The Fire Still Burns: Life in and After Residential School - Paperback

by Sam George (Author), Jill Yonit Goldberg (Contribution by), Liam Belson (Contribution by)

Sam George's harrowing account of surviving Canada's Indian Residential School system.

"My name is Sam George. In spite of everything that happened to me, by the grace of the Creator, I have lived to be an Elder."

Set in the Vancouver area in the late 1940s and through to the present day, this candid account follows Sam from his idyllic childhood growing up on the Eslhá7an (Mission) reserve to the confines of St. Paul's Indian Residential School and then into a life of addiction and incarceration. But an ember of Sam's spirit always burned within him, and even in the darkest of places he retained his humor and dignity until he found the strength to face his past.

The Fire Still Burns is an unflinching look at the horrors of a childhood spent trapped within the Indian Residential School system and the long-term effects on survivors. It illustrates the healing power of one's culture and the resilience that allows an individual to rebuild a life and a future.

Author Biography

Sam George is a Squamish Elder and a survivor of the Canadian Indian Residential School system. A retired longshoreman and semi-retired drug and alcohol counselor, Sam now works as an educator with the Indian Residential School Survivors Society and speaks with students and community groups about his experiences.