Zitkala-Ša is one of many impressionable children who fell for the deliberate tactics of persuasion by residential school recruiters. Their deceitful ways tricked Zitkala-Ša into having a false sense of hope for the land of the East. Unfortunately, this resulted in years of abuse, trauma and loss of culture. Zitkala-Ša touches on her experience at the residential school she attended by sharing with readers, “ the day [she] was taken from [her] mother [she] had suffered extreme indignities” (p. 91). Although Zitkala-Ša remainined steadfast in her culture and values, other Indigenous students sucummeded to assimilation. These attempts to confom Indigenous youth for over 100 years led to generational consequences that continue to show in present-day Canada.

The stories we see on social media or articles we read on the news show Indigenous peoples generally as individuals who are vulnerable, traumatized, and addiction-prone. Chevaun Toulouse’s article “An Indigenous Perspective on Reconnecting With the Land” explores the journey of regaining knowledge that was lost and growing to understand the inherent responsibility to care for the land. Toulouse explains, “[the] colonial interference in [her] family and [her] environment, and the intergenerational trauma passed down, means [she] had to seek out and rebuild cultural connections with people and the land.” Although Zitkala-Ša experienced the hardships of residential schools first-hand, the loss of cultural identity continues to affect Indigneous peoples like Toulouse. However, Toulouse’s article shifts the outlook of Indigenous peoples from being “stuck” to “persevering”.

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2022-11-21/an-indigenous-perspective-on-reconnecting-with-the-land/