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The atrocities of the residential school system in Canada are amply documented. Less well-known is the history of day schools, which some two hundred thousand Indigenous youth attended.
The Curve Lake Indian Day School operated for over ninety years, from 1899 to 1978. Implementing Indigenous community research practices, Jackson Pind, alongside the Chief and Council of Curve Lake First Nation, conducted a search of the federal archive on operations at the school. Students by Day presents the findings, revealing that the government failed in its fiduciary duty to protect students. Harmful and discriminatory policies forced children to abandon their language and culture and left them subject to many types of abuse. To supplement this documentation, Pind also interviewed survivors of the school, who shared their often difficult testimony. He situates Curve Lake’s development and operations within the wider context of Canadian assimilation policies, noting the lasting impacts on Anishinaabe identity and culture.
Not only recovering the archive, written and oral, but building on files repatriated to the community, Students by Day is a story of Indigenous resilience, activism, and hope in the face of educational injustice.
“Students by Day is an intricate uncovering of day schools’ history, navigating archives and life stories. It sets a gold standard for community-centred research, reminding us of the centrality of love to culture, people, and politics.” Niigaan Sinclair, author of Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre
“With care, clarity, and accountability, Jackson Pind’s book listens to Curve Lake First Nation and honours survivors’ experiences. Students by Day is not only powerful history; it’s a model for community-based research that serves Indigenous resurgence.” Crystal Gail Fraser, author of By Strength, We Are Still Here: Indigenous Peoples and Indian Residential Schooling in Inuvik, Northwest Territories
“The first book to document the history of the Indian day school at Curve Lake First Nation. By weaving together archival evidence and interviews, Pind offers a nuanced narrative that highlights the complexities of personal and professional motives while keeping human lives at its centre. Students by Day provides a compelling narrative of Indigenous struggle and resilience, emphasizing an unwavering commitment to self-advocacy and rights.” Canada's History
“Pind fuses oral interviews with rigorous research, drawing on more than 9,000 primary-source documents... His in-depth work is impressive, as it successfully details the interplay between colonialism and those who resisted it.” Literary Review of Canada