calling down the sky

Calling Down the Sky is a poetry collection that describes deep personal experiences and post-generational effects of the Canadian residential school confinements in the 1960s when thousands of First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were placed in these schools against their parents' wishes. Many were forbidden to speak their language and practice their own culture. Rosanna Deerchild exposes how the residential schools systematically undermined aboriginal culture across Canada and disrupted families for generations, severing the ties through which aboriginal culture is taught and sustained, and contributing to a general loss of language and culture. The devastating effects of the residential schools are far-reaching and continue to have significant impact on aboriginal communities. (From Bookland Press)

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Interviews with Rosanna Deerchild

The Next Chapter16:42Rosanna Deerchild on "Calling Down the Sky"

The poet and host of CBC Radio's "Unreserved" talks about sharing her mother's story of residential school in her latest poetry collection.