Residential Schools In Canada

From the late 1800s to the 1980s, more than 100,000 First Nations children in Canada attended residential schools (Llewellyn, 2008, p. 258).2 To attend these schools, children were taken away from their families and communities. At the schools, the children suffered from emotional, physical, sexual and spiritual abuse (Steckley & Cummins, 2001, p. 191). The worst abuses were often used as punishment for speaking their indigenous languages (Petten, 2007, p. 22). The imposition of residential schools on First Nations children has led to significant loss of indigenous languages, and this language loss has led to further cultural losses for traditional First Nations cultures in Canada.

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).

In the Indigenous community, when the community is faced with a trauma, it takes seven generations for the community to heal (Trimble, 2015). People may underestimate how oppressed and how much suffering the Indigenous communities had to struggle with, and continue to struggle with these issues today. We may underestimate how severe the situation is because many of us were not taught much about the impact of colonization on the Indigenous communities in school. There are many myths people may have concerning Indigenous life experiences, particularly schooling. To address these myths, I would begin by giving a brief history of residential schools. I would then analyze how residential schools have impacted the indigenous community and how they continue to affect them today. I would also mention the current issues children on reserves are facing today regarding school. Lastly, I would mention some of the progress that has been made. I will use the work of Sefa Dei to demonstrate the importance of community in education regarding the Indigenous people.

Residential School are an aspect of Canadian history that will haunt our nation. Derived from the Anglican Church, Methodist Church, and Roman Catholic church’s desires to educate and convert the indigenous people of the land. (Miller, 2008) The churches thought that the indigenous people were savages and needed to be assimilated into their beliefs. (Hanson, n.d.) 30% of indigenous children were forced into Residential Schools, 6,000 died while in the care of these boarding schools. (Tasker, 2015). These institutions used methods of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse to sterilized these children such as piercing the tongues of children with needles who dare to speak their native language

When residential schools began the kids were forcibly taken away, leaving the parents at home alone with no one to look after but each other. This became a huge issue within the communities because a huge part of First Nations life and culture is to educate your children, pass on the culture and to take care of them. These parents couldn’t do that, which left them feeling helpless and broken. Children are a huge part of First Nations culture, they are the future of the indigenous culture, if they are taken out of that cultural bubble at a young age and assimilated they will not be able to continue passing on the traditional ways of their ancestors. First Nations children are the future of the Aboriginal culture and its history by taking them away to those residential schools so long ago the churches/government have disrupted the education they would have received from their parents. Patricia Angus-Monture explains that First Nations children are the building blocks for the future of First Nations peoples,

Corporal punishment and cruelties were seen when such things as previously discussed, like practice of cultural and usage of native language, were practiced by native children in these residential schools. Lack of basic life necessities in these residential schools also resulted in disturbing mortality rates. Several doctors commissioned to inspect and report on health standings of children in residential school, found results that would bring horror in relation to current world standards. One doctor by the name of Dr. Bryce, found that in Western Canadian residential schools between 1894-1908, throughout a five year period thirty to sixty percent of a class would die (Bryce, 1922). These findings and others were published in Dr. Bryce's book, The Story of a National Crime: Being a Record of the Health Conditions of the Indians of Canada from 1904 to 1921. In total it is estimated over 3000 children died from disease and lack of basic necessities during the time of government run Indian residential schools in Canada from 1884 to the final closing in 1996 (The Canadian Press, 2013).

There are still many Canadians out there who don’t know much about residential school. All Canadians should learn more about our past and the many terrible things that occurred to First Nations people while in residential schools, and even out of the schools. For many years First Nation Children were taken away from their family and sent to residential schools, which were run by religious institutions. The school’s main goals were to get rid of the Indian in a child, and they would strip them naked of who they were and where they came from. The book Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese gives us a clear insight into all the hard times that a child might have to go through while in a residential school. The book also shows what their lives would

News, C. (2015). Truth and Reconciliation Commission urges Canada to confront 'cultural genocide' of residential schools. Retrieved April 06, 2016, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-urges-canada-to-confront-cultural-genocide-of-residential-schools-1.3096229

History shows that Residential School created a big problem for the Indigenous people. Furthermore, children were ripped from their traditional homes and families, they didn’t receive the same education as the other children in regular public schools. Students were discourage from pursuing further educations. Not to mention, the, the emotional, physical and sexual abuse they suffer from the hands of their abuser

Canada holds a shameful history of operating beyond 130 residential schools for the Aboriginal Children during 1800’s until late 1900’s (“Misconceptions of Canada’s Indian Residential School System” 2007). Due to the implementation of the Indian Act in 1876, more than 100 000 Aboriginal children between the ages of four and sixteen years old were forced out of their homes, separated from their family, and sent to the residential schools to be assimilated into Euro-Canadian cultures (ANISHINABEK, 2013). The residential schools were operated by the churches and were funded by the Government of Canada. The main reason for sending the children to the residential schools was due to the strong belief that the assimilation has to start with the children to make them a civilized human beings as the Aboriginal were seen as “savages”. (NEEGANAGWEDGIN,

It is not possible to talk about the lengthy history of colonial settlers and indigenous groups without addressing the devastating effects of Indian residential schools on the Aboriginal community in Canada. During the past two decades, the Canadian government acknowledged the implications and has taken responsibility for the outcomes of these residential schools. Much has been done through the framework of transitional justice in order to facilitate reconciliation with the indigenous community in Canada. Despite the government’s amends, I will argue that the reconciliation efforts were inadequate because the purpose of these initiatives was merely to draw a line between the past and the present, rather than to restore the socioeconomic wellbeing of the Aboriginal community that existed before the legacy of Indian residential schools.

The main goal of the initiative is to boost Aboriginal student achievement, help close the gap in achievement between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students, and increase public confidence in publicly funded education. The document unpacks into eight sub topics: Aboriginal Peoples and Organizations; Culture, Tradition, and Language;Cross-Cultural Perspectives; Celebration; Aboriginal Contributions; Current and Historical Issues. By unpacking the initiative it is easy for educators to navigate through the report.

Throughout the development of the residential school system, much injustice had been done towards Aboriginal people, who carried these scars through generations. Even today, Aboriginal people experience the highest crime rate and suicide rate, and many possess mental illnesses and stress disorders. It is important for Canadians to learn about the residential school system so similar events can be prevented in the future, awareness of the Aboriginal society

Not many people are aware of how residential schools have affected First Nations people in Canada. These Christian boarding schools, which were government-sponsored and aimed at assimilating Indigenous children, have deeply impacted the native population; and descendants of residential school survivors share the same burdens as their ancestors, even though they didn’t attend the schools themselves. Because of residential schools, domestic abuse and violence is more frequent within families, many have poor mental health and live in poverty, and finally, many of them are unable or unwilling to teach their children native languages or other aspects of their culture.