INUVIK
Cambridge, Massachusetts, may be far away from Inuvik but that didn't stop Gwich'in elder Sarah Jerome from bringing her words and teachings to students there.

Sarah Jerome, speaking about her experiences at residential school in 2009, has been bringing knowledge and perspective to audiences both at home and in the south for years. Last month she brought two Harvard University students to tears with her presentation. - NNSL file photo

"Because our voices were taken away from us, we went silent," she said of her experience in residential school. "Gradually, over the years, some of us have gained our voices back."

Late last month, Jerome spent the better part of a week in the hallowed halls of one of the top schools in North America, bringing her knowledge of the Canadian residential school system to students at Harvard University. She was shocked to learn that many of them, despite being from Canada, were completely unaware of their country's dark past.

"They told me they had never heard of residential schools," she said of a small group of Canadian students brought together by a former Inuvik resident now studying at Harvard. "They're from Canada. How come they don't know anything about it?"

Jerome said she has been giving presentations to various audiences about her own experience, which she said was far less traumatic than others, for years.

She travelled with Gwich'in students on trips to universities in the south, telling students and professors there about the impact of the system, and saw the chance to do the same at Harvard as an extension of that work.

"There was never a dull moment," she said, describing a few days of constant activity, including meetings with staff and students about topics ranging from global warming to women in leadership. "There were women entrepreneurs and leaders from around the world, and they all said the same thing, 'That our men do not accept us as leaders.' They all said that."

Beyond bringing her message to a new audience, Jerome said she hoped to inspire students from the Beaufort Delta to aspire to attend the prestigious school.

"I wanted to show them they can do anything," Jerome said. "Anybody can go to Harvard. It just takes work and dedication, but you can do it. Our people don't know that. I want them to know that it's possible.

On the last day of her visit, Jerome made her presentation. She began by walking down the middle of the room and welcoming everyone in attendance in Gwich'in.

She said she could tell that they were a little uncomfortable, but that it was the perfect way to show just how uncomfortable children taken from their homes had felt in the school system.

"Our whole identity was stripped from us; we were being assimilated," she said. "Our parents knew something was going wrong, but they couldn't do anything about it."

Jerome said the presentation was well received and that two women in particular became emotional, crying toward the end of the session. Still, she said no one asked any questions at the end, or approached her after to speak further.

"My message - my personal message - is out there," Jerome said. "And I hope people read it and listen to it, and stop telling us to get on with our lives."

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