St. Joseph’s Indian Residential School Survivors gathering brings together Survivors and support – Anishinabek News

March 24, 2025

THUNDER BAY — A Bringing Percy Home presentation was featured at the Rise Above St. Joseph’s Indian Residential School Survivors gathering, held March 4-6 at the Best Western Plus NorWester Hotel and Conference Centre in Thunder Bay. The presentation about a family’s journey to bring home the remains of Percy Onabigon was delivered by Claire Onabigon, a Long Lake #58 citizen and a niece of Percy, and Kelsey Anger, reconciliation manager at the Anishinabek Nation.

“Percy Onabigon, my mom’s brother, came to Residential School when he was eight-years-old, the same time my mom and her other two brothers Kenny and George came,” Claire says, noting that Percy had epilepsy. “This was their third admission into St. Joseph’s Indian Residential School and Percy’s first. This presentation is about the journey to bring Percy home. When he went to Residential School in September, two months later, he was sent to McKellar Hospital [and] from there, he was sent to institutions in southern Ontario. They were Ontario hospitals, they were mental institutions. Percy was just eight-years-old and he lived in institutions until he died at 27.”

Claire says Percy was never seen again by a family member after he was sent away from McKellar Hospital to the institutions in southern Ontario.

Read More: https://anishinabeknews.ca/2025/03/24/st-josephs-indian-residential-school-survivors-gathering-brings-together-survivors-and-support/