Robbie+Presentation+Reflections

Austin ===Saffy - I was so surprised at how much his family had been through, they had to be forced to go to school and give up there own identity basically! and at such a young age too! its so sad at how they have to leave there family, and when they finally go back they might not even be there, you have every right to be with your family for as long as you want! It was so brave for Robbie's dad to run away from residential school when he could of been caught and hurt really badly and he did get caught a couple of times but he never gave up, and in the end a family DID adopt him and his cousins.=== ===But im not that surprised at why he wanted to, would YOU want your hair shaved off, your clothes been taken away and a dinner that made you puke so many times? i no i wouldn't! especially not after all the nutrious food they ate before! Its really heartbraking to hear about how his mother and Auntie had been seperated from eachother, at such a young age, im glad that they ran away later because they didn't get caught and they even got adopted by a chinese family (they ran away to chinatown).===

I bet if we did that to them theyèll suffer just as much as the first nations did.
====** Residential Schools Alysha- Hi like really like the presantion beacause he wasnt just talking about fake stuff it was all real.I have proof, for example he had some connections like his parent were involed. After the present i felt like crying such mean people.Just to let you know im talking about residential school.Who would drag a child away from their loved ones just becuase they werent the same.Let me anwser that, mean horried people.The kids had to be take away at 8, they would come back 16. It was so harsh back then, i am really happy i wasnt done to me or my family.But it had to happen to other people becuase of there colour or culture.It doesnt happen anymore, or should be stoped you see it still happens to this day.Im getting off topic when they where taken away they all had to look the same, the people took their identiy away.I think you might be thinking how come the aborignal people never did anything.They couldnt it was too fast, the people just came and thought it was a beautiful place, the only thing was the aboriginal people dont fit in.So they got a government and made a law that a residential school was going to be built.And the people that had to suffer was, you guessed it the aboriginal people.The parents had to let their childer go becuase if they didnt they would go to jail or suffer phyical abuse.It was really sad for the poor people i feel so bad even though i never did anything.Now the kids did try to run away but alot of them were always cought and had to go through physical abuse.The kids that were lucky got away didnt have all the luck. If they would ever try to go back home (i would have) there parents would have passed away with small poxs.So now you have run away, with no place to go and no one likes you because you look different. And you dont know anything about your own culture.You would try to fit in, but how you look different and no one likes you. You would change everything about yourself.And that what half the people did.Thank you for reading this i hoped you liked it. **==== ====Sonam - I thought his presentaion was superb. His family has been through a lot of pain. It was so sad when he told us how kids got treated in residental schools. I can't believe that first nations got treated like that, its so stupid. They would even get physically and mentally abused if they did something wrong. They had to eat food they were allergic to and had to wear itchy wool clothing. The story about his dad was funny because every time they would get caught, they ran away again, but after it was touching because a random family adopted him even though they didn't know him properly. The story about his mom was sad because she had to go to residental school with her 4 year old sister and they never got to see each other. Then one day she decided to escape with her sister, but when they went back to the spot they lived, there was nothing but a bridge there. Now we call that bridge Putullo Bridge. His mom was clever because she dressed up like everyone else to blend in and no one noticed her. So a Chinese family adopted her and her sister. The most saddest part of the presentation was when he told us that almost 93% of first nations died by small pox, I cant believe one disease almost killed all. Can you believe there is only 5 people left of Robbies kind. I'm happy becuase all the residental schools got torn down and now first nations are treated the same.====

harsh ====Josh: Robbie's Presentation was very sad and very emotional. It is very mean for kids to be taken away from their family at the age of 6 just to go to residential school for 10 years (until 16). I can't believe that the government would force to erase the aboriginal from existent. At residential schools kids cannot see their siblings or speak their own language which is very cruel. If the kids at residential school behave badly or do anything bad they would get metal abused or physical abused, that is not the way to teach kids to learn from their mistakes. Aboriginal parents have to send their kids to residential school or they would go to jail. Robbie's parents were sent to residential school. Robbie's dad was sent to residential school when he was 10. There he got his head shaved, clothes taken away and burnt, he was forced to learn English, forget about his culture, wear itchy wool clothes and eat English food like mush (mush is oatmeal). The problem was that John (Robbie's dad) was lactose intolerance which means he can't eat any milk sugar or dairy products. Robbie's dad attended to a residential school in South Dakota. When John was 14 he ran away form South Dakota with his brother & two cousins. He, his brother & 2 cousins ran to Manitoba and got arrested and sent to a residential school. John, his brother & 2 cousins ran away again to Edmonton and got arrested again and got arrested again so John, his brother & 2 cousins got sent to a residential school. John, his brother & his 2 cousin got sick of the residential school so they ran away again to Victory B.C. There he got a job. Robbie's mom was sent to residential school in Kamloops at the age of 6 along with her sister which was only 4 years old. There she got her head shaved, clothes taken away and burnt, he was forced to learn English, forget about her culture, wear itchy wool clothes and eat English food like mush (mush is oatmeal). The problem was that Robbie's mom was lactose intolerance which means she can't eat any milk sugar or dairy products. After 9 years of residential school Robbie's mom decided to run away with her younger sister. They were successful but when they got home back to their reserve their family were missing and a bridge was built (Pattullo Bridge). His mom and her younger sister asked what had happened the people around there said the their family members either dead of small pox or gone missing. So the two sisters deiced to find a job but people around the Pattulo Bridge were raciest against the Aboriginal people so they wouldn't hire Aboriginal people to do anything. So they went to China Town, they started dressing up and acting like a Chinese so people would hire them. Soon John went to China Town and met Robbie's and after 10 years they got married and had Robbie's and I think 3 more kids. In 1996 the last Residential school was knocked down. About 2 years ago Stephen Harper said sorry and that every aboriginal survivors would get 30,000 dollars I think. I think this story was very interesting and sad at the same time. This story also made me feel sad and happy at the same time.====

