home (ages 9 to 13). This is a story about when Margaret comes home from residential school to a family that no longer recognizes her. She has to relearn her language and people’s traditions, and along the way, rediscover her own identity. The book Not My Girl makes this story accessible to younger readers (ages 6 to 9).