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This cruel Christmas letter from an Indian boarding school offers a vital history lesson.

It’s a chapter of U.S. and Canadian history that many prefer to forget—and that many of us never even learned.

Either absent from many textbooks or given a mere nod in a sentence or two, the forcible, systematic removal of Native children from their families is one of the most shameful episodes in our history. Starting in the 19th century and continuing through the majority of the 20th, both the U.S. and Canadian governments created boarding schools, or residential schools, in which Native children were forced to “assimilate.”

What “assimilate” meant could be summed up in the words of U.S. cavalry captain Richard Henry Pratt, who opened the first Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania: “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.”

Children were taken from their families to live at these schools, forced to speak English and practice Christianity, and punished for speaking their own languages or practicing their own customs. For decades, tens of thousands of Native children endured the cultural genocide the schools were designed to carry out, in addition to the emotional, physical, and sexual abuses that turned out to be all too common in such schools.

Some may think this is ancient history. But it wasn’t until the Indian Child Welfare Act passed in 1978 that Native parents in the U.S. gained the legal right to keep their own children from these schools. That's right. 1978.

A Christmas letter to Indian parents from a Canadian residential school highlights the arrogant racism inherent in the system.

Lance Albert of Saskatchewan, Canada shared a photo of a letter on Facebook from Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia, dated November 18, 1948.

Imagine someone stealing your children so they can indoctrinate and abuse them until everything you and your family has taught them is destroyed. Then imagine getting this letter from them in the mail:

"Dear Parents,

It will be your privilege this year to have your children spend Christmas at home with you. The holidays will extend from DECEMBER 18th to JANUARY 3rd. This is a privilege which is being granted if you observe the following regulations of the Indian Department.

  1. THE TRANSPORTATION TO THE HOME AND BACK TO THE SCHOOL MUST BE PAID BY THE PARENTS. The parents must come themselves to get their own children. If they are unable to come they must sent a letter to the Principal of the school stating that the parents of other children from the same Reserve may bring them home. The children will not be allowed to go home alone on the train or bus.
  2. THE PARENTS MUST BRING THE CHILDREN BACK TO THE SCHOOL STRICTLY ON TIME. If the children are not returned to School on time they will not be allowed to go home for Christmas next year.

I ask you to observe the above regulations in order that this privilege of going home for Christmas may be continued from year to year. It will be a joy for you to have your children with you for Christmas. It will be a joy also for your children and it will bring added cheer and happiness to your home.

Yours sincerely,

Rev. F. O'Grady, O.M.I, Principal."

Imagine having your kids forcibly taken from you, then being told that seeing them for the holidays was “a privilege.”

The reverend used the word "privilege" three times to describe parents simply getting to see their own children at their own expense. He threatens to hold their children hostage next Christmas if they don't return them on time. Then he repeatedly tells them what "a joy" it will be for them to get to see each other, as if he's issuing some kind of happiness edict. Gross.

Add in the fact that many of the Native parents receiving this letter didn't speak or read English, nor did they celebrate Christmas, and the arrogance and condescension in the letter grow even greater.

In fact, the whole thing reads like something President Snow in "The Hunger Games" would write. How nauseating is it to realize that the dystopian stories we eagerly consume as entertainment have been the lived reality of thousands of Native and First Nations people for so much of our history?

And again, this is modern history. My mom was a child when this letter was written, and I was born before Native parents in my own country had the legal right to say no to the government stealing their children. There are thousands of people living with the aftermath of these policies and practices, right here, right now.

Let's add this to the list of human atrocities we vow to #NeverForget.

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Innovation

Ontario teen says he'll live in 'modular home' invention for a year to prove it can end homelessness

He's already invented a wooden car.

ideas, homelessness, prodigy, social work, solutions
Photo credit: @ribalzebian on Instagram

Ribal Zebian is going to test a house he designed by living in it for a year.

Ribal Zebian, a student from the city of London in Ontario, Canada, already made headlines last year when he built an electric car out of wood and earned a $120,000 scholarship from it. Now, he's in the news again for something a little different. Concerned with homelessness in his hometown, Zebian got to work creating a different kind of affordable housing made from fiberglass material. In fact, he’s so confident in his idea that the 18-year-old plans on living in it for a year to test it out himself.

