The Sun is Your Father
A Castle Family History
By Sandra Baker
The Story
Sophie vaguely remembered seeing a strange man with red hair coming to her home but didn't know he was there to arrange for her to go to a boarding school for girls in the nearby hamlet of Yale. In later years, she learned that the redheaded man, named Robert Kennedy, was her father.
These unusual stories are of Sophie Castle and her first three children. The children were not of Indian status but were sent to live at an Indian residential school, named Coqualeetza Industrial Institute. What was so unusual was that her daughter, Ruth, loved her school, but her siblings had much different experiences.
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Coqualeetza was known as an exceptional residential school, mainly because of its Principal, Dr. George H. Raley. He had worked with B.C.’s indigenous people for thirty-five years, studying their culture, language and values. His kindness and concern for his pupils was unparalleled. The Castle life stories reveal how the influence of Coqualeetza affected their entire lives.
Reviews
"An incredible story of one family's journey through the residential school system in British Columbia. A story filled with historical information and surprising facts."
- George Reynolds
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"An excellent read about a family's triumph over adversity. Coqualeetza was an exceptional residential school educating two generations of land claims leaders."
- John McLeod
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"A very enjoyable and educational read. So many of us knew nothing about what was happening to First Nations children in Canada."
- Marylin Linton
About the Author
Sandra Baker
Sandra worked in business administration in the UK, United States, and Canada for over twenty years and retired in the early 1990s. She and her daughter later moved to the Kamloops area to be close to family and to care for her mother, Ruth. During that time, she learned more about her family history and felt compelled to write the Castle family's life stories. She is now living back in Vancouver enjoying watching her granddaughter grow up.
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Sandra thanks Dan Doherty at Reciprocity Publishing for taking a chance on this first-time author.
