Forage and the Legacy of Residential Schools

This past Sunday morning I listened to an interesting interview with an Anishnaabe chef and a filmmaker about the series now showing on CBC Gem called Forage. As the name implies, it is about searching out the plants and berries which are on offer in the fields and forests and backyards around us. There was encouragement to always do so ethically, which I was glad to hear. Over-harvesting is one of the problems with this recent trend for many.

Of course the chef, Shawn Adler, notes that foraging is traditional for Indigenous peoples, and he learned how to do so from his mother. While Adler doesn't make an issue of it, he mentions that she applied what she was taught while living at a Residential School as a girl. The children were often hungry and sought out the wild foods which would supplement their meagre school diet.



This was a passing but jolting reminder of the traumatic effects of the Residential Schools which took First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children away from their homes and traditional ways for the sake of a what was usually a substandard education and indoctrination. Our United Church of Canada was one of the denominations which participated in this cultural genocide, on behalf of the Canadian government. The physical, psychological, and spiritual damage was experienced over many decades and continues to affect Indigenous peoples today.  

Take a look at the Forage series. It's worth your while.