We Were Children

For more than 130 years, the phrase "to kill the Indian in the child" defined the mission of dozens of government-financed, church-run residential schools in Canada. It’s underlying thought was of a naïve simplicity: take children out of their homes at a young age, make sure they learn French and English and embrace God, and before you know it they’ll be well-adjusted members of Canadian society. The stories of the now adult Lyna Hart and Glen Anaquod make it all too clear that this disgraceful mission had a devastating effect on them, and tens of thousands more children and their families. In turn, they talk about the years they were forced to forget their language, origins and faiths. Their testimonies are reenacted, accompanied by the subjects telling their story in voice-over. Dramatized scenes transport the viewer to the boarding schools, where children are subjected to the catechism, corporal punishment and sometimes sexual abuse. The endearing and now aging Glen suffered terrible traumas for a long time afterwards, at one point even considering suicide. Nowadays, he's relieved he can finally talk about the events. "It took a long time."