First Nations Child Policy Analysis

Aboriginal persons in Canada have been facing oppression ever since colonization began. Even when Canada gained independence from the British Empire, the oppression continued and still goes on today. One major contributing factor to the oppression of Aboriginal people in Canada is the actions taken by the Government. The Government of Canada has in fact mistreated and found to be partaking in wrongdoing when dealing with the Aboriginal population in this country. With this ugly truth being revealed, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had to be tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. (cite)

Speaker, I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools. The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history. The government of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to forcefully remove children from their homes, and we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant cultures and traditions, that it created a void in many lives and communities, and we apologize for having done this. It has taken extraordinary courage for the thousands of survivors that have come forward to speak publicly about the abuse they suffered. These objectives were based on the assumption aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, ‘to kill the Indian in the child.' Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm and had no place in our country. There is no place in Canada for the attitudes that inspired the Indian residential schools system ever again to prevail. We now recognize that, far too often, these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled, and we apologize for failing to protect you.” (Campion-Smith, Bruce.

Since the colonization of Canada First Nations people have been discriminated against and assimilated into the new culture of Canada through policies created by the government. Policies created had the intentions of improving the Aboriginal people’s standard of living and increasing their opportunities. Mainly in the past hundred years in Canadian Society, policies and government implemented actions such as; Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reserve systems have resulted in extinguishing native culture, teachings, and pride. Policies towards the treatment of Aboriginal Canadians has decreased their opportunities and standard of living because of policies specified previously (Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reservation systems).

Canada ­as a nation is known to the world for being loving, courteous, and typically very welcoming of all ethnicities. Nevertheless, the treatment of Canada’s Indigenous population over the past decades, appears to suggest otherwise. Indigenous people have been tormented and oppressed by the Canadian society for hundreds of years and remain to live under discrimination resulting in cultural brutality. This, and more, has caused severe negative cultural consequences, psychological and sociological effects. The history of the seclusion of Indigenous people has played a prominent aspect in the development and impact of how Indigenous people are treated and perceived in today’s society. Unfortunately, our history with respect to the treatment of Indigenous communities is not something in which we should take pride in. The Indian Act of 1876 is an excellent model of how the behavior of racial and cultural superiority attributed to the destruction of Indigenous culture and beliefs. The Indian Act established by the Canadian government is a policy of Aboriginal assimilation which compels Indigenous parents under threat of prosecution to integrate their children into Residential Schools. As a nation, we are reminded by past actions that has prompted the weakening of the identity of Indigenous peoples. Residential schools has also contributed to the annihilation of Indigenous culture which was to kill the Indian in the child by isolating them from the influence of their parents and

The Canadian government is biased against the Aboriginal population and uses less funding towards them. Perry Bellegarde, Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, stressed that “more funding is desperately needed for equal education on reserves, [because] the government spends 3 000 dollars less per student [in a reserve] than the national average”. Many Aboriginal people in Canada, including Bellegarde, feel as if the government is treating their population as they did when residential schools were still running. The Canadian government does not treat the Aboriginal and the non-Aboriginal population equally. They are spending a significantly lower amount of money for the education of Aboriginal youth. They are oppressing the Aboriginal population but many of them are taking a stand for their rights and demanding more. There have been many lawsuits involving members of the Aboriginal population and the Canadian government, but the largest one is the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA). This agreement was made after many large scale campaigns were done and a class-action lawsuit was filed, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, to pressure the Canadian government to recognize the abuses of the residential school system and to gain compensation. The class-action lawsuit ended with a multi-billion dollar agreement to help improve the conditions of

In not seeking justice for these people, a high human cost is created because the rights of those who are negatively impacted are being ignored and they are suffering with no hope of reconciliation. Using the Canadian Charter as an example, every citizen has the right to seek justice and restitution. However, if the current generation is not accountable for past events, the justice that indigenous peoples deserve will not be given, and they will be forced to live with the negative legacies of historical globalization. Recently, the Canadian government has stepped up and acknowledged the immoral actions of the past, such as the removal of children from their homes to be placed in residential schools and the trauma and suffering it may have caused these individuals. Because of this, First Nations now receive financial benefits such as money for post-secondary education, land set aside for reserves, health benefits, and other things in an attempt to give then the compensation and justice they

In this paper, I will examine the issue of Indian residential schools and, ultimately, will argue that while it may have been the custom to impose colonialist and imperialist ideals in the late 1800s and early 1900s, in today’s society we view what occurred as nothing less than inhumane, an act which must be remembered as a dark shadow that for decades – and still today - clouds relations between aboriginals and the Canadian government. To understand the complexity of this matter I will discuss why this policy was implemented; I will look at the goals and the methods used to achieve these outcomes; I will discuss indigenous response to this amendment of the Indian Act; and finally, I will look at the effects this action had on indigenous peoples and their relationship with the country. It is important to know that while my opinion is clear in that I see the creation and implementation of Indian residential schools as an evil action with no redeeming qualities, there are others – as recently as Conservative Senator Lynn Beyak on March 7, 2017, who spoke out in favour of those who worked at the schools – who do not agree with my point of view . These polarized viewpoints, often times skewed by emotions and poorly informed opinions, add to the complexity of the matter, particularly in moving forward and achieving reconciliation with indigenous

