From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A group of second graders in Manitoba have come up with a special tribute to the children who died in Canada’s residential school system, penning a poem after their teacher taught them about what happened at these schools.
At Oak Bank Elementary in Oakbank, Man., a class of seven-year-old children wanted to do something after they heard about how thousands of Indigenous children, many of whom would’ve been no older than them, were forced into residential schools.
In response, they put together a poem, illustrated and written by the students, in honour of the 215 children who are believed to have been found in unmarked graves near a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. last month.
“Gone but never Forgotten,” is the title of the poem. A video posted to YouTube also features the children reading their poem aloud.
“The wind howls in mourning for the children,” part of the poem reads. “The children were buried but the Earth cradled them until they were thankfully found.”
Teacher Tina Latrofa said she wanted to educate her students about a part of our history that prior generations never learned. She showed them pictures of residential schools and talked about how the students stayed there for months or years.
“Their main words are: ‘How could they do that? How could they take the children away from their parents?’” Latrofa said. “And that’s how they can relate to it.”
In class discussions the students talked and their teacher helped them put their feelings into words and drawings to create the poem.
“The words took me, took my heart away, I was so blown away,” Tina Latrofa said.
“When I heard about those 215 kids, I just felt so heartbroken,” Kara Brinkman, a second-grade student who contributed to the poem, told CTV News. “I just felt like I wanted to do something to make everyone notice that.”
It’s led to a new understanding and feeling of empathy among the students.
“I want people to not forget it, and I also don’t want it to happen again,” said Elayna Telford, another student.
Her classmate, Hunter Van Rysell, added that it makes them think of “how lucky we are to have parents to go back to every single day when those children [could] not.”
School curriculums often don’t teach younger children about residential schools, and when the topic does come up in later grades, it has often been glossed over.
Recently, school boards such as the Calgary Board of Education and the Toronto District School Board have pledged to improve curriculums and further Indigenous education in the classroom, as was called for in the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s report.
--
If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Careful attention to government statements and legislation is required to get a handle on the level of risk British Columbians’ information is under, as investigators probe multiple breaches under a continued barrage of attacks.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
The Oscar-winning team behind the nearly US$6 billion blockbuster 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies is reuniting to produce two new films.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.