In the Muscowequan Indian Residential School it was common practice for staff to punish children who had urinated in their bed by draping the soiled sheet over the child’s head and requiring them to stand in front of their peers, often for an hour or more. Children were also made to scrub toilets as punishment for flatulence. Ears and hair were pulled continuously to reprimand students for speaking their Indigenous languages. Students who had the darkest skin were made to scrub themselves with a floor brush in an attempt to make their skin less dark. During Easter, one student recalls being made to kneel in prayer for hours at a time, from 6:00am going straight through to 11:00am, during which time many of the children would faint. Girls who were caught running away had their heads shaved and were forced to work in the kitchen, an area highly visible to students.
Physical Abuse and Racism at Muscowequan/Lestock Indian Residential School