Author, residential school survivor dies at 87
- EFN Staff | February 28, 2017
Author of The Education of Augie Merasty: A Residential School Memoir passed away on the morning of Monday, February 27th in Prince Albert. Joseph Auguste (Augie) Merasty was an 87-year-old Cree man with a touching story that will be remembered for generations to come.
Merasty was a retired fisherman, a trapper, jack of all trades, and amateur boxer. He was a man who faced trauma from the residential schools, which led to his battle with alcohol over the years. Merasty lived to tell a hard life he had from facing deadly situations such as being assaulted, near drowning, being electrocuted and freezing out in streets of Prince Albert. He was homeless for numerous years and drank to forget about his past. It was over a decade that Merasty decided to write about his residential school experience that held so much pain. It took him almost 10 years to complete his memoir with the help of Saskatchewan writer David Carpenter and the University of Regina Press (UR Press) who published the book.
Former UR Press publicist Nickita Longman first began her job in January of 2015 where her first book she had the pleasure of publicizing was The Education of Augie Merasty. Longman’s job was to get the book into the broader public and create a dialogue around the residential school story.
“The book couldn't have come out at a better time. Shortly after the TRC's Calls to Actions were released, Augie's memoir invited people to examine a residential schooling experience at a first-hand basis,” she says. “Readers were able to confront our histories through Augie’s voice and narrative on a personal level.”
Longman was saddened when she heard the news about Merasty’s passing but she felt at ease knowing that his book will carry on the story of his life – his legacy.
“I can take some comfort in knowing he was finally able to tell his story on a national level. His story will continue to bridge the gap towards reconciliation in our country,” she adds. “He made a great sacrifice of his privacy in order to contextualize the hardships faced by so many Indigenous people in our country. For this, I will always respect Augie and his bravery to share his story with us.”
Merasty’s memoir details his experience at St. Therese Residential School near Sturgeon Landing in Saskatchewan dating back to 1935 until 1944. According to a media release from the UR Press, “Merasty documents the horrors of residential school, including physical and sexual abuse, his story is ultimately one of bravery and resilience.” His story has created the dialogue for other survivors to come forward with their experiences in the residential schools.
The Education of Augie Merasty is being used to teach about the history of residential schools within schools across Canada. Merasty’s book has gain him national recognition as his memoir was shortlisted for three awards in last year’s Saskatchewan Book Awards, the book took second place in the CODE Burt Award and was selected for the Saskatchewan Library Association's inaugural 2017 One Book, One Province initiative. The initiative reading tour will start on March 1st at the First Nations University of Canada in Regina starting at 7pm where everyone will have opportunities to partake in celebrating Merasty’s life. The next reading event will take place in Prince Albert in the SIAST gym on March 8th starting at 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.