Do humans really see the impacts of the decisions they make? Canada’s government obviously did not. By knowing and understanding the history of Canada’s treatment towards the Aboriginal Community; we can determine the answer. The impacts made by the Canadian government's Residential Schools has affected the lives of the Aboriginal peoples and Survivors in three different ways. Many of the Survivors have been abusive towards their family and peers physically, due to their treatment and the impacts of the Residential Schools. Numerous amounts of the Survivors of the Residential Schools have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, which leads up to the last point of how several of the Survivors have committed suicide or have had a fatal death

These ‘White Papers’ focused on the social and economic problems that were rampant within the First Nation communities and was considered to be humane because of the fact that Native peoples were integrated within mainstream society [pp.6]. These problems were ‘highlighted’ through the result of various studies conducted by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development from 1966 to 1969 and became the basis of the ‘White Paper’. Although the paper was ultimately defeated, these beliefs were brought into mainstream society and became a more idolized form of modernizing the Aboriginal peoples. This form of ‘helping’ the First Nations peoples was the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development [D.I.A.N.D] way of dissolving the First Nations reservations. These institutionalized ideologies were masked as social and economic reforms that addressed the First Nation communities [pp.5-6]. Such reforms include the state of welfare on First Nation communities, re-educating the youth, and the identification of a First Nations person according to the government, which also includes the apology that Prime Minister Harper spoke on June 11th, 2008. These ideals have become the driving force behind the United Nation’s ‘Universal Declaration of Indigenous Rights’. This declaration has yet to be signed by Canada for a variety of reasons, one of them being that it is in direct violation of Article 25, which is a right to social services and health

Lafrance and Collins argues that “the system of church-state run residential schools for Aboriginals was the central element in the movement’s policy of forced assimilation and its legacy has been the most damaging to Aboriginal individuals, families, communities, and cultures” (Lafrance and Collins, 2003). Lafrance and Collins state that their theme had shifted as they continued to write their piece in the end it was about how residential schools affected the parenting. Throughout their essay they used many direct quotes from participants to further their thought and opinions.

Last December, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intentions to not only launch a national public inquiry about the several missing and murdered aboriginal women, but also to take the necessary steps towards the renewal of the relationship between the Canadian Federal Government and the Fist Nations (Mas, 2015). Notably, Trudeau claimed the 2016 budget would include an increase in the funding towards aboriginal education (Mas, 2015). Past governments had imposed a strict limit of 2% on said funds (Mas, 2015), a restriction that was undoubtedly harmful to the already dwindling aboriginal life conditions.

For decades, Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and upraised in poorly funded residential schools throughout Canada. The purpose of this school system was to assimilate Indigenous children into the Canadian society by destroying their native culture. When attending these schools, Aboriginal children also suffered from sexual, physical, psychological, and/or spiritual abuse which had a negative impact on their overall well-being (The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2012). These detrimental events endured by an Indigenous child were portrayed within the novella, Wenjack, written by Joseph Boyden. Throughout the novella, it explores the experiences undergone by a First Nation student, Chanie, whose

Due to the damage the Acts, policies, and treaties had towards Aboriginal individuals, communities, and cultures, there has been a focus on the reconciliation. The Acts, policies, and treaties have created a deep mistrust on the part of First Nations people towards the government. Especially the impact of the Indian Act, which led so many children to suffer as they were abused physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally while attending the Residential Schools. Thus, it is important to heal the relationship and come to a point where non-Natives support the Aboriginal people in the healing process and revitalizing the cultural and linguistic traditions that have been lost. Although there has been an apology by the Prime Minister of Canada and a promise to renew the relationship with Aboriginal people by our current government, Justin Trudeau, the Acts, policies, and treaties are still being used to put Aboriginal people in a disadvantaged position. For example, Indian Act, although amended, is still being used. The interview with one activist who is camping outside INAC office states, "We need to dismantle the Indian Act. We want to have our own affairs. We want to be able to negotiate better. The Indian Act just spreads more colonialism". Further as Thomas King states in the video, “Things haven 't changed... Still abrogate treaties..still losing land. The methodology has changed, but attitude has not changed.” This shows that there are still works to be done with

For over a century, beginning in the mid1800s and continuing into the late 1990s, Aboriginal children in Canada were taken from their homes and communities, and were placed in institutions called residential schools. These schools were run by religious people in with the Canadian government and were attended by children as young as four years of age. These schools were all across Canada but sometimes very far from the children’s homes. Separated from their families and stopped from speaking their native languages and practicing their culture the majority of the 150,000 children who were sent to these schools experienced neglect and suffering.

Ever since the British and French came to Canada, the first nations people have always seen themselves get the short end of the stick. Examples of this are: having their land taken away from them, receiving racial discrimination, being victim to Residential schools and being assigned a reservation to live on. For the last two centuries our Canadian government has been trying to make amends to these First Nations People. One of these amends to status indians are: No Taxes on any funds inside of a reserve, free education including post-secondary, huge cost deduction on housing, and of course our wonderful benefit of free healthcare. Based off of these benefits it would seem like First Nations peoples would live a very successful life, well this is infact very, very wrong!. Despite many benefits the First Nations peoples are still finding themselves living in poverty. Poverty levels are as high as 60% for First Nation children living inside a reserve. Whose fault is this? Is it the Canadian governments or the First Nations people’s fault. Are the ‘Status Indians’ getting enough funds from the Canadian government to live a successful life, Well… Let's take a look.