For 58 years, Norman Yakeula kept a secret part of his school experience, handing out only pieces at a time to protect himself from the pain of the remaining open wounds. But after traveling to Rome to hear from Pope Francis, Yakeula, 63, asked to sit down with CBC News to share a long-hidden part of his story. “I got it at the age of five,” Giakeula said as he picked up the pink shirt he was wearing at Friday’s last hearing with representatives of the Pope, First Nations, Inuit and Metis at the Vatican. Yakeula reveals a long scar with 17 faded sutures on the right side of his abdomen. “I live with it every day,” said Yakeula, who is from Tulita, NWT but now lives in Yellowknife. “It reminds me of what happened to me. The wound goes so deep.” CLOCKS Norman Yakeula asks why the Pope took so long to apologize:

The home school survivor asks why the Pope was so late in apologizing

Norman Yakeula describes what went through his mind as the Pope read an apology from prepared statements to the Vatican. 2:29
Yakeula, a former Dene national leader and regional leader of the Assembly of First Nations for the Northwest Territories, wrote his last name as “Yakeleya” for most of his life – the spelling given to him when he went to Grollier Hall, the Roman Catholic residential school in Inuvik, NWT
He recently changed it to its original form Yakeula, which means “song in the heavens” in the Dene language. “This is the name I must recognize and respect,” he said. For decades, Yakeula said he was ashamed of his scar. As a child he always swam with a shirt to hide it. Now, Yakeula has said he is ready to reveal publicly what happened to him to tell the truth about those who ran the Catholic Residential School. “As long as I was here in Rome, I always protected it,” Yakeula said. “Today, I want to share with you because I’m approaching not feeling the same way about it.” Norman Yakuella shows a scar he received at the age of five when he was sent for an unexplained operation by supervisors at Grollier Hall in Inuvik, NWT (Olivia Stefanovich / CBC)

During his first year at Grollier Hall, Yakeula said he was sent to the hospital by school supervisors and doctors decided to operate on him. Then, he said he was told the doctor had to remove a scar. To this day he wonders what really happened to him. What is clear – the operation left a lasting mark on him that caused him both physical and emotional pain for decades. “After the operation, I could not move,” said Yakeula. “I was in pain, I was crying for my mom. It hurt. I do not know why I was cut.” Norman Yakeula appears at his older sister’s birthday before being sent to Grollier Hall School in Inuvik, NWT (Norman Yakuela / provided)
Yakeula can still vividly remember that she had to learn again how to walk at the age of five in a chair. Laura Lennie’s mother only learned about the surgery when Yakeula returned home from school for the summer in June. “Our mom took a bath in the bathtub and took off my shirt and looked at me and said: ‘What happened to you?’ “I said, ‘Mom, they cut me off,’” he said. “My mom started crying. She said ‘when?’ I said, ‘When I was at Grollier Hall.’”

Bishop says Pope wanted to build a personal relationship with the survivors

Yakeula was upset when he heard Pope Francis apologize last Friday for the behavior of some members of the Roman Catholic Church in private schools. “I was wondering, from the age of five until today, why it took so many four words: I’m so sorry? Why did you put me and so many others in this painful process?” said Yakeula. “He could have said it when my mom was still alive, my cousins ​​still alive, my sisters… The Bible says the truth will set you free. That’s the truth. That was all we wanted.” The Pope’s initial apology from school comes too late for Yakeula’s mom and many other survivors – six years after the Truth and Reconciliation Committee apologized papally. Norman Yakuela, in the center, is seen with Danny’s older brother on his left and his mom Laura Lennie on his left. (Norman Yakuela / provided)
“Yes, it may have taken time,” said Calgary Bishop William McGrathon. “But over time we continue to walk this path of reconciliation and hope that we can build on what he has expressed, on what the Canadian bishops have expressed, and hope that we can continue to work towards and make concrete signs of this. of reconciliation and this apology. “ McGrathon said Pope Francis had to establish a personal relationship with the survivors before apologizing. “It is very important for the Holy Father to listen and then honestly express that this experience really moved him,” the Calgary bishop told a news conference after the pope on Friday. “As a result, he apologizes, I believe, from the sincerity of his heart after hearing many of the stories this week.”

Breaking the shell of the home school cocoon

Yakeula said he was angry after the apology, took some time to rest and woke up with a sense of relief. But he said the pope still needed to apologize fully on Canadian soil. Pope Francis told First Nations, Inuit and Metis representatives he hoped to visit Canada this summer. When he arrives, Yakeula says he wants the Pope to visit his mom’s grave. “It must come to our land,” Yaakeula said. “This has not been done yet.” Yakeula said the meeting with the Pope allowed him to deal with his own experience in a way he could not before. CLOCKS “We want to give them a good future,” says Norman Yakeula.

“We want to give them a good future,” said the school survivor

Norman Yakeula says he wants to put the pain and shame of the past “into the past where it belongs” so that future generations do not have to carry it with them. 1:09
“We are like the cocoon where we break the shell of the home school and this transformation to become who we should have been before the home school, and this is a painful process,” Yakeula said. “We had the past in front of us and that was our future: wound, shame, pain. “Today, we want to put this pain in the past where it belongs, so that our people, and especially our young children, do not have to carry it.”

The Church takes back the shame

Yakeula said the Roman Catholic Church was ashamed of school survivors. With the Pope asking for God’s forgiveness, Yakeula said the church had taken back that shame. “It’s not our shame,” Giakeula said. “She is OK today. They have accepted that responsibility.” A native artist performs in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Friday, April 1, 2022 after the apology of Pope Francis. (Alessandra Tarantino / The Associated Press)
Yakeula, who calls himself a freedom fighter at school, said the apology was a first step towards healing. Now, he said, action is needed and he would like to recreate a national team of survivors, work with the church and youth, moving forward. “We have come this far. Now it is our turn, as survivors, to do so,” he said. “Make things happen for our young people… Lead them on the path of reconciliation.” Support is available to anyone affected by their home school experience or recent reports. A national crisis line has been set up for residential schools in India to provide support to alumni and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis hotline: 1-866-925-4419.