Mother, daughter reclaiming Indigenous roots through beadwork
Linda McCullough is healing by reclaiming her Indigenous roots after attending a residential school.
At just seven-years-old, McCullough was taken from her family and forced to attend Timber Bay residential school, near Lac La Ronge.
"I lived in a little remote village in Saskatchewan called Cree Lake and because of where we were located, there's nothing there, there wasn't a school for us to attend (and) we had to go somewhere,” McCullough said. “I know lots of families had their children physically dragged away. (That) wasn't quite the same for us but we did have to go."
She was forced to stay at the school for ten months of the year and said she endured physical, mental and cultural abuse.
"I was embarrassed about who I was as an Aboriginal person, we were taught to hide our identity and be really ashamed, so I didn't talk about it because I didn't want people to know."
Years after her experiences at the school, she continued to feel that shame.
“She just would say she went to a boarding school and I didn't understand what that meant because just like everybody else. Nobody knew about what happened in residential schools or really even that they existed," Roanne Gibbons, Linda’s daughter said.
Residential schools tried to strip Indigenous children of their culture. For McCullough, her love of beadwork suffered because of it.
A few years after leaving the school and Saskatchewan, McCullough was able to re-ignite that love for creating beautiful pieces.
The two women relocated to British Columbia and are reclaiming some of their culture by creating and selling their beadwork online.
"I'm getting so many orders now, that's why my kitchen table is so full of bead work,” McCullough said.
The discovery of 215 children's bodies found in a mass grave in Kamloops, BC has brought some of that trauma back.
The women say now more than ever, people need to educate themselves about what happened in residential schools.
“We've lived this our entire lives, we've all known all the hidden secrets so this has just helped other people besides us finally believe us and start listening," McCullough said.
The women suggest reading the Truth and Reconciliation calls to action or taking the free course “Indigenous Canada” offered at the University of Alberta.
“We totally need allies right now. We need help, we don't want this to just eventually, stop once it's not in the press anymore,” Gibbons said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.