Anyways, I woke up early this morning and thought I'd clean off the kitchen table. As I did so, I came across this book that we recently read. As Long as the River Flow by Larry Loyie.
At the end of the book we discovered that lad and his sisters and brothers (as young as two) would be sent away to a boarding school.
My son's shock was immediate and horrified.
MOM! Why would they that? Why would they take Lawrence away from his mom and dad? Why would they say his mom and dad would go to jail if he didn't get taken away? MOM! Why would they be so bad?
What can you say to a child about a period in life that you really wish your government didn't do? The taking away of children from their parents. The estrangement that made from their real and living culture?
I honestly did the best I could, but one can't really explain it. All one can do is understand it was a sad time in our history...the wiping out of another culture by the taking of it's children. I used the historical section at the back of the book to help explain it as well.
Anyways, it you want to get this poignant book you can find it your local library like I did. OR you can get it on Amazon, you'll find my affiliate link below.