Currently an engineering student at Western University, Zebian was concerned by both the rising population of the unhoused in his community and the rising cost of housing overall. With that in mind, he conjured up a blueprint for a modular home that would help address both problems.

Zebian’s version of a modular home would be made of fiberglass panels and thermoplastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam. He chose those materials because he believes they can make a sturdy dwelling in a short amount of time—specifically in just a single day.

“With fiberglass you can make extravagant molds, and you can replicate those,” Zebian told CTV News. “It can be duplicated. And for our roofing system, we’re not using the traditional truss method. We’re using actually an insulated core PET foam that supports the structure and structural integrity of the roof.”

Zebian also believes these homes don’t have to be purely utilitarian—they can also offer attractive design and customizable features to make them personal and appealing.

“Essentially, what I’m trying to do is bring a home to the public that could be built in one day, is affordable, and still carries some architecturally striking features,” he said to the London Free Press. “We don’t want to be bringing a house to Canadians that is just boxy and that not much thought was put into it.”

Beginning in May 2026, Zebian is putting his modular home prototype to the test by living inside of a unit for a full year with the hope of working out any and all kinks before approaching manufacturers.

“We want to see if we can make it through all four seasons- summer, winter, spring, and fall,” said Zebian. “But that’s not the only thing. When you live in something that long and use it, you can notice every single mistake and error, and you can optimize for the best experience.”

While Zebian knows that his modular homes aren't a long-term solution to either the homeless or housing crisis, he believes they could provide an inexpensive option to help people get the shelter they need until certain policies are reformed so the unhoused can find affordable permanent dwellings.

@hard.knock.gospel

What to buy for the homeless at the grocery store. 🛒 Most people get it wrong. After being there myself, these are the survival items that actually matter 💯 The 2nd to last one is about more than survival—it’s about DIGNITY. We are all one circumstance away from the same shoes 🙏 SAVE this for your next grocery run. 📌 IG@hardknockgospel Substack@ Outsiders_Anonymous #homelessness #helpingothers #kindness #payitforward #learnontiktok

Zebian’s proposal and experiment definitely inspires others to try to help, too. If you wish to lend a hand to the unhoused community in your area in the United States, but don’t know where to look, you can find a homeless shelter or charity near you through here. Whether it’s through volunteering or through a donation, you can help make a difference.

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People born before 1970 share what they ate for dinner growing up, and it's a blast from the past

So much meatloaf and Shake 'n Bake.

1970s, '70s, generations, food, meals
Photo credit: Canva

Kids in the 1970s pretending to cook

"What's for dinner?" has been asked by kids for millennia, probably, and the most common answers depend on both where and at what time in history it was asked. In ancient times, people were limited to what they could hunt or gather. Medieval recipes look different than what people ate in the 19th century. And what our grandparents ate when they were children was different from what our kids eat today.

Obviously, people couldn't DoorDash Chipotle in the '70s, but when someone on Reddit asked people born before 1970 what they ate for dinner most weeks, there were some standard meals a lot of Americans clearly ate regularly growing up. Lots of meatloaf and beef stroganoff. Pork chops and chop suey. Convenient assistance from Shake n' Bake, Hamburger Helper and TV dinners. Canned fruits and veggies. So much Jell-O.

Here are some of the most popular responses:

"Overcooked pork chop, minute rice, canned green beans, canned fruit cocktail

Spaghetti with ground beef and sauce made from a packet (Durkee?)

Pot roast (whatever cut of meat was on sale) cooked with Lipton onion soup mix. Frozen peas. Canned peaches.

Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and canned green beans. Canned pears

Shake n bake chicken and scalloped potatoes from a box. Canned fruit of some kind.

On awesome days Chef Boyardee pizza mix from a box.

I liked LaChoy chop suey.

Always with a jug of milk on the table."

1970s, '70s, generations, meals, meatloaf Meatloaf was a staple dinner.Photo credit: Canva

"So I think many of our moms went to the same home ec classes. Our house also had on rotation:

Goulash: It wasn’t what I have come to understand is Hungarian Goulash, but ground beef/spices/tomatoes.

Chicken Diane: Way overcooked chicken with rosemary, thyme and other seasonings.

Meatloaf: Yes, ketchup on top.

And the ever-present rice. Dad bought an aluminum rice cooker from his time in Japan and we had rice (he added soy sauce on top) 3x per week. The other side was baked potatoes.

