Arnie Narcisse details 11-year survival of residential school system in new book

Arnie Narcisse, an 11-year survivor of Canada’s Indian Residential School system, has published a new book with the help of his community. Launching it at NVIT Wednesday (May 28), Narcisse had members from his family and community share stories and celebrate the release of the book.

The book Hard to be a Good Indian is a personal memoir from Narcisse, detailing his experience at Kamloops Indian Residential School and the Williams Lake Residential School.

“Imagine there were 150,000 of us, six-year-old children who were taken away. We all had our experiences being taken away. Alienation and other emotions that you go through on that first day, that first week, that first month, in that first year. After a while, strange as it sounds, you become acclimated to it. You realize you’re not getting out of here anytime soon,” said Narcisse Wednesday.

To the author, the importance of the book comes from sharing experiences, but most importantly, sharing those experiences with the youngest members of his community.

Writing the book has helped Narcisse reconcile with his past.

“I’ve never forgiven. I’ve never forgotten,” said Narcisse. “That’s why I’ve written this story here. I’ve managed to put it in my past. I don’t wake up every day and say, ‘I have a miserable life because I’m an Indian school survivor.’ I’m a father, a grandfather and even a great-grandfather.”

Beginning his presentation, he mentioned how, in his current role in the fisheries department, he was already prepared for by his community before he ever went to school.

“Everything I needed to know, I learned by the time I was five years old, but I managed to hang on to enough of that knowledge to pass it on to my son, Montana, his son, Montana Jr., and to my grandson, Garrison and my great-grandson, Benjamin,” stated Narcisse.

The book was inspired when his grandson asked him a question.

“Having the ability to give it to my grandson nine years later and say, ‘Here’s your answer,’ because he was the one who asked a question in the first place. ‘What did you do in Indian school?’ I just did this about three weeks ago, wrote his name, and I said, ‘Here’s your book’. I said, ‘Here’s your answer that you asked me nine years ago,’” said Narcisse.

Encouraged by the effect his stories has had on younger people, Narcisse says he has decided to write a new book detailing his issues with addiction.