A Growing Audience

The legacy of the residential school system continues to be felt by Indigenous communities across Canada.

Survivors and descendants of the St. Mary’s Residential School in Mission, British Columbia have made a commitment to immortalizing their lived experiences in the book St. Mary’s: The Legacy of an Indian Residential School. This book preserves first-hand recollections of former students and the experiences that shaped their lives, their families, and their communities.

Originally published in 2002 as Amongst God’s Own, growing interest to better understand the historic treatment of Indigenous Peoples led to the book being republished in 2023 as St. Mary’s: The Legacy of an Indian Residential School. The book’s popularity boomed unexpectedly, and copies were sold out shortly after printing. Today, Longhouse Publishing is seeking to bring these critical stories back to the shelf as new opportunities for broader outreach have prompted renewed support for the project. While early publication channels focused on distributing the book to Indigenous readers, the next wave will focus on reaching non-Indigenous audiences to invite deeper understanding and dialogue. 

The Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF) is honoured to support this expanded project.

There will be a book launch event at Heritage Park in Mission, located on the former site of the St. Mary’s Residential School, as well as distribution of copies to First Nations communities and public schools across BC. The IRF will help St. Mary’s: The Legacy of an Indian Residential School be stocked on shelves of universities, libraries, and in anthropology programs as a powerful educational tool for truth and reconciliation.

Archdiocese of Vancouver