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Elder Helen Sharlow recounts boarding-school abuse, to resume teaching Kootenai language
Summary
At a student interview in Elmo, 82-year-old elder and former language teacher Helen Sharlow described physical punishment and language suppression at a boarding school, said she will resume teaching Kootenai language classes, and urged continued traditions and women’s participation in drumming and song.
Helen Sharlow, an 82-year-old Kootenai elder and former language teacher, told students at Twigo River School that she endured physical punishment and restrictions on speaking her language while attending a boarding school at St. Ignatius and that she will resume teaching Kootenai language classes locally on Mondays and Wednesdays.
The interview, conducted by a student who identified himself as Terry, was part of a school project. Sharlow described being hit with rulers and straps and said students were not allowed to speak their language at the boarding school: "They used to slap us around and everything else…Couldn't even talk our language over…
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