pstrongThe true story of how Indigenous girls at a Canadian residential school sewed secret pockets into their dresses to hide food and survive strongp pMary was four years old when she was first taken away to the Lejac Indian Residential School. It was far away from her home and family. Always hungry and cold, there was little comfort for young Mary. Speaking Dakelh was forbidden and the nuns and priest were always watching, ready to punish. Mary and the other girls had a genius idea drawing on the knowledge from their mothers, aunts and grandmothers who were all master sewers, the girls would sew hidden pockets in their clothes to hide food. They secretly gathered materials and sewed at nighttime, then used their pockets to hide apples, carrots and pieces of bread to share with the younger girls.p pBased on the author's mother's experience at residential school, emThe Secret Pocket emis a story of survival and resilience in the face of genocide and cruelty. But it's also a celebratio