Reflections From Them Days: A Residential School Memoir from Nunatsiavut

Nellie Winters was sent away from her Inuit community in Okak Bay to the Nain Boarding School when she was eleven years old. In this memoir, she retells memories of her life at home and the residential school. The story is a part of Qinuisaarniq, or “resiliency”—a program created to educate Canadians about the history and impacts of residential schools and colonialism on the Canadian Arctic. She broaches difficult topics with sensitivity and care, providing readers insight into the impact of residential schools on First Peoples in Canada. In the Grade 3–5 classroom, the memoir lends itself well as a read-aloud or for independent reading. Its topics may inspire discussions, writing assignments, and encourage critical thinking around Canada’s historical treatment of First Peoples.