The big treat!!!??? Chef Boy Ar Dee pizza from a tube on Friday once per month. Mom had a round aluminum baking pan and make dough, spread the included sauce on the dough, add the Parmesan Cheese (in the included packet). That was the biggest treat - and in all honesty I would go back to that day cause I miss my mom. Best pizza ever."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Hamburger patty or braised round steak, green salad, canned vegetable (peas, beans, corn, beets). Occasionally a baked potato. Sometimes my mom would toss chicken in a flour/seasoning mix and bake it and we'd have oven fried chicken--maybe once every couple of weeks. We got beef from a cousin so it was cheap, and chicken was expensive.

Mom also made spaghetti with ground beef, and beef stew with the tougher cuts of the cow. Oh--and liver--God how I hated liver night.

We always had cheap grocery store 'ice milk' in the freezer for dessert."

1970s, '70s, generations, food, meals, spaghetti Spaghetti is still a classic.Photo credit: Canva

"Sunday - Spaghetti/macaroni and homemade spaghetti sauce and a salad.

Monday - Roast chicken, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Tuesday - Pork chops, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Wednesday - Spaghetti/macaroni and homemade spaghetti sauce and a salad.

Thursday - Rump or sirloin steak, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Friday - breaded and fried fish (ugh--haddock, halibut, or cod if the latter was on sale), a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Saturday - Rump or sirloin steak, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Dessert would be supermarket ice cream (carton, usually Neopolitan), Jello chocolate pudding, Table Talk pie (usually apple)."

1970s, '70s, generations, food, meals, pork chops Why were pork chops so popular?Photo credit: Canva

"Typical meals: stroganoff made with ground beef and egg noodles. Pot roast. Swiss steak. Chicken cacciatore. Fried chicken. This was in California, but my parents were from the Midwest so pretty meat-and-potatoes. There was always a side vegetable and a starch. Rarely bread or rolls. Occasionally salad but not always until the 1980s. No formal/planned dessert except for special occasions like birthdays and holidays, but sometimes there was ice cream in the freezer or there were cookies (store bought; my mom wasn't a baker). In the late 70s my mom loved Julia Child and started to be more adventurous with cooking; later she took Asian cooking classes too."

"Beef stroganoff, fried bologna, weiners wrapped in bacon and then broiled, baked beans, (from scratch) liver.

Jello 1-2-3 (so space age!) Bundt cake, canned fruit salad, canned pears, canned peaches."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"When we had some money (early in the pay period):

Spaghetti with sausages and homemade sauce

Liver and onions

Chop suey

Spare ribs and sauerkraut

Pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy

Beef stew

Boeuf bourguignon

Beef stroganoff

When we were short on money:

Spam & scrambled eggs

Homemade macaroni & cheese

Cold cereal

That’s all I can think of right now.

We very rarely ever had dessert and almost never ate out. We never had fast food, the only fast food chain in town was Burger King, and McDonald’s was a town away and only open about six months of the year."

Here's to all the meals that nourished us in every era of our lives.

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Public speaking expert shares the 3 'magic' phrases that instantly make you more likable

It's all about being genuinely open and curious.

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via Canva/Photos

A woman speaking with two men at a party.

When we think of someone likable, we often imagine a person with a big personality who's the life of the party. We conjure up images of social butterflies and people who keep everyone at the dinner party glued to their every word when they tell a story. The funny thing is, according to research, that's not really the case.

Studies show that the easiest way to make someone like you is to show interest by asking questions during the conversation and making it clear that you like them. People also really love those who come off as genuine.

Michael Gendler, a co-founder of Ultraspeaking, a platform that helps people master the art of public speaking, recently shared three "magic" phrases that make you more likable, all of which align with what science tells us.

Three phrases that make you more likable

Phrase 1: "Here's what really scares me..."

This phrase resonates with people because it shows you're genuine by admitting your vulnerability. "Man, talk about your feats, real fears, not like 'Oh, I'm scared I'm going to be too successful.' Tell us about something that actually scares you. Don't be guarded. Be open, and other people will appreciate that," Gendler says.

Phrase 2: "You know what I really like about you?"

This phrase makes people like you because it counters a psychological phenomenon known as signal amplification bias, which suggests we tend to overestimate how clearly we express our feelings to others. This means that, many times, when we think others know we like them, they may not be so sure. So a little assurance goes a long way toward showing them the feeling is mutual. "People love being complimented as long as it is genuine," Gendler says.


