Wolfe, Evelyn

Evelyn Wolfe is a survivor of Canada’s infamous residential school system.  She visited Crestwood in December 2019, speaking to Grade 8 and 10 students about her experiences and her own path to reconciliation.  Evelyn was born in northern Ontario, growing up in a traditional lifestyle in a family that hunted and trapped.  When she was a young girl, she was taken away from that life, and sent into the residential school system that would impact the next decade of her life, as she passed through institutions such as Shingwauk.  There she faced the abuse and degradation that characterized that terrible system.  Evelyn was separated from her siblings, and her cultural identity was stripped away.  Evelyn emphasized for Crestwood students those little moments – the nighttime tears, the bullying, the labour, the hypocrisy…but she also remembered those moments of play when the children were able to hold on to a portion of life that was fun.  She also recalled her new teacher, who provided a glimmer of hope during those dismal years.  We thank Evelyn for visiting us and speaking her truth, and we thank Facing History for introducing her to us, and we wish Evelyn and her family all the best as we continue down this bumpy road of reconciliation.