The atrocities of the residential school system in Canada are amply documented. Less well-known is the history of day schools, which some two hundred thousand Indigenous youth attended.
The Curve Lake Indian Day School operated for over ninety years, from 1899 to 1978. Implementing Indigenous community research practices, Jackson Pind, alongside the Chief and Council of Curve Lake First Nation, conducted a search of the federal archive on operations at the school. Students by Day presents the findings, revealing that the government failed in its fiduciary duty to protect students. Harmful and discriminatory policies forced children to abandon their language and culture and left them subject to many types of abuse. To supplement this documentation, Pind also interviewed survivors of the school, who shared their often difficult testimony. He situates Curve Lake’s development and operations within the wider context of Canadian assimilation policies, noting the lasting impacts on Anishinaabe identity and culture.
Not only recovering the archive, written and oral, but building on files repatriated to the community, Students by Day is a story of Indigenous resilience, activism, and hope in the face of educational injustice.
About the Author :
Jackson Pind is assistant professor of Indigenous methodologies at the Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies, Trent University, and co-editor of Spirit of the Grassroots People: Seeking Justice for Indigenous Survivors of Canada's Colonial Education System.
Review :
“An incredible achievement. Students by Day is innovative and collaborative, pushing Indigenous historical research forward in ways that will offer real, tangible improvements to communities and individuals.” Lianne C. Leddy, author of Serpent River Resurgence: Confronting Uranium Mining at Elliot Lake
“Students by Day is an intricate uncovering of day schools’ history, navigating archives and life stories. It sets a gold standard for community-centred research, reminding us of the centrality of love to culture, people, and politics.” Niigaan Sinclair, author of Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre
“With care, clarity, and accountability, Jackson Pind’s book listens to Curve Lake First Nation and honours survivors’ experiences. Students by Day is not only powerful history; it’s a model for community-based research that serves Indigenous resurgence.” Crystal Gail Fraser, author of By Strength, We Are Still Here: Indigenous Peoples and Indian Residential Schooling in Inuvik, Northwest Territories
