Finding Light in the Shadow of Residential Schools

The Silence of the Prairie

It’s 3:00 a.m. on the Saskatchewan Prairie. While most of the world is asleep, I’m out here in the long grass of the rolling hills, waiting. People often ask me why I spend so many nights in the cold with a tripod and a camera. They think it’s just a hobby of chasing light, but for me, it’s a hobby of silence.

In that silence, you start to hear the stories the land holds—the ones that aren't written in the history books.

A Message From the Ancestors

In the North, we don’t just look at the sky; we look up at our ancestors. To the Cree, these are the spayak—the spirits dancing. When I see them pulse and flow over our communities, I’m reminded that we aren’t alone out here. We are part of something much older and much stronger than ourselves.

Not far from where I stood to film this, the shadows of the past still remain. The Residential Schools were built with a specific purpose: to darken the spirit of our youth. They tried to take the language, the family, and the identity. They tried to make the children forget who they were.

The Light in the Dormitory Window

But I think about those kids every time I see the Aurora. When the lights were turned out in those dormitories, many of those children would look out the windows. They would see these same green ribbons dancing over the horizon.

To the schools, it was just weather. But to those children, it was a message. It was a reminder of home. It was our ancestors saying, "We are still here. We are still watching." They could take the children from the land, but they could never take the sky from the children.

Why I Keep Filming

For Métis and First Nations people, these aren't just solar particles. They are the souls of our loved ones celebrating. When the sky explodes into purples and pinks, it’s a heartbeat. It’s the resilience of a people who were told they didn’t belong to this land anymore—but the sky proves them wrong every single night.

The lights don't need permission to dance. They don't follow the rules of the world below.

I keep filming these moments because I want the youth of today to remember that these lights are our birthright. We aren’t just looking at the sky; we are looking at a story of survival.

Join the Dance

I invite you to share what these lights mean to you. Have you ever felt that connection while looking up at the Saskatchewan sky? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below.

Kinanāskomitin. (Thank you, I am grateful.)

— Dre Erwin

A Note of Support: > If the themes of this post bring up difficult emotions, please reach out for support. The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available 24/7 at 1-866-925-4419.

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If you want to see more of the stories I capture behind the lens—from the Northern Lights to the work we do empowering youth through photography—please visit my YouTube channel.

Click here to Visit my YouTube Channel: Dre Erwin

Don't forget to Like the video and Subscribe to stay connected. Your support allows me to keep sharing these stories of resilience and light from across the prairies.

Kinanāskomitin.