The Regina man struggled this week with news that a search had found what are believed to be 751 unmarked graves at the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan.
Episkenew, 42, who goes by the name Bolo, attended a different residential school at Lebret, Sask., from 1991 to 1993.
In order to start moving toward reconciliation, he said people need to understand how there is still significant fallout from what happened within the walls of the schools.
An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools over a century. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has detailed mistreatment at the schools, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse of children.
Staying alive is an obsession: Family of survivors reflect on residential schools | iNFOnews infotel.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from infotel.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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