Coldwater poet in Ottawa to recite poem inspired by his time at the Kamloops Residential School

MERRITT B.C. — September 30th is the National Day For Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.

As part of the day, events will take place around the country including in our nation’s capital. The ceremony in Ottawa will include a poem written and read by Coldwater Indian Band poet Dennis Saddleman.

Saddleman spent 11 years at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. That served as his inspiration to write ‘The Monster’, the poem he will recite in Ottawa on Friday.

“Standing there looking at that big building, it looked like a monster. It was four stories high, it had lots of window eyes and the red brick flesh. And right in the middle of the building it had two red doors, the entrance,” said Saddleman.

“As soon as I entered the red doors, that’s when the monster ate me up — ate up my culture, ate up my indianness, my traditions and all my ancestors ways. So, that is what the poem is about,” added Saddleman.

It took Saddleman 10 months to write the poem back in 2000 based off of his own experiences.

The recent confirmation at the Kamloops school has brought the poem back into the spot light.

“I thought to myself, if I knew any of the children there that we buried, any of them could be my school mates or my friends or even maybe a relative,” said Saddleman.

Saddleman hopes that his poem will touch residential survivors across the nation.

“I think about some day there will be no more resident school survivors. So, I think about the people in the world wouldn’t forget about us, just remember all of us,” he said.

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For more information:

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Support Resources:

• KUU-US Crisis Line: 1-800-588-8717
• Tsow-Tun-Le Lum: 1-866-403-3123
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society Toll-Free Line: 1-800-721-0066
• 24hr National Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419