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Activity 2

Colonial Eugenics in Education

Context

In this video, Marie Slark and Antoinette Charlebois describe life at Huronia Regional Centre. They describe the ways staff tried to enforce and control certain behaviours through abusive practices including chemical and physical restraints, controlled scheduling, physical hitting, shaming, and forced removal of accessibility tools and technologies.

Slark discusses her role with Patricia Seth as lead plaintiffs in the Huronia Class Action lawsuit against the provincial government, which was certified in 2010 on behalf of former residents. The class action exposed government negligence that allowed ongoing institutional abuse, and it sought public recognition and compensation for survivors.1(footnote) Slark and Charlebois also express their disappointment with Premier Kathleen Wynne’s apology and the settlement. Despite their disappointment, the Class Action shows the power of Slark’s survivor-activist knowledge to expose the truth, seek justice, and create change. As Slark states, “They thought we would never amount to anything. This shows them we have talents too.” The class action is an example of the self-determination and agency that Slark and Charlebois assert.

Marie Slark and Antoinette Charlebois’ Story — Shaping and Controlling Behaviour, Huronia Class Action

Credits | Transcript | ASL Content Alert

Captioned and ASL Interpreted Video
Described Video Introduction
Described Video
Eleven stones creating a path float over a looped background video of water rippling. The following links are revealed when one hovers their cursor over their corresponding stone. Eleven stones creating a path float over a looped background video of water rippling. The following links are revealed when one hovers their cursor over their corresponding stone. Eleven stones creating a path float over a looped background video of water rippling. The following links are positioned over their corresponding stone.
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Braiding the Strands
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Widening the Story – Artifact 1
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Widening the Story – Artifact 2
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Widening the Story – Artifact 3
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Widening the Story – Artifact 4
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Widening the Story – Artifact 5
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Widening the Story – Artifact 6
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Widening the Story – Artifact 7
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Widening the Story – Artifact 8
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Braiding and Weaving in More Strands
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Land-based Care Activity
Footnotes

  1. Kate Rossiter and Annalise Clarkson, “Opening Ontario’s ‘Saddest Chapter’: A Social History of Huronia Regional Centre,” Canadian Journal of Disability Studies 2, no. 3 (2013): 1–30, (Source). ↩

  2. Video Credits

    ASL:

    Dominique Ireland (Deaf Interpreter, Connect Interpreting Services), and Debbie Parliament (ASL-English Interpreter, Connect Interpreting Services). ASL video overlay by Aaron Kelly.

    Described Video:

    Writing/ dramaturgy: Kat Germain, Rebecca Singh, Jennifer Brethour

    Consultations: Melanie Marsden, Melissa George-Watson

    Voice Actors: Elder Glenda Klassen, Christine Malec, Colette Desjardins, Scotty Yams

    Sound Engineer: David Stinson

    Slide Credits:

    Speakers: Marie Slark and Antoinette Charlebois. Interviewer: Sue Hutton. Video Editing and Captioning by Hannah Fowlie. Original Sketches by Sue Hutton with direction from Marie Slark and Antoinette Charlebois. Original Score by Angus McLellan. “Remember Every Name” Sculpture by Hillary Clark Cole, Commissioned by Survivors of Huronia Regional Centre, photographed by Aaron Kelly. Footage of Pills from WeVideo. This project has been generously funded by eCampusOntario (ID # GUEL - 564) and University of Guelph’s Learning Enhancement Fund. Ontario Commons Licensing-Non Derivative.

    Logos:

    Toaster Lab, ReVisioning Fitness, eCampusOntario, Bodies in Translation: Activist Art, Technology, and Access to Life, Guelph Museums, Respecting Rights, Creative Users Projects, ARCH Disability Law Centre, University of Guelph, Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social Justice.

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