Phrase 3: "Tell me more"

As Dale Carnegie wrote in How to Make Friends and Influence People, the key to interacting with others is focusing on being interested in them rather than trying to impress them by being interesting. "Be interested, not interesting," Carnegie writes.

A Harvard study supports this, showing that when you first start speaking with someone, you should follow your first question with two more. People who do this are rated as much more likable than those who, after one question, shift the conversation to themselves. "People love feeling like what they're saying is interesting. So invite them to speak more," Gendler continues.


Don't forget to be genuine

Ultraspeaking's post is a breath of fresh air for those who aren't comfortable trying to impress others at parties, on dates, or in the office. The video shows that if you make people feel important, they're much more likely to like you in return. The key is that it has to come from the heart.

"Remember, don't just use these phrases and expect them to work," Gendler says. "They have to be genuine and open. That's what makes people likable."

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Dentist has hilarious solution for husbands who show up for their appointments not knowing why

What procedure you get will be a surprise.

men; dental care; weaponized incompetence; wife; marriage; men's healthcare
Photo credit: Canva

Dentist has hilarious solution for husbands who show up for appointments without knowing why

Watch any sitcom involving a family, and you'll see some stereotype of a seemingly clueless man with his exasperated wife. In reality, there are plenty of men who are perfectly capable of handling their own affairs and being equal partners. But there are some guys still bopping around like the lovable oaf sitcom archetype, and Dr. Brady Smith has had enough of his fellow men.

Smith is a dentist who shares content on social media. In one of his most recent videos, he expresses frustration with the men who come into his office. In the tongue-in-cheek video, the dentist is in his office explaining that sometimes when men come to their dental appointments, they have no idea why they're there. Smith jokingly decides that the men who arrive confused will be forced to play a dental procedure game.

men; dental care; weaponized incompetence; wife; marriage; men's healthcare Dental checkup for a healthy smile.Photo credit: Canva

"Men will come to their dental visits sometimes without knowing why they're there, and as a dentist, that's odd to come face-to-face with when I walk into the room. When I say, 'looks like you're here for a check-up and a cleaning,' and they say, 'I don't know, I didn't schedule the appointment.' That does not happen with women," Smith says before eventually revealing his solution.

Smith says that he's been a dentist for 16 years and has never experienced a woman walking into his office without knowing what services she's there to receive. He explains that the frequency with which men come into his office confused about why they're there is very often, but they don't seem to be embarrassed about it. The dentist then encourages the men to ask their wives what the appointment is for when they inform them that they've scheduled them a dental appointment.

men; dental care; weaponized incompetence; wife; marriage; men's healthcare Dentist at work ensuring a bright, healthy smile.Photo credit: Canva

"If one more guy says, 'I don't know what I'm doing here, and my wife scheduled the appointment,' I'm gonna create a wheel of services, and I'm just gonna spin the wheel. It's gonna have root canal, full dentures, sinus lift, teeth whitening, night guard, F around with a laser, whatever. And we're gonna spin that wheel, and whatever it lands on, that's what you're getting, and I'll call your wife, and I'll say, 'Listen, Kevin didn't know why he was here, so we spun the wheel, and it landed on full dentures. So get an ice pack and pick up his meds at the pharmacy, please," Smith says while staring directly into the camera.

It seems that Smith is not the only medical professional experiencing this phenomenon. There may be a "spin-the-wheel to find out what kind of services you're having" game installed in offices across America, as one doctor shares, "Can confirm this phenomenon happens at the dermatologist as well."

Another physician writes in part, "As a physician, I’d say about 85% of my male patients don’t know how to answer their own medical history and medication list. As soon as I ask my first question, 'Do you have any allergies?' They look over to their wife, completely clueless, and she proceeds to answer the rest of the questions in detail," before revealing that she's often shocked when male patients know all of their own information.

But don't worry; it's not all men. Quite a few wives share that they don't experience these issues because their husbands schedule their own appointments. Others added random suggestions to put on the wheel, like a full set of braces and a colonoscopy. But tucked between the jokes and fellow doctors sharing their own experience with this issue are people calling out the behavior as weaponized incompetence. They explained that it is behaviors like this that cause women to feel like they're doing the heavy lifting in their relationship, resulting in burnout.

