The remaining buildings of a former residential school on Vancouver Island were demolished Thursday as survivors and family members looked on.
Christie Residential School originally opened in 1900 on Meares Island before moving to Tofino, BC, in 1971.
It remained in operation until 1983 and was one of the last residential schools in operation in British Columbia.
Returning to the school site was “scary,” survivor Bruce Lucas said, but ultimately “good for the soul.”
Before the heavy machinery took over, survivors threw rocks and carried crowbars into parts of the school. Lucas was invited to be the first to start demolishing the buildings with an excavator.
The last remaining buildings of the Christie Residential School on Meares Island near Tofino, British Columbia, were demolished in a ceremony Thursday attended by survivors who said they hope the building’s destruction will help heal old wounds.
“I remember my first day there,” he said after the ceremony. “Now I’m 66 years old, about 60 years ago… how scared I was!”
While he said there were good experiences playing sports, the overall experience was traumatizing, with “a lot of bad memories” that he is still recovering from.
“They really terrified us,” he said.
Over the years, various parts of the school have been destroyed, moved or reused, but a trio of outbuildings remained on the original Meares Island site.
The Ahousaht Residential School research team provided former students with free ferry transportation to visit the buildings and witness their demolition, along with a ceremony of healing and support.
“He [was] a painful place to grow up. I was only seven years old and I spent eight years here.” alumnus Thomas Rush told CHEK News, who attended the ceremony.
“It’s good to see them break it down. I had to be here today to get some closure. Hopefully I can do that today.”
According to the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, the school was funded by the Government of Canada and operated by various Roman Catholic orders over the years, under various names, including Kakawis Indian School, Tofino Hotel and Christie Indian Industrial School.
The center has also documented the names of 46 children who died at the facility.
In 2021, Canada’s federally appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation said they had documented the deaths of more than 4,100 children while attending residential schools, most due to malnutrition or illness.
That work came as part of the Truth and Reconciliation in Residential Schools report, which involved collecting six years of testimonies from more than 6,000 attendees across the country.
He also heard testimony that many of the children attending the schools suffered physical, sexual or psychological abuse, ultimately characterizing the system as a “cultural genocide.”
Those who attended Christie Residential School came from across the northern part of Vancouver Island.
Demolition is still underway and is expected to last several days.
Elder Cliff Atleo says it will be an important step toward recovery.
“It’s about healing, it’s about cleaning up the property. So that it can be completely restored to the way it was.” said.
Support is available for anyone affected by their experience in residential schools and for those affected by the latest reports.
A national Indian residential school crisis line has been created to provide support to alumni and those affected. People can access crisis and emotional referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
