What is a residential school? : an introductory mini zine for youth
Dublin Core
Title
What is a residential school? : an introductory mini zine for youth
Subject
Indigenous Peoples -- Canada -- Residential schools
Description
Is part of: Atrocities against Indigenous Canadians.
"Once the first zine in this series was completed, I was frequently asked by parents if I felt it was appropriate for youth to read. I often worry the first zine may be too intense for youth as the content is hard and difficult to process even for adults. With that said, only parents can make the call of whether their children are mature enough for heavy content. Do not get me wrong, I absolutely feel that youth should learn and understand the real history of what has occurred on the land they live on, I just don’t want to scar a child because I feel in my heart that childhood innocence is a precious thing. This preciousness was something so many Indigenous children who attended these schools had taken from them so violently.
I created this Intro to Residential Schools for Youth, which introduces the history of Residential Schools without the most traumatic aspects. Parents/Caregivers can gauge where their children are after this zine.
When I set out to create this zine, I thought it would be an easy peasy task, after all, I had already completed the research for the first zine, all I needed to do was reformat, scale it down and presto?!
To my surprise, it was not that easy, it was a rough experience. I had to reassess the language I had used as I couldn't assume youth would understand what trauma is, racism or that they really knew who Indigenous people were. I needed to create a whole new zine.
While writing, I would be reflecting on how to word a difficult concept and then I would be hit hard with the reality that I was trying to explain to children something awful that had happened to children their own age.
The full weight of struggling to explain to children something that they wouldn't understand at all if it was happening to them was so heavy & heartbreaking.
It was during the creation of this zine where I would fall into despair, crying uncontrollably and calling my mother asking the question "why?" I know the answer to some of the why's but I don't know if I'll ever really fully understand the real why."
Taken from https://www.assiniyiskew.com/product/what-is-a-residential-school-an-intro-for-youth/44
"Once the first zine in this series was completed, I was frequently asked by parents if I felt it was appropriate for youth to read. I often worry the first zine may be too intense for youth as the content is hard and difficult to process even for adults. With that said, only parents can make the call of whether their children are mature enough for heavy content. Do not get me wrong, I absolutely feel that youth should learn and understand the real history of what has occurred on the land they live on, I just don’t want to scar a child because I feel in my heart that childhood innocence is a precious thing. This preciousness was something so many Indigenous children who attended these schools had taken from them so violently.
I created this Intro to Residential Schools for Youth, which introduces the history of Residential Schools without the most traumatic aspects. Parents/Caregivers can gauge where their children are after this zine.
When I set out to create this zine, I thought it would be an easy peasy task, after all, I had already completed the research for the first zine, all I needed to do was reformat, scale it down and presto?!
To my surprise, it was not that easy, it was a rough experience. I had to reassess the language I had used as I couldn't assume youth would understand what trauma is, racism or that they really knew who Indigenous people were. I needed to create a whole new zine.
While writing, I would be reflecting on how to word a difficult concept and then I would be hit hard with the reality that I was trying to explain to children something awful that had happened to children their own age.
The full weight of struggling to explain to children something that they wouldn't understand at all if it was happening to them was so heavy & heartbreaking.
It was during the creation of this zine where I would fall into despair, crying uncontrollably and calling my mother asking the question "why?" I know the answer to some of the why's but I don't know if I'll ever really fully understand the real why."
Taken from https://www.assiniyiskew.com/product/what-is-a-residential-school-an-intro-for-youth/44
Creator
Jenna Rose Sands
Publisher
Self-published, London, Ontario, Canada
Format
Print, 5.5 x 4.5 inches, 7 pages
Language
English
Type
Zine
Collection
Citation
Jenna Rose Sands, “What is a residential school? : an introductory mini zine for youth,” Special Collections, accessed July 24, 2026, https://archive.fims.uwo.ca/specialcollections/items/show/853.