"Excuse me while I scream. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGH," one woman writes.

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Gen Xers and Boomers debunk the myth of '90s perfection with funny 'downers' of the decade

"Late fees at Blockbuster."

90s, 1990s, blockbuster, 1990s nostalgia, living in the 90s, living in the 1990s
Photo credit: Canva, Wikipedia

People share funny "negative" things about living in the '90s.

Nostalgia for the simpler times of the 1990s is having a renaissance lately. It was a unique decade defined by many a cultural phenomenon: parachutes in gym class, analog devices and technology, snack foods like Push Pops and Dunkaroos, and epic mall hangouts. And who can forget the iconic teal and purple color combo that popped up everywhere?

Of course, it's easy to look back at the '90s with rose-colored glasses, which is why Gen Xers and Boomers who lived through the '90s shared some of the seemingly "worst" things about life back then on Reddit.

These are 17 humorous things that they thought were downers about the decade.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Getting locked out of your house after school and having no way to contact your parents to tell them to come home. So you just sat on your porch for 4 hours until they got off work." - Dsteeleman

"Calling someone you wanted to ask on a date, but their parents pick up the phone..." - Bionic_Push

"Late fees at Blockbuster so you had to wait till your parents got paid or had to got to a different video shop that was not as good." - deeljay77

"If you stayed at school late and didn’t have a ride home (or were out) you better pray that someone was home or at work so they could come get you." - Ph886

"We didn't have GPS, so you'd get lost or feel uncertain every time you drove to a new location." - silverlakekaren

"Dial-up internet connection. Eeeee errrrrrr krrrshhhhhhhhh wee a wooo ping pingping ping errrrrkkkkkk." - 1osq1, Pickle_ninja

dial up, dial up internet, internet 1990s, internet 90s, aol Dial Up The Struggle GIF Giphy

"$1300 486 computer. $400 17” television...17 inch television that weighed 100 pounds. 😆" - three-sense, TotalEgg143

"The movie or game you wanted to rent being unavailable at the video store." - RODjij

"I think for where I grew up (not the middle of nowhere, but also not NYC or LA) it was probably lack of global exposure and cultural exchange that really spread everywhere by the 2000s. Sushi was still considered exotic." - CyberpunkSunrise

"The insincerity of it all. Everything was ironic. Even joy. We really dunked on 'nerds' who 'liked things.'" - tmorg5

"If you have an interest now, you google it, find videos, shopping supplies, sub reddits and groups, etc. In the 90s that wasn't a thing for most of the world. Like if you found an interest, you went to the library or bookstore and got a book about it. Hopefully a good book, but you weren't always that lucky. Then you asked around if anyone else did said interest, often no one did. You found a store that would possibly carry supplies for it, they might have something, but could probably order what you wanted, just give it 3-5 weeks. Video instruction was sometimes available, hopefully on tape, so you could go at your own speed. The one big save-all was magazines and catalogs. Almost every hobby had at least two magazines about it, and often people were divided on which was better. And catalogs allowed you to order niche things by mail, it usually took a month or two, but you eventually got it." - weedtrek

"All the singers that died! Kurt Cobain, Bradley Nowell, Tupac, Biggie, and I think Stevie Ray Vaughn, oh and Freddie Mercury." - colbydrex

kurt cobain, kurt cobain gif, nirvana, curt cobain 90s, curt cobain death kurt cobain nirvana GIF Giphy

"Rewinding VHS tapes." - Remote_Newspaper554

"CD Players skipping when going over bumps in cars or while walking." - SlimWorthy

"Cigarette butts were E V E R Y W H E R E." - WasteOfBerries

"Frosted tips." - LordSnarfington

"So if you were going to meet up with your friends at the movie theater or whatever you’d show up and just wait for them. But if someone was really late everybody just had to kind of wait around and there was definitely this dilemma about whether you should just leave them to it and go into the movie or just keep waiting it out. Someone might try to find a pay phone and call their house but 99% of the time it’s just their parent and none of our parents ever knew where we were. With no cell phones this could go on for quite a while before you gave up on someone and it was a big fat waste of everybody’s time. And some people were especially known for being flaky like this and it was really annoying. Much worse than being ghosted in text messages nowadays because you couldn’t really leave the meeting point. You were stuck there till you gave up." - MasterGrok

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