alejandra  __Tasha:__ I absolutely loved Robbie's presentation. It was awesome. Just the way he presented the topic. I think he did a really great job, but aside from that, I personally think that it was really sad. Kids from ages 6 - 16 have to go to residential school. It's just really sad. I almost started crying. If they do anything wrong, they get punished really badly. Mental abuse, Physical abuse. Robbie's own parents went to residential school and his dad who was 10 ran away a couple of times. He was kept at a residential school in South Dakota. He ran away from there with his brother and two cousins all the way to Ottawa or Ontario I believe. I'm not sure, but there, the police put them in a residential school and then they ran to Edmonton and the same thing happened there. Finally from running away so many times, they came to Victoria and they found a job and everything. As for Robbie's mom, she was sent off to residential school when she was 6 along with her 4 year - old sister. I forgot to mention that residential schools are mandatory and the parents have no choice because if they don't let their kids go, they are going to end up in jail. Now, when the kids got there, the first thing that happens to them is that they have to get their head shaved and every morning they would have something called "mush" and mush is like oatmeal. Unfortunately, some kids were lactose intolerance so, after they would have the oatmeal they would throw up and everything. Besides that, there were even worse things. When the kids got there, they couldn't speak their own language. They had to speak English. If you had a sibling there, you couldn't see them all the time. You would get to see them in 3 or 4 months which I think is really mean. Like, who would ever do that. Who would even think about separating siblings, relationships, bonds. It's really, really sad.

__Vaneet:__ I really loved Robbie's presentation. He told some things that i never would of thought would have happened here. it's pretty sad to hear that kids of the age of 6 were forced to go to residential school until they were 16. The parents didn't have any choice but to send them off because their parents couldn't say anything to the people that took their kids away. The kids had to give up their culture to look like english kids. They had to shave their hair, ( even the girls) and they were forced to change into itchy wool materialed clothes, and by the way, Residential school was mandatory. Robbie's parents went to residential school as well. Robbie's dad went to a residential school when he was 10 in South Dakota, but ran away with his brother and two cousins. Robbie's mother went to residential school at the age of 6 and her 4 year old sister as well. The government was so cruel back then. The kids had no identity and they had no bond between their parents and siblings. They were out of place because the kids looked different from their family, they couldn't communitate with their family because they didn't know their language anymore, and they didn't know the rituals of their culture anymore because they forgot all about them. It was just so cruel and sad that these people were treated like garbage. The meals the kids got made them puke and made them sick because their diet was different from what they were giving them. These kids were lactose intollarance and these people were so cruel that they didn't do anything about it. if you had siblings in the school they would keep them seperated to that the bond between them would break. They were allowed to see each other once after 3 months. Who would do such a thing like that to such little children. SO CRUEL!!!!

Clio: I so loved Robbie's presentation. It was fantastic. I think he did a really awesome job presenting it. I thought it was sad that kids from ages 6 - 16 had to go to residential school. Robbie’s elders went to residential school but before they started school they had to have a social make over which means they had to shave their heads charge their clothes and lots other things too. When Robbie was older he was a policemen a very good one too. I almost forgot to tell you guys that residential schools were mandatory. Every morning Robbie’s elders had to eat a food called “mush” which is oatmeal but they were allergic to the milk so they had no choice but to starve because the people who fed them didn’t know what they couldn’t eat. When Robbie’s elders got out of residential school they found jobs but some of Robbie's family members wanted to go back to their country but when they got home they saw that a bridge was built and that there was barely know one there. Luckily they saw this family walking on the roads so he asked where is every one? The guy said lots of people died from a disease called small pox. This story made me feel sad but at the same time happy, this is all I can remember so the end.

