Description
By Joseph Auguste (Augie) Merasty with contributions by David Carpenter.
Now available in paperback!
A courageous and intimate memoir, The Education of Augie Merasty is the story of a child who faced the dark heart of humanity, let loose by the cruel policies of a bigoted nation.
A retired fisherman and trapper who sometimes lived rough on the streets, Augie Merasty was one of an estimated 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children who were taken from their families and sent to government-funded, church-run schools, where they were subjected to a policy of aggressive assimilation.
As Augie recounts, these schools did more than attempt to mold children in the ways of white society. They were taught to be ashamed of their heritage and, as he experienced, often suffered physical and sexual abuse.
But even as he looks back on this painful part of his childhood, Augie's sense of humour and warm voice shine through. A retired Cree trapper, Joseph Auguste Merasty attended St. Therese Residential School in Sturgeon Landing, Saskatchewan, from 1935 to 1944. He lived in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
"In this book I have seen horror through eyes of a child." - James Daschuk, author of Clearing the Plains
"A story in which our entire nation has an obscure and dark complicity." - David Carpenter, co-author of The Education of Augie Merasty and author of The Gold
"One of the most important titles to be published this spring" - The Globe and Mail
Now available in paperback!
A courageous and intimate memoir, The Education of Augie Merasty is the story of a child who faced the dark heart of humanity, let loose by the cruel policies of a bigoted nation.
A retired fisherman and trapper who sometimes lived rough on the streets, Augie Merasty was one of an estimated 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children who were taken from their families and sent to government-funded, church-run schools, where they were subjected to a policy of aggressive assimilation.
As Augie recounts, these schools did more than attempt to mold children in the ways of white society. They were taught to be ashamed of their heritage and, as he experienced, often suffered physical and sexual abuse.
But even as he looks back on this painful part of his childhood, Augie's sense of humour and warm voice shine through. A retired Cree trapper, Joseph Auguste Merasty attended St. Therese Residential School in Sturgeon Landing, Saskatchewan, from 1935 to 1944. He lived in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
"In this book I have seen horror through eyes of a child." - James Daschuk, author of Clearing the Plains
"A story in which our entire nation has an obscure and dark complicity." - David Carpenter, co-author of The Education of Augie Merasty and author of The Gold
"One of the most important titles to be published this spring" - The Globe and Mail