4 Aspect 2 (Christa, 2019)

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Running head: RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS IN CANADA 1 Residential Schools in Canada: Past and Present Effects Christa Stefanopoulos Dawson College

Running head: RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS IN CANADA 2 Residential schools are guilty of discriminatory practices against Indigenous children, who have suffered inhumane methods of assimilation, and are victims of violent abuse and long- term substance abuse. This topic should be significant to all Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, the Government of Canada, and Churches as it will serve as guidance to be correctly and completely informed on this history and to address many misconceptions. II. Assimilation Compare and contrast Before European contact, Indigenous peoples implemented their own forms of education and taught the youth through traditional means. These traditional teaching methods were different from modern day education system. The configuration of their curriculum included demonstration, group socialization, participation in cultural and spiritual rituals, skill practice and development, and oral teachings. They had a domiciliary and culture-oriented approach to education, in which parents, grandparents, members of extended family and community elders were responsible for educating the youth. For example, in Inuit communities, boys were taught how to work the land and girls were taught domestic skills, such as cooking, cutting and sewing, preparation of skins and pelts, and child-rearing. Within these techniques and practices, the children learned values, beliefs, new skills and overall knowledge. However, the significance of these methods decreased when foreign contact disrupted their fashion (Mccue, 2011). With European contact came the imposition of formal classroom-style education by colonial government, ultimately causing a dislocation from traditional means. They believed that

Running head: RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS IN CANADA 3 education was the perfect gateway and instrument for assimilation (Niezen, p. 934). Thus, establishing residential schools which began the process of assimilation (Mccue, 2011). Assimilation tactics The Canadian government and Churches were the embodiment of intelligent but subtle tactics that were put forward in order to accelerate and improve the process of assimilation within residential schools. After the installment of residential schools, the goal was to dislocate the connection between the children with their cultures and families. The plan was to expose the children to norms, values and habits of civilization with the hopes of the abandonment of their traditional ones. A more subtle tactic was the strategic placement of the schools purposely locating them far from villages and families in order to avoid any interference with the assimilation process. The distance would also discourage the children to return to their community during the summer, resulting in children spending years at a time away from their communities (Blackburn, p. 291). This tactic, however, was only implemented in the later years of residential school operations. The configurations of the early schools were located on the reserves where the children still had access to their families and cultures. At this point, assimilation was proven ineffective, as there was no show of progress when the children were near or remained in contact with their community (King, p. 109). The Government was responsible for the funding of the schools, the oversight and the creation of the curriculum which entailed church-led activities, Christian doctrine, basic literacy and numeracy and certain skills. The Churches did the actual religious instructions and performed day-to-day operations. Carrying out a 24-hour oversight on the children and maintaining rigid discipline was another strategy in ensuring success in the assimilation process (Blackburn, p. 291).

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