The Sammy kids, and others

What Indian Residential School records show

Classroom of an Indian Residential School

By James C. McCrae (former attorney general of Manitoba and Canadian citizenship judge)

“… we have been heartened by testimonies which affirm the dedication and compassion of committed educators who sought to nurture the children in their care. These experiences must also be heard.” - former Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chair Murray Sinclair, August 2010 - Calgary Herald

The history of Canadian Indian Residential Schools (IRS) is exceedingly complex, but it cannot be denied that they saved many students from lives of illiteracy, insecurity, fear, and melancholy. They served many purposes during their years of operation, including caring for at-risk children.

Nelson Sammy (37), a farmer of the Saskatchewan White Bear Indian Band, was executed by hanging on July 4, 1940.

As reported by the Winnipeg Tribune, on Friday,  August 25,1939 Sammy shot and killed his wife (35) and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. Chewack, during a violent domestic quarrel.

On Saturday night, August 26, RCMP officers, a posse of Indigenous men, and police dog Tell hunted Sammy down. Sammy fired two shots, one of them instantly killing Constable Willis E. Rhodeniser (28) of the Yorkton RCMP detachment. The remaining officers fired on Sammy, injuring his shoulder and side. Sammy was taken into custody, hospitalized for his injuries, and later tried. He was convicted of manslaughter for the killing of his wife and her parents, and of murder for the killing of RCMP Constable Rhodeniser.

Constable Rhodeniser was survived by his parents and several brothers and sisters, as well as Miss Noelle Bourgeault, to whom he was engaged and expecting to marry the following year.*

Nelson Sammy and his wife had five children.  Florence, Priscilla, and Richard were admitted to the Brandon Indian Residential School at their father’s request in 1937. Thelma (4) and Kenneth (3) were admitted September 26, 1939, both diagnosed with trachoma, as evidenced by their required medical examination. Both parents had been students at Indian Residential Schools at the File Hills and Brandon schools. Three of their children were already enrolled at the Brandon school for two years when Nelson committed his crimes. In the aftermath, their youngest children, Thelma and Kenneth, were without parents, grandparents or anyone in their community to look after them.

Because of the ages of Thelma and Kenneth, the principal at the Brandon school was initially unable to agree to take them in, unless authorized by the Department of Indian Affairs. Authorization was granted due to the “special” circumstances of the Sammy children.

A tragic story. Five children lost their mother, their maternal grandparents and - later - their father. No one in their community was able or willing to care for the children. Their father clearly was not thinking of his children when he took their mother’s and grandparents’ lives. Neither was he thinking of his children when he murdered Constable Rhodeniser.  It was left to the Indian agent, the government, and the Brandon school to pick up the broken pieces of this family’s life.

Given the distressing circumstances of these children, what would have been a better plan for them? The development of child welfare agencies in Canada was spotty at best, at least until later in the twentieth century, and residential schools were the primary caregivers for at-risk status Indian children, certainly in the earlier years.

Those who today condemn the government, the operators of the schools, the teachers, matrons, and other staff involved ought to try to put themselves into the shoes of the Sammy children. Whatever effects their experiences at the Brandon school had on the remainder of their lives, no doubt their lives were forever damaged much more by the actions of their own father.

Other children rescued by the Brandon Indian Residential School are the subjects of the following communications found on the Library and Archives Canada website.

February 26,1936:  Mr. D. Robinson of Koostatak applied to have his four children admitted to the Brandon school, as he stated he was unable to care for them. The Brandon school was a Protestant school. If the Brandon school was unable to accommodate his children, Robinson was willing that they be sent to a Catholic school.

Little Christina Moar was four years and eight months old when she was admitted to the Brandon school circa August 1936. Initially, authorities thought she was only two, and her father’s application was rejected for that reason. Upon the Indian Agent’s learning her correct age, her admission was re-considered, on the agent’s urging. Her father was unable to care for Christina and her siblings because their mother was dead and he needed to earn a living by trapping. The letter written by Indian Agent Samuel Lovell convinced the Department of Indian Affairs that Christina deserved to be protected and cared for.

William Bryant “begged to be given a chance.”  By September, 1936, William had previously attended the File Hills IRS and wanted to continue his education at the Brandon school. He therefore knew what IRSs were like. According to Mr. Catrander, the Indian Agent, William’s father, Alfred Bryant, wanted William to be away from the “bad company” on the Cote Indian Reserve. Alfred Bryant and his wife were separated, and William’s life on the reserve offered little to help him prepare for a good future. Further education at the Brandon school was viewed as the best option.

Six-year-old Lawrence French of the Swan Lake Band: Lawrence’s father died “some years ago” and his mother had died “recently”.  The little boy had been living with his grandparents, who had not adopted him. J. Waite, Indian Agent, reported in a letter dated December 6,1943 that this arrangement was “not a good home for the boy” and that “The Chief of the band is of the opinion that the boy, to receive proper care, should be in a residential school.”

Muriel and Thomas Sparvier. Transfer from Round Lake IRS. The father of these children wanted them to be “away from the vicinity of their home”, and that the “training they will get at Brandon school will be more beneficial to them.”

Earl, Margaret, and Shirley Mason. The Indian Agent, Mr. Clarke, reported that the mother of these children left their father. The father - Mr. Percy Mason - was a fisherman away from his reserve and could not care for his children. He specifically asked that his children be admitted to the Brandon school.

These and countless other Library and Archives Canada records make it clear that conditions on the reserves were not at all ideal for the raising of many status Indian children. Some children had lost one or both parents. Some parents were separated; their families broken. Employment took fathers away from their homes for long periods.  Parents, chiefs and guardians needed and wanted the children to be educated, fed, clothed and cared for. Had other, better resources been available for native children, perhaps those resources could have been used. The schools were operated for many purposes besides education; care and protection for status Indian children at risk or in need was very much part of the program.

Former TRC chair Murray Sinclair wrote to the Calgary Herald in August 2010 “… we have been heartened by testimonies which confirm the dedication and compassion of committed educators who sought to nurture the children in their care,” adding “these experiences must also be heard.”

Without the commitment, dedication and compassion of Indian agents and the staffs of the Brandon Indian Residential School, we can only imagine how the lives of the children referred to in the stories above might have unfolded. Many of them may no longer be with us, but we can hope their experiences at the school helped make their lives better than they otherwise might have been.

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Thanks for reading. For more about this author, read Challenging Murray Sinclair on the Residential School Narratives

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