Forbidden to Speak
- Nishnawbe Aski Nation, 2005 -
When I went to residential school I was excited because I saw so many other Ojibwe children there. I thought it was going to be a good place. When I went out in the yard by the big building I talked to another girl in Ojibwe. A big English man who was nearby came over and grabbed me by the arm and took me inside the big building. He talked with one of the women who spoke English for a while. That woman took me into a room and took out a strap, turned me over her knee and gave me a spanking on the bum. She talked all the time she did this, but I did not know what she said until they got another student to explain to me that when I talked I had to use English words and if I got caught using different words I would get a spanking.
