How befriending bugs helped an N.S. residential school survivor preserve her Mi’kmaw language

“Phyllis & the Ladybugs” is a documentary that tells the story of Phyllis Googoo, a Mi’kmaw woman who survived the Shubenacadie Residential School. As a young girl, she coped with fear and loneliness by using her imagination—caring for potato bugs she called ladybugs and speaking to them in Mi’kmaw. This act helped her preserve her language during her nine years at the school.

The film, co-directed by Googoo and Ann Verrall, follows her journey from the trauma of residential school to her powerful 2022 visit to the Vatican, where she met Pope Francis with other survivors. Her granddaughter, Cassandra Googoo, reflects on Phyllis’s emphasis on forgiveness—apiksiktuwaqn in Mi’kmaw—and her resilience.

The story is a celebration of language survival and healing. Despite the efforts of the residential school system, Phyllis retained her Mi’kmaw and later taught it at We’koqma’q Mi’kmaw School. The documentary highlights how imagination helped her survive and how her legacy continues to inspire.

“Phyllis & the Ladybugs” is part of Absolutely Canadian and available to stream on CBC Gem. Watch here.