Wanted: Central Clearing House for Information
by Gilbert Oskaboose

Why in the hell doesnt somebody in Indian Country create a central web page for residential school survivors to find and exchange vital information. Its needed desperately. Now! Something anybody anywhere in Canada could tap into and get good, up-to-date information.

Could come from a wealthy individual, a well off band, a casino band or even someone smart enough to drag it out of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, Mr. Shawn Tupper and his fatcat bureaucrats. Lots of smart young native people out there. Get with the program, eh? Try and show a little respect and concern for needy elders, instead of just talking about it. Jeez, I bet even a little Indian kid with the computer smarts could create a web page.

Government programs for survivors and the native fatcats who exploit them for their own greedy personal profit are a bloody waste of time. You need to get into an actual lawsuit to get anything for your own pain and hurt brought about by long hard time in a native residential school.

Talked to my older sister-in-law the other day. Shes old, tired, has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peeling. She spent nine years in that damn Shingwauk residential school in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario hand has never even heard of a law-suit. Just rumours. Is there one out there or not? Who are the lawyers conducting it? How does she get in on it?

Thousand of older survivors are not even aware of some of the myriad lawsuits going on across the country. Shit, nobody has even bothered to inform them! There are at least 3,500 lawsuits going on in Canada at the present time. Who makes them public knowledge? Where can anyone go to find out about them? Jeez, you would think the lawyers involved would have a vested interest on getting the word out what theyre doing. Most of them are only getting paid based on what they first get for survivors!

The lawyers themselves should be helping set up a central clearing house for information aimed at residential school survivors. Theyve got the smarts to do it, or at least help do it, if its a question of ethics with them.

I know the lawyers are in cahoots with one another, sharing information on different cases from across the country. Thats good, no need the re-invent the wheel with each new case. But why not extend that information loop to include the people you allegedly serve? Jeez, Ive been thinking about hiring the second lawyer - to find out what the first one is doing!, speaking about good, up-to-date, usable information and close-mouthed, taciturn lawyers.

We dont even know the identity of the other two hundred survivors in the class action lawsuit with us! Information is being kept from us. The old residential school mushroom treatment...keep them in the dark and feed them plenty of shit.

Another lady here on the reserve. Was shipped off to the convent in Spanish and then a few months later shipped mysteriously off to a boarding school in Kenora. Doesnt know where to start looking.

What the hell is everybody waiting for...for the old people to die off so there is no longer a problem. That is exactly what is happening right now.