"In 1958, Eugene Arcand from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation was taken to St. Michael's Indian Residential School. There, he was assigned a number-781-and he lived under the constant threat of abuse. Arcand began playing hockey after he noticed that the school athletes were the only ones who were fed properly. At hockey tournaments, he and the other children from St. Michael's were made to wear their equipment at all times so they couldn't run away."
"At the Final Report ceremony, Arcand unfolded a black-and-white photo showing a group of thirty-two little boys and girls laughing and smiling in the sun-his grade two class at St. Michael's. Only nine of those children, he told the crowd, were still alive. Arcand is one of more than 6,500 survivors and witnesses of the residential school system who spoke to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission when three commissioners, led by Murray Sinclair, spent six years gathering testimonies and millions of federal records."
Eugene Arcand was taken to St. Michael's Indian Residential School in 1958, assigned the number 781, and lived under the constant threat of abuse. He began playing hockey because athletes were fed properly, and children were forced to keep equipment on at tournaments to prevent escape. Arcand later revealed a photo of his grade two class, noting only nine of thirty-two children were still alive. More than 6,500 survivors and witnesses gave testimony to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which presented its Final Report on December 15, 2015. The report documented a system designed to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children, including at least 3,200 recorded deaths, and issued ninety-four Calls to Action; most remain unanswered a decade later.
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