Editor91裸聊视频檚 note: The story below may trigger difficult or traumatic thoughts and memories. The Indian Residential School Survivors Society91裸聊视频檚 24-hour crisis line is available at 1-866-925-4419.

By Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative ReporterCANADA91裸聊视频橲 NATIONAL OBSERVER

Homalco Chief Darren Blaney has the tragic distinction of being a third-generation residential school survivor.

Like his father, and grandfather before him, Blaney was forced from his home, family, and culture in the small community of Church House in Bute Inlet along B.C.91裸聊视频檚 remote central coast.

91裸聊视频淢y great-grandfather was the first one from Homalco to go to residential school in 1875,91裸聊视频� said Blaney.

Blaney91裸聊视频檚 ancestor came home 12 years later, a victim to the cycle of violence, disconnection, and trauma associated with residential schools that would also ensnare his relatives and others of the Homalco Nation (named the 91裸聊视频減eople of fast running waters91裸聊视频� after the turbulent tides of their inlet).

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 been a lot of destruction from residential schools,91裸聊视频� Blaney said. 91裸聊视频淢y dad went, my brother went, and I went.91裸聊视频�

When he sees archival photos of Indigenous children in dormitories packed with beds, Blaney recalls the isolation he felt in his early teens during his first year at Sechelt Residential School, and the next five years he spent even farther from home at St. Mary91裸聊视频檚 Residential School in Mission, B.C.

91裸聊视频淚n Sechelt, my bed ended up being by the windows. I remember looking out the window at night time and I could see the lights of Nanaimo across the water,91裸聊视频� said Blaney.

But escape to the Vancouver Island city and possibly home was next to impossible because the only way out of Sechelt was by ferry, he said.

91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e really homesick in residential school. You count the days before you go home,91裸聊视频� Blaney said. 91裸聊视频淎nd when you come back, you count the days since you91裸聊视频檝e been home.

91裸聊视频淚t was just a lonely place.91裸聊视频�

The Sechelt facility, also known as St. Augustine91裸聊视频檚, was established in 1904, run by the Catholic Church, and funded by the federal government. Parents withdrew their children from the school in 1923 to protest the poor education, harsh discipline, and inadequate diet. Although funding at the school did increase, the facility did not ultimately close until 1975.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 a whole generation of Homalco people (who) didn91裸聊视频檛 come home from that residential school,91裸聊视频� Blaney said. 91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e buried somewhere in Sechelt.91裸聊视频�

Blaney thinks the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a good opportunity to educate Canadians about the harms and pain residential schools caused Indigenous children and communities.

But it was confirmation of 215 children buried at a gravesite at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., in May that sparked a wider consciousness in Canadians about the issue, Blaney said.

There91裸聊视频檚 a better understanding of what happened, he said, adding residential schools didn91裸聊视频檛 only expose children to violence, sexual abuse, malnutrition, and disease, but set out to destroy Indigenous culture and identity.

91裸聊视频淏efore (Kamloops) 91裸聊视频� nobody took the genocide seriously,91裸聊视频� Blaney said.

But, the new national day of commemoration and findings by the Tk91裸聊视频檈mlups te Secwepemc band, followed by subsequent burial sites confirmed by other First Nations, are only an initial step toward reconciliation, he added.

91裸聊视频淚 take a look at all these investments with the orange flags. Those are fine and bring educational attention to residential schools, but it91裸聊视频檚 action that91裸聊视频檚 needed. Nobody in government is dealing with the trauma.91裸聊视频�

First Nations governments don91裸聊视频檛 have and are denied the resources they need to establish long-term treatment and healing for members in their communities, he said.

Indigenous groups are always scrabbling to generate revenue, not solely for the sake of economic development, but to help their communities overcome the legacy of the schools, Blaney said.

91裸聊视频淥ur economic development will only go as far as our healing,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淎s much as we91裸聊视频檇 like to move forward, the instruments of residential schools are still tying us down.91裸聊视频�

First Nations leadership is left to struggle to rebuild governance and capacity with little support from governments that have long monopolized the wealth of Indigenous people, he said.

91裸聊视频淩esources in our territory have been stripped,91裸聊视频� Blaney said, citing forestry as an example, an industry where even now, the province is only offering up a slightly bigger piece of a very small and diminishing pie.

91裸聊视频淎ll our opportunities for revenues are gone and poverty is a weapon for the government,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淔irst Nations trying to defend their rights in court are easier to defeat if they don91裸聊视频檛 have money.91裸聊视频�

Regardless, Indigenous people are overcoming obstacles to provide better lives for their communities, he said.

The Homalco have invested in a number of tourism ventures and a radio station to build capacity and employment.

Funds from the non-profit station will go into cultural programming and healing for the community, especially to ensure youth don91裸聊视频檛 become intergenerational victims, Blaney said.

91裸聊视频淭he shadow of residential schools gets longer and longer, and the potential of our people is lost in alcohol and drugs from trauma,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淏ut we91裸聊视频檙e working to shield people and give them a better chance,91裸聊视频� Blaney added.

91裸聊视频淓verybody wants to be useful, happy and whole.91裸聊视频