Fort Providence (Sep 01/06) -When Margaret Leishman was between the ages of six and seven, her life as she knew it changed forever.

Leishman spent her early years living a traditional life on the land. With her family she spent the year travelling between Fort Providence, Beaver Lake, Kakisa and Tathlina Lake.

Freddie Cazon and George Bertrand provide music during a lighter moment at the reunion. - photo courtesy of Joachim Bonnetrouge

She lived in tents and lean-tos that were always fresh with spruce boughs. She remembers the world being a colourful place. Then she was taken away from her family and sent to the Sacred Heart Mission school in Fort Providence.

Everything was foreign to her there including the food, the prayers and the language. The building was dark and smelled foul to her.

"I couldn't stand the smell," she said.

Leishman spent six years at the school and 11 years in total at residential schools starting in the 1950s.

"It took away everything I believed in," said Leishman, a resident of Kakisa.

Over the years Leishman has worked to restore her connection to a traditional lifestyle. One thing that she finds helpful is meeting with other residential school survivors. On Aug. 17, Leishman was one of 19 former students of the Sacred Heart Mission school who gathered for the fifth annual reunion at T'elemie Healing Lodge, five kilometres down river from Fort Providence.

The reunion has evolved since its inception, said Joachim Bonnetrouge, the co-ordinator of the Fort Providence Residential School Society that organizes the event. In the first year people came more for to see other students. This year, the focus was more on healing, said Bonnetrouge.

There were major breakthroughs for some of the participants as they dealt with life-long, hurtful issues, Bonnetrouge said.

"We basically just want to create a safe environment and give people the opportunity to tell their story," he said.

The gathering was facilitated by Bonnetrouge and Nick Sibbeston.

"A lot of times, it gets heavy," said Bonnetrouge.

Residential schools created a large legacy and the former students talked about the effects on families and communities as well as personal experiences.

People talked about the barriers they have to being happy. They want the right to be happy like everyone else, said Bonnetrouge, who spent 13 years in residential schools.

Because healing takes a lot of energy, there was lot of time set aside for lighter activities such as visiting, berry picking, singing, jigging and boat rides.

Meeting with former students is like seeing brothers and sisters, said Leishman.

"That bond is very powerful," she said.

The reunions show no sign of stopping. "All of the participants agreed we are in this for the long haul," said Bonnetrouge, who noted youth are starting to ask questions about why their parents and grandparents are the way they are.

Leishman agrees that it's important for the reunions to continue.

"I can hardly wait for next year to come around again," she said.