For nearly a century, the Canadian government took Indigenous Canadians from their families and placed them in church-run boarding schools, forcibly assimilating them to Western culture. Children as young as 2 or 3 years old were taken from their homes, their language extinguished, their culture destroyed. With support from the , photographer has been documenting the lingering effects of this trauma for her book, Signs of Your Identity, this year's winner for the .
"Students were punished for speaking their native languages or observing Indigenous traditions, physically and sexually assaulted, and in extreme instances subjected to medical experimentation and sterilization," Zalcman said. "At least 6,000 children died while in the system—so many that it was common for residential schools to have their own cemeteries."
Zalcman's double exposures combine portraits of the former students with places or items relating to their experience, giving the photos an ethereal look that underscores the damage the system caused. The last Indian Residential School closed in 1996. The government in 2008.
Mike Pinay, who attended the Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School from 1953 to 1963: "It was the worst 10 years of my life. I was away from my family from the age of 6 to 16. How do you learn about family? I didn’t know what love was. We weren’t even known by names back then. I was a number."
Mike Pinay (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
Do you remember your number?
“73.”
The village of Lebret, Saskatchewan was home to the Qu'Appelle Indian Residential School. The facility operated under the federal government and Catholic Church from 1884 to 1969, and under the governance of the Star Blanket Cree Nation from 1973 to 1998. While most of the original school structures have been demolished, one building remains, visible on the far right side of the photo.
Selina Brittain, who attended the Marieval Indian Residential School from 1954 to 1962: “I believe that they thought they were teaching us. I believe that they thought that assimilating us into their way of life would help us. But they changed us into something we weren’t—and there was nothing wrong with our way of life before. That’s what they still don’t understand.”
Rick Pelletier, who attended the Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School from 1965 to 1966: “My parents came to visit and I told them I was being beaten. My teachers said that I had an active imagination, so they didn’t believe me at first. But after summer break they tried to take me back, and I cried and cried and cried. I ran away the first night, and when my grandparents went to take me back, I told them I’d keep running away, that I’d walk back to Regina if I had to. They believed me then.”
The village of Lebret, Saskatchewan (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
Selina Brittain (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
Rick Pelletier (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
My parents came to visit and I told them I was being beaten. My teachers said that I had an active imagination...
Beaver River (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
Gary Edwards (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
Valerie Ewenin (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
A swing set in Beauval, Saskatchewan (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
Elwood Friday (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
Glen Ewenin (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
(Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
"I’ve been told I’m going to hell so many times and in so many ways. Now I’m just scared of God.”
Deedee Lerat (Daniella Zalcman) Source: Daniella Zalcman
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