The Mush Hole is a harrowing account of Robert Gary Miller’s experience in the Mohawk Institute Residential School as a child. His attendance here was a result of a policy carried out by the Canadian government during the 19th and 20th Centuries, which led to Miller, and over 150,000 other Indigenous children being ripped from their families and enrolled in these institutions. The intention was to assimilate young Indigenous children into settler culture by stripping them of their native language and culture whilst separating them from their families.
Many former students of the Mohawk Institute Residential School have documented poor standards of care and abuse during their stay at the school. In fact, the school’s nickname, which is also the title of this documentary - The Mush Hole - was given due to the basic and poor standard of food given to its residents.
In this documentary, Miller bravely tells the story of the brutality he suffered as a child at the hands of abusive and paedophilic members of staff. In particular Miller explains how he, along with many other children, were regularly molested by a priest and physically abused by staff members. Even staff who were not abusive contributed to the brutal environment by not reporting the events that unfolded and failing to protect the children supposedly under their ‘care’. The only sense of family Miller experienced was from the other vulnerable children experiencing the same horrors. Today, Miller has been able to therapeutically express his haunting childhood memories through art. His works provide an insightful lens through which we can start to understand the colonialist practices occurring at the institution.
An important consideration that Miller raises is the question of what could have been?
Though Miller is a successful artist, it is clear that his experience has instilled a profound sense of loss. Not just of the familial love and security that was stolen from him, but of the life-path this kind of care could have set him on, without being held-back by trauma and abuse.
The reality and extent of the cruelty suffered by children within Canada’s residential schools has emerged once again recently, with the discovery of mass unmarked graves found at various former residential schools. It is estimated that at least 6,000 children died in attendance at these schools[i], though in reality, we may never know the exact number. This is because most deaths were not recorded properly at the time. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission within Canada noted that approximately one third of children who died at residential schools never had their name recorded[ii].
The cause of death of Indigenous children at residential schools is varied but can mainly be traced back to negligence and poor living conditions. Diseases, such as Tuberculosis, spread quickly around many of the schools as a result of the cramped environment. Fires were also common due to poor safety standards and many children died by freezing or drowning as they attempted to run away for the institutions they were held in[iii].
Despite the blatant negligence, abuse and attempts to erase the practice of Indigenous culture, many Indigenous groups feel that they have not received appropriate reconciliation or compensation for the harms committed. Importantly, the Roman Catholic Church, which ran more than half of the residential schools in Canada[iv], has failed to pay the C$29 million agreed upon as a form of reparations to survivors. Furthermore, though Pope Francis has agreed to meet survivors of the residential schools in December, he is yet to issue a formal apology.
Though nothing can ever make up for the pain and abuse suffered by survivors, it is imperative that they receive their reparations and an acknowledgement of the colonial practices that stole their childhood and continued to haunt them thereafter.
[i] Holly Honderich, 2021. Why Canada is Mourning the Deaths of Hundreds of Children. Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57325653 [ii] National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, 2015. Canada’s Residential Schools: Missing Children and Unmarked Burials. The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Available: https://collections.irshdc.ubc.ca/index.php/Detail/objects/8788 [iii] Tristin Hopper, 2021. Why so Many Children Died at Indian Residential Schools. Available: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/newly-discovered-b-c-graves-a-grim-reminder-of-the-heartbreaking-death-toll-of-residential-schools [iv] Tavia Grant, 2021. Catholic Church Ran Most of Canada’s Residential Schools, Yet Remains Largely Silent About the Devastating Legacy. Available: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-catholic-church-ran-most-of-canadas-residential-schools-yet-remains/
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