The interviews of four different aboriginal youth as they talk about how they were or are impacted by residential schools.

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• Henry Beardy
• Jordan Shapwaykeesic
• Catherine Cheechoo
• Lilyanna McKay

Henry Beardy Henry Beardy, 25, of Sachigo Lake First Nation, can barely carry a working conversation with his Oji-Cree speaking only grandparents. When he asked his parents why they never taught him their language, he was told they were forbidden to speak it at residential school as children and were punished if they did. That negative experience was strong enough to leave a lasting impression on his parents. They reasoned that if they did not teach their son the language of his birth, they would spare him from the same negative experiences late on in life. Unfortunately, Beardy now relies on fluent relatives to translate conversations with his grandparents for him.

Jordan Shapwaykeesic Jordan Shapwaykeesic, 22, of Whitesand First Nation, talks about the dysfunctional early years of his life ... of how his father, a survivor of Pelican Falls Residential School, abused alcohol and was angry, destructive, jealous, and at times did not express himself in healthy ways when he became frustrated or angry. He talks of how his mother took the children and fled the home to live in shelters to protect their children, of how his father attended treatment and eventually turned his life around. Now, years later, Jordan is working to come to terms with his childhood as part of his bid become healthy and to move on.

Catherine Cheechoo Catherine Cheechoo, 29, of Moose Cree First Nation, got her start in her late teens as a member of a youth council called Nishnawbe Aski Nation Decade for Youth (now called Oshkatisaak "Young People's" Council) which represents 49 First Nations spanning two-thirds of Ontario (Treaty 9 and Ontario portion of Treaty 5). It was in this capacity that she learned to speak out and represent youth on youth issues. Youth suicide was one of the biggest issues she tackled while volunteering as a youth council member. She now works at Right To Play - in a program that uses sport and play-based activities to develop or enhance leadership skills in Ontario's Aboriginal youth. In doing her work she has observed that parenting, or the fractured ability to parent, is a wide-spread problem. Catherine is aware that this phenomenon is one of the many troubling legacies of Canada's residential school system.

Lilyanna McKay Lilyanna McKay, 17, of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, speaks about how residential schools have impacted her family. Her grandparents attended as did her parents. Her parents suffered from depression, drank, were angry, and eventually they committed suicide. As a result, Lilyanna and her seven siblings were divided up and sent to various foster homes throughout northwestern Ontario. The experience was traumatic for her and her surviving family. Lilyanna is now a youth activist who is calling for more programs and services to be brought to First Nations so that the issues affecting families like hers get appropriate help as opposed to being taken away from their homelands and people because it is 'easier.'