Content warning: This story mentions sensitive topics including trauma, abuse and suicide.
For many Canadians, 1996 seems like ancient history. It was a time before most university students were born. A time when VHS tapes dominated the film industry. A time that predates YouTube by nearly a decade.
But to many Indigenous people in Canada, 1996 feels like anything but ancient history.
The last residential school closed in 1996, marking the end of an abusive school system that attempted to assimilate thousands of Indigenous children into European lifestyles.
What 1996 did not mark, was the end of the residential school impact.
Residential schools attacked matters so vital to a child’s upbringing: identity, culture, family and belonging. With this in mind, it is hardly surprising that the trauma would not only last a lifetime but would effect Indigenous families for generations.
Yet, in my school experiences, lifelong and intergenerational trauma is an aspect of residential schools that is often brushed over in curriculums.
Understanding events is an essential foundation, however, it often leaves students with a view of residential schools as ancient history. Adding layers of the continued impacts can help contextualize residential schools as an ongoing issue that still requires action.
Adding these layers is exactly what Cree author Michelle Good accomplished with her 2020 debut novel, Five Little Indians.
The story follows Kenny, Lucy, Maisie, Clara and Howie, five residential school survivors who all find themselves in Vancouver as adults. Although the novel follows the characters separately, their storylines intersect as the characters reconnect.
This book demonstrates a wide range of trauma types and trauma manifestations.
Despite attending the same school, the characters hold trauma from varying combinations of physical, sexual, mental and emotional abuse.
The way these traumas affect them as adults also differs greatly. While some characters find a certain amount of happiness through career and family pursuits, others struggle their whole lives to find stability.
Early in the book, one character even dies by suicide, once again exhibiting the wide range of coping methods this story explores.
The story also highlights the effects of intergenerational trauma through Kenny and Lucy’s daughter, Kendra. Despite their efforts, Kenny and Lucy’s trauma affects their parenting and weighs on Kendra’s well-being. This aspect of trauma is often ignored in residential school narratives, making Five Little Indians all the more important.
Despite the heavy subject matter, the book manages to maintain some positive outlooks. The theme of shared trauma provides many heartwarming moments of characters finding comfort in one another. This, as well as the book’s well-timed humour, helps to provide relief after emotionally draining scenes.
Even as the granddaughter of a residential school survivor, I found myself learning a lot from this book. It introduced me to aspects of residential school trauma I was not aware of and illustrated the ones I knew of very effectively.
Recognition is an important step in reconciliation, leaving every Canadian with a responsibility to learn about residential schools. Five Little Indians is a powerful education tool for everyone, whether they are beginning this journey, or looking to expand their understanding of residential school impacts.