The Pain of Residential Schools in Canada: An Analysis of Silence and Narrative

Abstract:

In operation for over a century, the Indian Residential School system is a painful part of Canadian history. Through the theoretical approaches to pain envisioned by Elaine Scarry, Javier Moscoso, and Ilit Ferber, this article examines how the pain of residential school experiences manifests as silence among residential school survivors. Through a close analysis of narratives that break free from that silence, it becomes apparent that narrative offers one path to national reconciliation. While arguing in favor of narrative as a path towards national reconciliation, this article cautions readers against reducing residential school narratives to a form of trauma spectatorship.