The remaining buildings of a former residential school on an island off the west coast of Vancouver Island have been demolished.
Survivors of the Christie Indian Residential School were invited to witness the demolition on Meares Island, off the coast of Tofino.
“The planning has been going on for quite some time now,” Greg Louie, former elected chief councillor of the Ahousaht Nation told Global News.
“I can say that it’s been in the in the universe for many years. That’s that’s how I feel about it. It’s been probably since we were all young people. That one day this was gonna come, one day this was gonna happen, and it’s it was just a matter of when and having the appropriate time.”
According to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the Christie Indian Residential School opened in 1900 and operated under the Order of St. Benedict and the Mission Oblates of Mary Immaculate until 1969. The federal government then took over operation of the school, and in June 1971, the Meares Island location closed. In October 1971, the Christie Student Residence opened in Tofino.
In September 1974, the West Coast District Council of Indian Chiefs led and operated the school as a student residence exclusively until it closed in 1983.
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“When I was walking up this morning from the dock there, thinking about when I was a young boy, when I came here when I was six years old and having memories of walking up that road and the hills and and just a lot of emotion also,” Louie said at the demolition on Thursday.
Felix Harry attended the school from 1965 to 1972.
“I think it’s, you know, better for it to get torn down, for the spirits to go on their journey now and stuff,” he said.
“You know, that way we understand where you know, where everybody’s gonna be healing in a proper manner of letting the spirits continue on without them staying in a place like this.”
Louie said they want people to look at this demolition as a new chapter for the former students, their families and their healing journeys.
“Well, this is a new chapter,” he said. “It’s a new chapter, a new page in our healing and coming together and being strong and letting the world know that we’re still here.
“We’re not going anywhere, we’re resilient people. We’re strong, we’re warriors.”
A National Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support to former students. This 24-Hour Crisis Line can be accessed at 1-866-925-4419.
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