__Jasmin:__ Robbie’s Presentation was sad but I loved it. Robbie talked about when 6 year olds where taken away from there family to go to residential school. It is really sad to see 6 year olds taken away from there family for 10 years. Robbie said that his parents went to residential school but they both ran away. Robbie’s dad {John}, his brother and 2 cousins went to residential school in South Dakota. Robbie’s dad {John} was 10 when he went to residential school. From South Dakota Robbie’s dad {John}, his brother and 2 cousins ran away. They ran North and came to Canada. When the police saw John, his brother and 2 cousins, they put them in residential school. Then they ran away again to Edmonton and got put into residential school again. So they ran away again until they came to Victoria. They stayed in Victoria, people helped them, they gave them food and money. Robbie’s mom was 6 when she went to residential school and her sister was 4 when she went residential school. When Robbie’s mom was 16 and her sister was 14 when they ran away from residential school. They ran away because Robbie’s mom didn’t want to leave her sister behind. They ran back home but when they got their no one was there because of the small pox. So they ran to Downtown. No one would give them work because they where different. So they went to Chinatown and they started to dress up like others and the Chinese people accepted them. In residential school they shaved the girls and boys hair off and made them dress like each other. They had to wear wool that made them itchy. They also had to eat stuff that made them sick. They would separated you and your siblings. You could only see them after 3 months or so. The government was really cruel. WHO WOULD WANT TO GO TO RESDENTIAL SCHOOL

Joseph:The presentation from Robbie on Friday was very sad to hear because the government did so much bad things to the kids.They even do bad things now.Its really sad to hear about kids being taken away at 6 to go to a residential school for 10 years!He told us they took them and seperated them from their family and shaved their hair off!He told us his dad(i think) cried for 4 days because the shaved his hair and I would too!They made the kids eat stuff that made them sick like eggs,ham and mush(oatmeal).And the people who worked there just let them puke all over the place.If I were a kid I would puke on them>:D.When his dad was taken away at 10 Robbie said later on his dad,his brother and 2 cousins ran away about 5 times.Each place they went to police caught them and put them in a different residential school in that country.But in Edmonton I think they found a family to stay with for a while.Robbie said they always found someone to help them because those people thought the goverment was totally unfair.His dad,uncle and 2 cousins ran a huge half circle from the U.S.A to Canada.The funny thing is that there were no borders so they could just walk right through.Robbies mom on the other hand got tooken away when she was 6 and her little sister at 4.When they got older Robbies mom said lets run away to her little sister.When they ran away at a much older age, they went to go look for jobs.No 1 let them have a job because they didnt fit in(didnt look like they lived here).Then they went to Chinatown in Vancouver,B.C.They saw how the women there looked like so they started to dress like them and cut their hair like them.Then they gave them a job at a resteraunt.Thats where Robbies mom and dad met.So when Robbie was born he said he thought he was chinese.He told us Bruce Lee was very famous at that point so he thought he had all that kung fu power in him.Then his parents to told Robbie that he wasn't then he was heartbroken.We all laughed:D.SO i think his presentation was sad,funny and touching:D

Kambi: Robbie's presentation was very touching. I know have a small idea of what my grandma had to go through when she was my age. And to think, the government could just go into peoples houses and take their children away at an age of six, it's heart breaking. It was very strong for him to be able to talk about his mother and father in that way. And if taking them away at a young age wasn't enough, if they had brothers or sisters they would be separated to. Imagine, being in a strange new place with no one to look after you, would that be very nice? I very much enjoyed how he described how the Europeans thought of the aboriginal people. Two men just walking through a valley and just out of curiosity one man said " If you could change just one thing in this valley, what would it be" ? And the other man said " well i would remove this plank, it doesn't look like it should be here." But the man didn't realize that when he removed it he opened up a pathway to a whole other ecosystem. And the other man said" that is probably how the Europeans thought of us." It was a very different way of thinking. But really would you like it so that most children got sick from food they were allergic to? You would have to eat it and if you didn't you would either get beaten or you would be starved. Over all his presentation was intriguing.

Emily: I thought that the presentation from Robbie on Friday was kind of sad because of what the government did to the Native children. I mean, what kind of person takes a six year old child from their parents just because they did not understand the Aboriginal culture. Really, it's just mean. And if they didn't understand it why didn't they just leave them alone? I also don't get why they would keep serving the kids food that made them sick. It's not like people would normally get sick right after eating they must have noticed that the kids ALWAYS got sick right after eating. I almost started crying after I heard that siblings were separated because I can't believe they would separate them even after they took them away from their parents. They must have been really sad. Of course as they got older they wouldn't remember their parents as much so it would get better, but the fact that their entire childhood was taken from them will never change. I mean, that is ten years they will never get back. Probably a lot of the children died, or were permanently scarred from the mental and physical abuse. The children had to give up their identities just because the Europeans were being stupid.

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Katie- I really liked Robbie’s story, but I think that it is very cruel to take a child and his/her sibling shave their hair and dress them all the same then separate them! I was very surprised when Robbie was talking to us and he didn’t become sad. Because I know that I would be. It must have been hard for his parents to have to go through all that. I think that it is very cool how his dad and his dad’s brother and cousin’s ran almost around the world! The most sad part of his speech was when once his dad died he took him to the place where he wanted to be berried and then made his dad’s half circle in to a whole circle. Why would people take the kids away at 6 years old! Very cruel!! ======

