US EditionResidential School Buildings Demolished on B.C. Island, Survivor Says It’s a New Chapter
Survivors and family members led the demolition to reclaim and heal from decades of abuse at the Christie Residential School, which operated until 1983 in British Columbia.
- Dozens of survivors and family members travelled by boat from Tofino Thursday to witness the demolition of the last Christie Residential School buildings on Meares Island.
- With roots from 1900 through 1983, the Christie Residential School operated under Roman Catholic orders and the federal government, with records and testimony describing widespread abuse and `cultural genocide`.
- Sixty-Six-Year-Old Bruce Lucas began the first tear using an excavator, while survivors attacked the structure with excavators, crowbars and stones and relatives operated machinery.
- The Ahousaht Residential School Research team provided free ferry transport, a healing ceremony and support, with former students seeking closure and elders calling it cleansing and recovery.
- Beyond the site, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation documented the deaths of more than 4,100 children, while Ahousaht member Greg Louie framed the demolition as a new chapter of resilience for former students and families.
8 Articles
8 Articles
Global News
dailyguardian.caResidential school buildings demolished on B.C. island, survivor says it’s a new chapter
Survivors of the Christie Indian Residential School were invited to Meares Island, off the coast of Tofino, to witness the destruction of the site's remaining buildings.
Survivors hope for healing as former residential school near Tofino is demolished
The last remaining buildings of the Christie Residential School on Meares Island near Tofino, B.C., were demolished in a ceremony Thursday, attended by survivors who said they hoped the destruction of the building would help heal old wounds.
The Record
Former residential school demolished on Meares Island
By Nora O’Malley
Former residential school building demolished on Meares Island | Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper
Former residential school building demolished on Meares Island Eric Plummer Fri, 10/10/2025 - 15:47 Meares Island, BC Editor’s note: The following story contains strong language from former students of the Christie Indian Residential School and references that may be upsetting to some readers. Shattered glass. Wailing cries soothed by traditional drums. Wood cracked as the digger excavator tore into the roof of the old Christie Indian Residenti…
'I had to be here': Former students tear down Tofino area residential school
Survivors of the Christie Residential School set out in boatloads from Tofino on Thursday to set foot on the grounds they desperately wanted to run and swim away from as children. Now grey-haired, in wheelchairs, and supported by family, they surrounded the building that has haunted them for 70 years and more and watched it get demolished. “I have mixed feeling about it. It’s a painful place to grow up. I was just going on to seven years old, an…
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