LIMITED TIME OFFER | Get 3 months for $0.99 a month

$14.95/mo thereafter - terms apply.
They Called Me Number One cover art

They Called Me Number One

Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School

 Preview
Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends January 29, 2026 11:59pm PT.
Just $0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 audiobook per month of your choice from our unparalleled catalog.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

They Called Me Number One

Written by: Bev Sellars
Narrated by: Bev Sellars
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends January 29, 2026 11:59pm PT.

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.54

Buy Now for $26.54

About this listen

Like thousands of Aboriginal children in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere in the colonized world, Xatsu'll chief Bev Sellars spent part of her childhood as a student in a church-run residential school. These institutions endeavored to "civilize" Native children through Christian teachings; forced separation from family, language, and culture; and strict discipline. Perhaps the most symbolically potent strategy used to alienate residential school children was addressing them by assigned numbers only - not by the names with which they knew and understood themselves.

In this frank and poignant memoir of her years at St. Joseph's Mission, Sellars breaks her silence about the residential school's lasting effects on her and her family - from substance abuse to suicide attempts - and eloquently articulates her own path to healing. They Called Me Number One comes at a time of recognition - by governments and society at large - that only through knowing the truth about these past injustices can we begin to redress them.

Bev Sellars is chief of the Xatsu'll (Soda Creek) First Nation in Williams Lake, British Columbia. She holds a degree in history from the University of Victoria and a law degree from the University of British Columbia. She has served as an advisor to the British Columbia Treaty Commission.

©2013 Bev Sellars (P)2017 Audible, Inc. Americas Canada Indigenous Creators Social Sciences United States Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Native American Indian Schools

You may also enjoy...

21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act cover art
21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act

Written by: Bob Joseph

Worthy cover art
Worthy

Written by: Jada Pinkett Smith

Unspeakable cover art
Unspeakable

Written by: Jessica Willis Fisher

Call of the Wild cover art
Call of the Wild

Written by: Kimberly Ann Johnson

Please, Let Me Go cover art
Please, Let Me Go

Written by: Caitlin Spencer

Rising Strong as a Spiritual Practice cover art
Rising Strong as a Spiritual Practice

Written by: Brené Brown PhD LMSW

All stars
Most Relevant
This is less of an account of the author's experience at residential schools and more of a complete memoir looking at the systemic racism in Canada that First Nations People have/ had to face. I gave it 4 stars for the story because I had expected more written about her time at the school. That being said, it gives a more thorough understanding of what her people have to deal with.

A memoir that every Canadian should hear.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I, like most white Canadians, have been raised to be ignorant of the travesties committed against Indigenous folks in our country in very recent years. The effects of these horrors are prevalent.

For awaremess and understanding, this book is a good place to start

Important Read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is definitely a must read. It's hard, as a liberal thinker, to believe that anyone thought that any of the treatment,in or out of school, was alright. As an immigrant to Canada, I feel shame for my races distain for any non white peoples. This is an excellent read and l will re-read in the near future. Thank you Bev

In shame

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I would like to thank the author for having the courage to tell the story of her upbringing. The trauma she describes from her time spent at the residential school is hard to hear, but necessary. The trauma she describes from living in a world where her Peoples were treated as second rate citizens is hard to stomach but necessary to hear. I am a white person who emigrated to Canada at 21. I knew nothing about the the First Nations Peoples growing up, beyond what saw in John Wayne type movies, then later movies such as Dances With Wolves. I have taken time to educate myself and stories such as this are an integral part of that education. I have spoken to Canadian friends who still have a negative opinion of First Nations Peoples and when I quiz them, have absolutely no idea about the abuses that went on at the residential schools, the women who have gone missing or who have been murdered when hitching rides and the shocking third world living conditions that many First Nations Peoples endure on many of the reservations to this day. There has been some progress to redress the abuses, but there is still a long road ahead. The author has gone on a long journey of healing in order to bring this book to life, I hope that more and more stories like this are told, that more and more white people learn to listen and to understand. Thank you for your truth. I will recommend this book gladly.

A moving insight into First Nations abuses

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a book I sought out for my own after learning as the remains of children have been found on the grounds of several residential schools here in Canada. The author is a remarkable woman and writer. Her story and those of her community were so inspiring and the sadness of all that they went through. Highly recommend.

Amazing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews