by Kai Kazi
Hakan was running their way with a smile broader than his face, cutting through the crowd with a precision telling of his skills in the sport. The sun had all but fallen from the sky, making it almost too dark to see, and the night’s chill was settling in the air; but Nita’s face was aflame with the beating of his heart. In the back of his mind, a part of him long-suppressed called up memories of making fires and crafting shelters. It all felt right at his fingertips.
His emotions churned inside of him, too strong and too close, and his hands were shaking with the buzz of it all. He nodded to Hakan, his voice feeling tight and shaky as he spoke, “Let’s go.”
His voice was lost in the commotion, but no words were necessary for Hakan. He responded as quickly as he did to the coach’s instructions, shooting a hand up in the air. Hakan barked a quick call to the teacher not far away, drawing his attention. “Can I use the bathroom?”
Nothing was too much for the star player, winner of the game – the teacher waved his approval, smiling broadly.
Shouts of congratulations and barks of discord mixed into one thundering noise that deafened everything else. Stray insults of the violent heathens having an unfair advantage followed after them, mixing with cheers of congratulations as the three of them wandered to the far edge of the stands, rounding them with steady, even strides that felt torturous to maintain; Nita wanted to break into a run, sprinting away before they could ever catch sight of him. He was so close to freedom, a breath from finally going home. He felt danger nipping at his heels like a rabid dog chasing after him, threatening to catch him, threatening to drag him down.
Nita could hardly breathe and his legs trembled underneath him as he walked, eyes straight ahead. The darkness cloaked them as their forms disappeared from sight behind the stands. Their eyes darted back and forth, finding themselves Albane. Nita was walking away from the meaningless, worthless name they had given him. He was turning his back on the language they spoke. He was turning his back on everything about them, like they had tried to strip him of everything about his people.
Each stride took them farther and farther away from the crowd caught up in the excitement. The commotion dulled, easing as the three moved away; their forms blocked from sight by the stands and the distance and the darkness.
Nita couldn’t take it anymore, and his hand shot out to hit Pamuy’s arm and Hakan’s after that, his only signal before he burst into a run. His shaky legs gained strength with every stride, pushing faster and harder as he sprinted away from the prison that had held him.
Nita had survived, and no matter what was waiting for him, he was never going back.
THE END.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Bloody Halls of Carlisle Indian School
Forcefully taken. Stripped of any and all identity. Systemically, mentally and physically abused within boarding schools of unspeakable horrors. These were the effects of Aboriginal assimilation initiative in America during the late 19th and early 20th century.
However it seems that despite the power of these words that few of us can truly appreciate the truths behind forced assimilation. Most certainly for the victims it seems that their personal experiences remain both vivid and impactful upon the lives of today’s generations.
The ideology behind Aboriginal Assimilation
The overarching goal of Aboriginal Assimilation was to forcefully wipe away the culture, religion, language and (even) the names of aboriginal children, who were removed from their parents and placed within boarding schools. It was designed to press upon aboriginals Euro-American standards, yet today we can see this in its brutal light for what it was: an attempt to destroy a complete identity of a people and falsely instil “whiteness” and Christianity.
“Kill the Indian: Save the Man”
- Hultgren, Mary Lou (1989)1
The Carlisle Indian Industrial School: A flagship school for a warped curriculum
Set up by Captain Richard Henry Pratt with funding of the US government, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School served as the flagship Indian boarding school into which aboriginal children were placed. It represented all that Aboriginal Assimilation aimed to achieve and served as a model for how this ideology should be instilled.
A new home of horrors: Mental and physical abuse that knew no bounds
In total over 100,000 Native Americans were forcibly placed into the Christian School system.2 They were physically beaten, mentally abused and repeatedly raped, with neither gender faring better than the other in any of their sufferings.
Today it seems that the full picture of the schools that operated behind closed doors is emerging, with psychologists and socialists alike making reports, creating literature and undertaking studies that shock and horrify in equal measure.
The Truth Commission has reported that several of the schools within the system feature unmarked graves of murdered children and that babies were amongst these victims: murdered and then hidden as evidence of the rape from whence they came.
There has, however, been some justice (as far as there may be for such heinous crimes); this has come in the form of prosecuted nuns, priests and brothers, with charges that have included rape, molestation and abuse.
“After a nine-year-old girl was raped in her dormitory bed during the night, we girls would be so scared that we would jump into each other’s bed as soon as the lights went out”.
- A female victim of Aboriginal Assimilation 3
Aboriginal Assimilation that crossed both borders and continents
With many horrors within history we can at least be grateful for their usual relative restriction to certain areas. However aboriginal assimilation spanned both borders and continents as similar systems were set up in both Canada and Australia.
An aftermath of lost cultures, suicides and alcoholism
“To us, children are as pure as the holy, moving energy of the universe… and we treat them that way.”
- Member of Elk Soldier Society: Yankton Sioux Reservation, South Dakota.
The quotation above presents the stark contrast of the treatment of children within their aboriginal families and communities as compared to the outright horrors of the schools of forced assimilation. Yet this glimpse into such a culture can be considered as relatively rare as historians struggle to piece together a people whose culture has been effectively wiped out. To this end the effects of the Aboriginal Assimilation are anything but over and still to this day reach far and wide.
Today we truly look to a collection of Aboriginal people who have lost their culture, faced years of social issues (including poverty, crime and poor social mobility) as well as suffering from suicide and alcoholism rates that remain far above the norm.
References
1. Hultgren, Mary Lou, 1989, “To lead and to serve: American Indian education at Hampton institute 1878-1923,” Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy in cooperation with Hampton University
2. Smith, Andrea (2007), “Soul Wound: The Legacy of Native American Schools,” Amnesty International
3. Lomawaima & Child & Archuleta (2000). Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Experiences. Heard Museum.
A NOTE FROM KAI
Hey,
I'm Kai. I want to thank you for reading Sword & Sorcery of Avondale. I hope you enjoyed it as much I enjoyed crafting this story. I wanted to share with you that I am just beginning my journey as a storyteller, in fact when this book was first published in 2019, I was not a professional writer but in fact a young clueless bachelor working as an IT Analyst in my hometown Ottawa, Canada; however my passion for storytelling led me to work on the Alien Cult trilogy purely as a hobby during my spare time as I absolutely love storytelling and nothing brings me more joy than to come up with wild stories to share with the world. Since I am just beginning my writing journey I have much to learn; the best way for me to learn and grow would be to receive honest feedback from readers. This would really help me improve my craft, grow as a storytell
er and also connect with fellow book lovers, so if you can spare some of your precious time to leave an honest feedback for this book on Amazon or Goodreads or Kobo, it would really help me out.
Thanks again for taking the time to read this book, your time and support is much appreciated!
Take good care until next time,
Kai
A BIT ABOUT KAI
***
Kai Kazi
Absolutely Awkward.
Adorkable Geek.
Self-proclaimed best shawarma eater.
Especially gifted napper.
Currently working on his Masters specializing in fantasy basketball.
In his spare time, Kai stunt doubles for Batman.
Okay that was a lie...he actually stunt doubles for Robin.
Kai is a kid with a dream - a very simple dream, mostly involving binging on shawarma and books, but a dream nonetheless.
Simply put Kai is a pile of delight.
***
I won’t get into a lengthy bio here but I will tell you briefly how I got started; it was 2012, a crazy year since many people were worried that the world was about to end as the Mayans predicted. At the time, I was a recent university grad working in my hometown in the heart of Canada. Being young and naïve, I got spooked by all the Armageddon talk so right before the impending Armageddon I ventured on a wild Euro-trip, during which I realized life is way too short to not pursue your passion. So upon my return, I geared my life towards my true passion; storytelling.
When it comes to stories, I have always loved stories that explore DARK themes, worlds and characters however I felt that most books I read were too light. This led me to start drafting stories that explores the darkest corridors of the human mind and soul, with the overarching goal to disturb, terrify but also entertain adult readers. I worked on several books with my good friends; whom happen to be incredibly gifted writers. Together we came up with some incredibly dark stories; so dark your mind may never forgive you for taking it to such dark corridors. Regardless, I encourage you to dare yourself to discover some of my incredible dark stories that is bound to disturb your peaceful mind.
I have books within several genres including; literary/historical fiction, mystery, epic fantasy, and young adult; regardless of genre each story has a very dark touch. Dark does not mean paranormal; so don’t expect vampires/werewolves/ghosts in my books but don’t no worry I still find other ways terrify and disturb your peaceful mind. Here are some of my works;
OTHER WORKS BY KAI KAZI
BOOKS
MYSTERY
ALIEN MESSIAH TRILOGY
ALIEN Messiah
SECRET SOCIETIES OF AMARUCA
ALIEN CULTS OF CANADA
EPIC FANTASY
AVONDALE TRILOGY
SWORD AND SORCERY OF AVONDALE
KNIGHTS AND DRAGONS OF AVONDALE
LOST LEGEND OF AVONDALE
LITERARY/HISTORICAL FICTION
SAD SHORT STORIES ANTHOLOGY
VOLUME ONE
VOLUME TWO
VOLUME THREE
PUBLICATION: DARK STORIES PRESS
COPYRIGHT: KAI KAZI STUIDO
SWORD & SORCERY OF AVONDALE
Story by: Kai Kazi
Writer Assistant/Editor: Sheree Crawford
Free Novella: Tears from Carlisle Indian Boarding School
Story by Kai Kazi
Written/Edited by Kai Kazi, Cheyenne DeBorde
Book Cover Design: Warren Design
All rights solely owned by Kai Kazi Studio
Dark Stories Press is a subsidiary of Kai Kazi Studio, which is solely owned and operated by
Quazi Investment.
Ottawa, Canada
2019