Syilx Okanagan woman files lawsuit alleging historic abuse at Vernon Catholic school

WARNING: This story contains details of experiences similar to those suffered by residential school survivors.

A Syilx Okanagan woman has filed a lawsuit against church authorities and the Canadian government alleging she was physically and sexually abused as a child at a Catholic-run Vernon, B.C., school. 

Laurie Wilson, 66, was bussed from the Okanagan Indian Band reserve to attend St. James Parish School from 1963 to 1970, where she says she was berated, beaten and sexually assaulted.

Last week, she filed a lawsuit in the B.C. Supreme Court, suing the Roman Catholic Bishop of Kamloops and its associated Catholic school authorities, as well as the Attorney General of Canada. The school itself was run by the Sisters of Saint Ann.

Unlike many day schools and residential schools, St. James accepted both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. 

Wilson, who later graduated from the University of British Columbia with a law degree, pushed for her and her fellow Indigenous schoolmates to be included in a multi-billion-dollar day school settlement for their alleged abuse — but was denied. 

Now, the grandmother of 11 has decided to file a lawsuit, in what her lawyers say is a rare example of an Indigenous person seeking to get full damages from the Canadian court system over claims of historic abuse. 

"When I got [to the school], all of a sudden I was evil, I was dirty, I was stupid. Nothing I did was right," Wilson told Brady Strachan, guest host of CBC's Radio West on Wednesday.

"I was specifically told that I couldn't learn like everybody else, that I didn't have the same brain, that I could pray to be of service," she said.

Wilson claims she was physically beaten, or "strapped," had her hair pulled by the school's nuns, and endured near-constant psychological abuse. She attended St. James from about age five to age 12. 

Her lawsuit also says the founder of the school sexually assaulted her on at least two occasions — and that she further suffered sexual abuse at the hands of white students at the school.

"On one occasion, several girls forced the plaintiff into a closet under the stairs and forcefully removed the plaintiff's underwear, whereafter they called her dirty," the lawsuit reads.

None of Wilson's claims have been proven in court, and the defendants have not yet filed a response to her lawsuit.

Wilson is seeking damages for, among other things, a "loss of cultural identity and practice," loss of earning capacity and health-care costs.

'My anger that carried me'

In filing the lawsuit, Wilson said she wants to be seen as Okanagan Syilx woman, "not as a survivor or victim or anything else."

"It's very important for me to stand and claim my space and my justice in this way," she said. "In a way that they will understand, in the way ... according to their laws."

Describing her experiences at the school, Wilson said she tried not to let the abuse by other students and staff get under her skin.

"It was my anger that carried me, and it was also my anger that wounded me," she said.

CBC News has reached out to the defendants in the lawsuit for this story.

An Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson wasn't immediately available for comment.

In a statement, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamloops said it was committed to responding "fairly and compassionately" to all claims of historic abuse.

"We are unable to comment on any matter before the courts," read a statement from Kamloops Bishop Joseph Nguyen.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour service at 1-866-925-4419.

Mental health counselling and crisis support are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat.