"The editors of this volume, Rod Clifton and Mark DeWolf, both have personal experience in Canada's Indian Residential Schools, and both are clearly sympathetic to the needs of Indigenous peoples. The evidence they present here gives u both a balanced perspective of the life in the schools and an analysis of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report that is, ultimately, encouraging and hopeful."

—The Rt. Rev. Eric Bays, Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Qu'Appelle (retired), and author of Indian Residential Schools: Another Picture, 2009.

"While the TRC heard many experiences of unspeakable abuse, we have been heartened by testimonies which affirm the dedication and compassion of committed educators who sought to nurture the children in their care. These experiences must also be heard."

—Senator Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Calgary Herald, August 5, 2010.

"Finally! Thanks to the balancing facts revealed in this book. Canadians will for the first time be able to balance their own consciences with respect to the truth - the good and the bad - that came from our long experiment with residential schools, much of which was regrettably omitted in the summary of the TRC report."

—William Gairdner, PhD, Author of The French Traveler: Adventure, Exploration, and Indian Life in the Eighteenth-Century Canada (2019).

"This is a well-researched rectification of a narrative created by an avalanche of cant and emotionalism. Canada's Indian Residential Schools were launched with some serious misconceptions, and supervision of staff conduct was certainly inadequate, often with tragic results, but there were also a great many well-motivated staff members, and for many students, some schools were a passport to a better life. This book is necessary to correct the allegations and claims that have generated a good deal of misunderstanding about the subject."

—Conrad Black has been a major publisher in the world of newspapers, a well-known columnist, and author of biographies of three American presidents.

Dedicated to the thousands of people –both Indigenous and non-Indigenous — who were good and honourable servants to the children in Canada’s Indian residential school and hostels. This book is dedicated to all former IRS students, not only those for whom the residential school experience was demonstrably positive, but also to those who greatly suffered as a result of their experiences.

RODNEY A. CLIFTON studied to become a teacher at the University of Alberta, and in his first year he enrolled in a Cross-Cultural Education program preparing teachers for work on Indian Reserves. now known as First Nations. After completing a Ph.D. at the University of Toronto and a Fil.Dr. at the University of Stockholm, he taught for six years at Memorial University, and for 32 years at the University of Manitoba.Throughout his academic career. he has had an interest in the education of Indigenous children and residential schools.

Rodney A. Clifton's profile page

MARK DEWOLF is the oldest son of the Rev. J.E. (Ted) DeWolf. an Anglican priest from Nova Scotia, who became the principal of St. Paul"s Indian Residential School on the Blood Reserve (Kainai First Nation) in southern Alberta. For 10 years Mark lived at St. Paul"s and attended classes for 6 years with the Kainai children. That exposure to life in a residential school-participating in school activities, and interacting with both students and staff-has given him a unique perspective on the IRS system and the way it has been portrayed in both the TRC Report and the public media.

Mark DeWolf's profile page