To me the main thing that stood out was that these children had a powder put all over them, and then they were burnt with lighters. This stood out to me because not only is it cruel, but it is also something new that I have learned about the abuse in residential schools. What also stood out to me was when John Henderson mentioned that all the history books about Canada mentions that it was discovered by the Europeans, when the indigenous peoples had already settled here, and the Europeans found Canada but did not discover it. I was also surprised to learn that the indigenous peoples had helped the discovery people when their ships got stuck, and whenever they got lost. John had also made a very true point that I never appreciated until he mentioned it, and it was that I can roam the school freely, I get the privilege to choose what I learn. But the one thing that had the biggest effect on me was that if someone came and took me from my home/school there would be outrage and the police would be there right away, while children who were taken to residential schools were forced by the government, and if anyone tried to free the children they would go to jail. The line that Joe said that made me feel the effect of residential schools was when he said, “kill the Indian in the children.” 

One connection I made between John Henderson’s talk and Rita Joe’s poem, was that one of the first things that happened was the children were taught English, and had their traditional language stripped from them.