1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This research seeks out the oral histories and experiences at Indian Day Schools of […] Kanien’kehá:ka elders from Kahnawà:ke.» (p. iii) Moreover, the study analyzes the consequences of these experiences on the identity and intergenerational trauma of this community.

Questions/Hypothèses :
«The main research question is: What were the experiences of Indian Day School students in the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) community of Kahnawà:ke and in what ways did their experiences affect their lives overall?» (p. 5)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
The sample consists of four elders who have experienced an Indian Catholic Day School in Kahnawà:ke.

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

In this study, the «term child-targeted assimilation is introduced as a means of identifying a pattern of child-focused colonization that has resulted in layers of trauma in families and communities. This research demonstrates ways that multigenerational storying facilitates a deeper understanding of colonization and approaches painful issues without traumatizing or victimizing Indigenous peoples. Effects of Indian Day Schooling are understood through the lens of lived reality, set in the broader context of colonization and other facets of indigenous life. The outcome is a process of decolonizing, healing, and approaching research as story and as medicine.» (p. iii) Then, «their stories teach us that many parents and grandparents heal by giving children and grandchildren a better life and more opportunities than they themselves had, to be natural people.» (p. 132) Moreover, as a member of this community, the author «grasped a true understanding of how far reaching [their] knowledge is as Onkwehón: […] especially [their] matrilineal identities which are grounded in [their] families. [Their] families are not only sources of love, comfort, and support but teach us resilience and resistance to colonization whereas “home and family are spaces where our identity is affirmed and valued, and where healthy lives are constructed” […].» (p. 133)