Institutionalized or Included: Absolving the Past and Informing the Future

Fifty years ago, Chris' grandparents worked as psych nurses in Michener Center, where, at the time, over 1000 patients lived and learned. Alberta in the sixties, seventies, and eighties had more patients institutionalized, per capita, than any other province in Canada. It’s not a secret that Michener Center’s legacy included archaic and dehumanizing practices that needed to end. Abuse, neglect, and even forced sterilization were a part of the culture there.  The Proverbs say, “A good reputation and respect are worth much more than silver and gold.” How do we measure the reputation of a community? Can a city or town have values? Whose job is it to uphold them? When we pull down the walls of a mental institution or a residential school, do we convince ourselves that we have undone what went on behind them?  It’s not hard to imagine that there is more than dust and rubble buried in the piles that are left behind.
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Cilantro and Chive: www.cilantroandchive.ca
The King's University: www.kingsu.ca

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