RESISDENTIAL SCHOOL

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University of Manitoba *

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3730

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History

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL AND CANADA Ideally, one could think of a school as a safe gathering where students go to acquire knowledge and useful skills for their personal development as well as the development of society. But that was different in all ramifications for the residential school in Canada. This terrific school system was set up by the Canadian government and administered by churches that had the nominal objective of educating Indigenous children and it ran from the 1880s into the closing decades of the 20th century. Both the government and the churches played huge roles in executing their evil intentions which was portrayed in the living conditions of students in the residential school, resulting in different negative effects on the lives of the Indigenous people. Some of the surviving victims are in the healing process supported by some meaningful programs. Sadly, many of the evil perpetrators live freely without any persecution. The Indigenous, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people were seen as savages by the Westerners based on their cultures. As a way of assimilating the Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture, both the government and the European settlers came up with the invention of Residential schools and prompted the churches to oversee the school affairs so they could convert the people to Christianity. The system forcefully separated children from their families for extended periods and forbade them to acknowledge their Indigenous heritage and culture or to speak their languages. The school was a total institution. Rather than intellectually educating the students as a normal school would, students were made to attend classes part-time and worked involuntary and unpaid for the school the rest of the time: girls did the housekeeping; 1

boys did general maintenance, and agriculture. Their hair was forcefully shaved, their dressing style changed, and they were overcrowded and poorly fed. Also, part of the students’ living conditions were inadequate heating, poor sanitation, and a lack of adequate medical care. worst, their names which form the first part of identity were eliminated, instead they were dehumanized to mere numbers. Students in Canada’s residential schools were faced with a multitude of abuses by teachers and administrators, including sexual, emotional, psychological, and physical assault. They were harshly punished even without any faults from the students. There was a high sickness and the death rate rose to over 69 percent of the school’s population. The consequences of the abuse suffered in these schools continue to affect First Nations through an intergenerational effect: the harm caused to students affects families and communities over generations. Because they were removed from their families, many students grew up without experiencing a nurturing family life and without the knowledge and skills to raise their own families. Cultures were undermined across Canada, and this contributed to a general loss of language and culture. Due to the poor learning systems of the school, many could not gain meaningful employment, and this brought the Canadians to perpetual poverty. The residential school survivors sought healing and this led to the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada ( TRC) which was founded in 2008, where survivors could tell their individual stories to document the history and lasting impacts of the Canadian Indian residential school system on indigens. Some non-profit organizations supported the survivors’ healing process by formulating the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program which features Treatment 2

Centres, Transportation, Professional Counselling, Emotional Support, Cultural Support, and compensations paid by the government to victims who could prove abuse. As part of the survivors' healing support, several apologies have been made by the government and some of the churches that were involved in the abuse. But can mere “sorry” justify an offender from being punished? This is the question that many Canadians especially those families who were directly affected are asking. Over 5,000 abusers have been identified over the past years since the investigation began, but to date, no individuals or institutions have faced charges under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, a federal law passed in 2000. A small number of priests were charged with sexual assault, but none have faced homicide charges, according to lawyers familiar with the matter. I believe the greater part of making the victims heal faster is for all those abusers and murderers to face the law. For humanity’s sake, we should strive as individuals and nations, not to be ethnocentric because “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” (Mother Teresa, 2019). And when there is no love, evils like the ones that persisted for several decades in the Canadian residential school are bound to happen. 3

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