Lost Between Two Cultures

The changes to the way in which Cree and Ojibwe people were educated in the residential schools, created a large group of aboriginal men and women who had neither the education ,skills and experience to survive in the bush in a traditional way, or sufficient education to obtain a job in mainstream, non-aboriginal society.

This group became lost between two cultures.

They often had great difficulty functioning in either culture and became marginalized in both cultures.

In addition many lost their identity and pride and felt ashamed of who they were and what they had become.

In an effort to cope many resorted to alcohol or drugs to hide their shame and pain and also to forget their experiences.

Unfortunately many of the children of these men and women grew up learning exactly what their parents knew, that is, their shame about who they were.

The result is that many aboriginal people have become trapped in a cycle of poverty, neglect, abuse, shame, lost of pride, lack of identity and connectedness.

The problems did not begin to change until individuals acknowledged that they had problems and commenced a process to correct the problems.