The abused kids of Sugarcane Reserve

Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie direct the quietly compelling Sugarcane, a documentary that exposes the horrific treatment of children from the Sugarcane Reserve in Canada. The directors deal with the consequences of a Canadian government policy that in the late 1800s established some 139 boarding schools run by the Catholic Church. Thousands of indigenous children found themselves in these schools, which resulted in separation from family and culture, physical and sexual abuse, and, in some cases, suicide. In part, the directors focus on NoiseCat's father, who was a "student" at the St. Joseph's school, which was founded in 1886 and housed children from the Williams Lake First Nation people. The most shocking detail: the incineration of babies born to female students who were sexually abused by priests. Yes, you read that right. Incineration. Although the account sometimes becomes muddled, significant details remain clear and the emotional impact of the various stories is undeniable. One of the film's principal interviewees, for example, learns that his father may have been a priest at the school.  A visit made by some of the Sugarcane Reserve people to Rome resulted in a meeting with Pope Francis. No apology was forthcoming.  But, then, the past can't be undone and apologies, though essential, can’t address the wrongs committed by the church and the Canadian government. Previously ignored mistreatment of children set off an inquiry which the film tells us uncovered 159 burial sites at St. Joseph's. Although the school was closed in 1981, the emotional scars of abuse and neglect continue in the present, and that makes Sugarcane an ongoing and essential story.