In May of 2021, it was revealed that the bodies of 215 children had been discovered on the grounds of the site previously known as the Kamloops Indian Residential School. As often happens when my emotions are impacted by something like this, I decided to write a song. This song is the fictional tale of an unnamed boy who is struggling to understand his new life at a residential school after being torn away from his family and traditional life.
The photos in this video are a cross section of historical photos from many different residential schools across BC and Western Canada.
Some people may find this upsetting. It was upsetting, and still is. As a nation we need to address it and acknowledge that this great injustice happened.
Audio Only (high quality)
Kamloops (Stkamluleps)
Copyright 2021 Steve Smith (SOCAN)
The wooden cross on the wall
Above a row of curvy lines
The words mean nothing at all
Foreign men from a different time
They took his clothes and they cut his hair
They took his sister to God knows where
Stripped naked and doused in dust
Gums raw and bleeding from the brush
Coloured map on the wall
Footsteps up and down the rows
The lines mean nothing at all
These names are not the ones he knows
Cold, stern looks from a man in black
A slowly swinging leather strap
He says “God loves all, even you”
And “The heathen can be born anew”
Chorus
It was a tragedy you can’t erase
A travesty you can’t erase
A way of life you can’t erase
These memories you can’t erase
An outlined hand on frozen glass
He gazes at the snow outside
Winds are howling through the pass
Howling for the ones who died
Two weeks ago he was back at home
Catching fish and setting snares
Four trucks coming down the road
The men said time to learn your prayers
It was a tragedy you can’t erase
These words meaning nothing at all
A travesty you can’t erase
These laws mean nothing at all
A way of life you can’t erase
These books mean nothing at all
These memories you can’t erase
It can’t mean nothing at all