History Of Residential Schools In Canada

From the 1870’s until the last school closed in 1996, at least 150,000 Indigenous children attended residential schools in Canada. More than 130 government mandated schools existed across the country. These schools were church administered, with the express purpose of forcibly removing Indigenous children from their native culture, in an effort to assimilate them into Euro-Canadian culture and thereby “kill the Indian in the child”. Countless families were torn apart as the Canadian government placed

From the late 1800’s to 1996 more than 100,000 aboriginal children attended residential schools in Canada. At a majority of these government operated schools there were reports of emotional, physical, sexual and spiritual abuse along with punishment for cultural activities. Residential schools were implemented to liberate aboriginal people from their savage ways in order for them to survive in the modernizing society.1 To a majority of the current Canadian population, impacts of residential schooling are a part of a distant past, disassociated from today’s events, this misconception. Long lasting impacts as a result of residential schooling include minimal education leading to poverty, stigmatization by the non-aboriginal public, abuses of aboriginal rights in areas such as land and the environment and the growing loss of Indigenous cultures in younger generations. With the continuing misconception of the history and lasting impact of residential schools conflict between Indigenous people and the Canadian Government has not ceased, but increased.

Residential School’s were introduced back in the 1870’s, they were made to change the way native children spoke their languages and how they viewed their cultures. The residential school system in Canada was operated by the government, where the native children were aggressively forced away from their loved ones to participate in these schools (1000 Conversations). The government had a concept, where they can modernize the native children, aged of three to eighteen and extinguish the aboriginal culture. In the twentieth century the Canadian Public School’s had arrived and had improved treatments than residential schools. In Contrast, the treatments within these schools were both different, whereas Canadian public school students had more freedom than residential school students because children were taken away from their families. However, the treatment in these schools were different and some what similar. Even though Residential schools and Canadian Public schools were similar in some form, there were numerous amounts of differences in how the children were taught, how they were treated and how their living conditions were like throughout these schools.

Knockwood explains the enforcement of residential ideologies as a “combination of physical intimidation and psychological manipulation which produced terror and confusion” (12). The premise of residential schools was to strip Indigenous children from their culture and Indigenous identity, forcing them to only speak English, or face severe consequences. Despite the government and churches best efforts, many Indigenous children still maintained their cultural roots and kept their language while at home. This governmental need for assimilation has had lasting impacts far beyond the scope of active residential schools. Neeganagwedgin notes, “while the schools may be physically closed, the legacy lingers” (34). Beyond this, she urges, present-day institutions still function in a way that continues to undermine and systematically deny, “Indigenous peoples their inherent rights as First Peoples” (Neeganagwedgin 34); such as the justice system, child welfare and the education systems.

The drastic cultural impact of residential schools on First Nations people has been extensive, as it is mentioned in the novel Keepr’n Me by Richard Wagamese. Keeper’s statement in this book, “Only thing they did was create a whole new kinda Indyun. We used to

In reflecting on that Wab shared of his father’s experience in the residential school system, information gathered from the text, as well as my own prior knowledge, operated under various religious organizations, in tandem with the Government of Canada, residential schools were one of the methods used to assimilate Aboriginal children into white society (textbook). Tasked with the responsibility to “remove the Indian from the child” such was accomplished through whatever means necessary, whereby come the stories of physical and emotional abuse, in addition placing many children under experiments involving malnutrition (Erin discus). The consequences of such schooling then included, an increased number of generations growing up outside the family environment, these individuals no longer fitting into their Aboriginal communities, yet they are not accepted in

From 1863 to 1996, many Indigenous child were forced to attend residential schools, where they were separated from their families and culture and experienced neglect, abuse and trauma (Bombay, Matheson, & Anisman, 2011, p.367). This essay will explore the history and purpose of residential schools, how it impacted Indigenous children and families at the time of the events, and how to this day it still affects them. Indigenous Residential Schools impacted the First Peoples of Canada physically, mentally and emotionally which resulted in their loss of identity, culture, spirituality, and traditions in the past and present.

