Pearl (Wenjack) Achneepineskum, the sister of Chanie Wenjack, sang a beautifully haunting song, then said : вЂњTo all of you in the audience. It was an unbearable thought.ДЄt the end of the performance, the Wenjack family members were invited up onto the stage. I kept thinking about my own sons being taken out of my house to a place far away where I couldnвЂ™t see, hear, or hold them. My own boys look a lot like him: they have dark eyes, dark hair, and a dark complexion (my husbandвЂ™s family is from India). When the first scenes of the Secret Path film were lit up on the big screen at the back of the stage where Gord and the musicians stood, I was struck by the image depicted of Chanie Wenjack. Where were their hearts when they took those children hundreds of miles away from their families? While up in the North, I heard stories first-hand from those who had been in residential schools, and felt those years ago, mortified that people would willingly harm others вЂ“ children, in particular. He did everything he could to financially, emotionally, and spiritually support his children while trying to keep them away from addictive temptations. I remember one family in particular вЂ“ the fatherвЂ™s loyalty to his family was so inspiring. I had the opportunity to live on a remote reserve for a year and experience both the pain and beauty of being there. Growing up in Thompson, Manitoba, and later having my first teaching jobs in First Nations communities and isolated reserves, I learned to appreciate and love the Indigenous people and culture. This sense of importance comes from my personal connection with Gord, the connection I feel with Indigenous people, and a deep desire to participate in the truth and reconciliation process. I wanted to go, knowing what I might be walking into, because standing in the space of Gord, the musicians, the Secret Path film, the Wenjack family, and other Indigenous people was a difficultly important thing to do. I knew that when I planned to see Gord DownieвЂ™s Secret Path show in Toronto, there would be sadness and tears. The story of how Chanie Wenjack, at age 12, was forced to go to a residential school 400 miles away, later dying after escaping and attempting to walk back home along a railway track, is being brought to our attention by Gord Downie and his Secret Path project.

Imagine having your school-aged son taken from your home and sent hundreds of miles away to a boarding school where your worst nightmares of how he might be treatedВ actually happen? This unthinkable event was reality for the Wenjack family and the parents of 163,000 Canadian children who were taken from their families and send to residential schools 50В to 60В years ago.

Gord downie family photos