Residential schools were a normal aspect of Aboriginal people’s lives in the 19th and 20th century. The purpose of a residential school was to convert Aboriginal children to Christianity and to assimilate them into Western culture. They were operated through the Canadian government and the church. Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their parents and put into a school, full-time. They were mistreated which led to problems that still afflict the Aboriginal population of Canada today. Many Aboriginal people want the Canadian government to recognize the inhumane and heinous acts that have been done and want compensation. The imposition of residential schools has greatly impacted the Aboriginal population which resulted in many repercussions

Residential schools in Canada were present for over 100 years and were created by the government to eliminate the Indigenous culture. These schools successfully separated families while creating huge cultural barriers between children and their Native culture (COHA, 2011). These children were forcibly removed from their families and taken to residential schools because Canadians saw Indigenous peoples as “backwards” or “savage” (COHA, 2011). They also believed that they were inferior to Natives and that these schools would help “civilize” aboriginals by replacing their Native traits with Western values (COHA, 2011).

These residential schools put the Indigenous youth under the control of primarily the white establishment, and cut these children off from their families,

They were brought to these boarding schools to assimilate them into the culture of the European settlers. (Hanson, n.d.) The settlers believed that they were better and that indigenous people were ignorant savages, needed to be trained. (Hanson, n.d.) First prime minister of Canada, Sir John A. MacDonald began to publically fund Residential Schools making this a federal responsibility. (Hanson, n.d.) The schools were maintained by the labor of these children, the children that were punished for speaking their native language, repeatedly sexually assaulted, and extremely malnourished (hanson, n.d.) this abuse and punishment had finally ended in 1996 when the last residential school was closed (Tasker, 2015) It was not until 2008 that former prime minister, Stephen Harper formally apologized to the indigenous community,(CBC, n.d.) he then implemented the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. However, the institutions have already left a mark on the indigenous people. Suffering has been passed down to generations, inducing mental health issues within the community, such as addictions. Children of Residential Schools suffered through many mental health issues that cause them to be unfit parents. (The Aboriginal Healing Foundation Research Series, 2007) For over a century children from 4-18 have no experience being in a family or community environment, parenting skills were diminished, as well

In the nineteenth century, the government of Canada felt it had an obligation to the nations people to educate the Indigenous population of the country. The federal government sought to pursue this task through the development of residential schools. Under this system, framed by the Davin Report, Congregations of Christian missionaries were responsible for providing compulsory education to Indigenous children within governmentally constructed schools. They were charged with assimilating these children into mainstream culture and convert them into members of “civilized society”. The resulting actions on part of the Canadian government and acting missionaries have caused detrimental psychological and emotional trauma to survivors of these residential schools; trauma that has crossed intergenerational boundaries since the induction of the system. The direct outcomes of the residential school system have resulted in a form of trauma with cross-generational effects among contemporary Indigenous societies, known as historical trauma.

Aboriginal people in Canada are the native peoples in North America within the boundaries of present-day Canada. In the 1880’s there was a start of residential schools which took Aboriginal kids from their family to schools to learn the Roman Catholics way of culture and not their own. In residential schools Aboriginal languages were forbidden in most operations of the school, Aboriginal ways were abolished and the Euro-Canadian manner was held out as superior. Aboriginal’s residential schools are careless, there were mental and physical abuse, Aboriginals losing their culture and the after effects of residential schools.

Indian Residential Schools were a network of boarding schools that were run conjunctionally by the Canadian government under the administration of the church. Residential schools were founded in 1867 and lasted up until the late 1990’s. There were about 130 schools with around 150,000 children. The purpose of these schools was to “kill the Indian in the child;” Indian children were forcibly taken from their homes and placed in these boarding schools where they were forced to assimilate to the settler Canadian culture. Children were subject to physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and as a result, mortality rates were as high as 35 to 60

In conclusion, this text centered around many aspects of the native residential schools and the life the students attending them endured throughout their existence. Food, clothing, and health conditions were main focuses in this text because of its relevance to the lives of the children and staff within the school. Many ideas in the story centered around topics learned through our Indigenous Studies class, as well as comparing and contrasting ideas centering around my own life. This story reveals truths and information about residential schools that are not commonly discussed, providing meaningful insight to those who were not highly educated about these facilities. J.R. Miller provided a text that was relevant to the lives of many