The Purpose Of Residential Schools

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

With the passage of the British North American Act in the 1867 and the implementation of the Indian Act in 1876, the “government was required to provide Indigenous youth with an education to integrate them into Canadian society” (Brady 1995). The first residential schools were set up in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s. After the residential school system was established, children were stripped away from their parents and had no freedom to choose whether they wanted to attend. In these schools heavily controlled by catholic churches, children were forced to pray to whom they had no connection with and forbidden to practice their own culture. The goal was to “convert the children to Christianity and

Residential Schools were systems set in place by the Government of Canada and enforced by Christian churches as a way to approach the “issue” of the First Nations. They were used by the government to assimilate the Aboriginal children into European culture. It is significant that Canadians remember this time in history because it's not so far in the past. We see the repercussions to this day. This source shows the perspective of the Government, and supporters of the Government. On the other hand Aboriginal people may disagree, they are still greatly struggling with misfortune due to Residential Schools. The perspective shown in the source should be looked into considering the government's insufficient response to the legacies left behind by Residential Schools. For example we see higher prison rates, more drop outs, and family abuse more than most cultural groups in

During the 19th century the Canadian government established residential schools under the claim that Aboriginal culture is hindering them from becoming functional members of society. It was stated that the children will have a better chance of success once they have been Christianised and assimilated into the mainstream Canadian culture. (CBC, 2014) In the film Education as We See It, some Aboriginals were interviewed about their own experiences in residential schools. When examining the general topic of the film, conflict theory is the best paradigm that will assist in understanding the social implications of residential schools. The film can also be illustrated by many sociological concepts such as agents of socialization, class

Residential schools were the one of the worst decisions the Canadian government had made. As they planned this idea with the churches across Canada, it became unforgettable for the native people. These schools changed the way native people lived in Canada. The children in these schools were abused and neglected everyday

Indian Residential Schools has been a major contributing factor towards the mistreatment and decreased standard of living for the First Nations people of Canada. Originally founded in the 1840’s and the last to close in 1996 the goal of Residential Schools was to assimilate First Nations people into Canadian society. The assimilation process consisted of the forced attendance (by Canadian law) for every Native, Metis, and Inuit child to attend the “boarding” schools. Residential Schools were ran by Christian, Catholic, and Anglican churches, the schools were also funded by the Canadian government’s Indian Affairs. Treatment students received while attending the schools was unbearable for the young children. After being taken and

In the past, Canada’s Aboriginal people’s culture was at stake and for it to resolve. The Residential Schools were established to help aboriginal children to not forget about their language and culture in the contemporary society. In 1931, there were about 80 schools in Canada. It was a total of 130 schools in every territory and province. In 1996, Residential schools in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick closed all residential schools which led all the Aboriginals, Intuits, and Métis were forced to attend the 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.

After the Church union in 1925 and the federal government establishing formal partnerships with the church led to a nationwide system of residential schools for First Nations children. The system already had origins in the laws enacted before Confederation, but was activated following the passing of the Indian act in 1876. In 1884 an amendment to the Indian act was implemented making it mandatory for attendance, before this, in 1874 the Canadian Government under Prime minister Alexander Mackenzie, began removing First Nations children from their families and communities and placing them into indian Residential schools. The federal government argued that because they had a responsibility for educating and caring for the First Nations people, these people would have to learn english and adopt Christianity and settler customs. A assumption that it would carry through the generations and thus, within a generation or two, First Nations cultures would disappear. Distance of residential schools from most communities was a long journey. This was due to the remote nature of most communities and the intentional reasoning to keep families apart. It was thought that families would interfere in the assimilation process. First nations

The Canadian government enacted an Indian Act in 1876 which outlines their approach towards the elimination of the Aboriginal government, land, religion, and so on. This policy’s central goal was to assimilate the entire aboriginal population into Canadian civilization. The act described how to categorize one as an Indian, how one could lose their Indian status, the abolition of Native traditions and practices, and much more. Through residential schooling, which was administered through the Indian Act, the country was able to force allegiance in mass volumes. The word ‘residential schools’ refers to a schooling system which intends to enforce Euro-Canadian values into Aboriginal youth. After many years of agonizing discrimination and

Before the nineteenth century, the Aboriginal people had their own way of teaching the children in their community, through organic education. In addition to providing knowledge and skills, organic education kept their culture alive (Ravelli & Webber, 2013: pg. 237). This is because the Aboriginal children would also be taught about their culture and its customs. But the Europeans thought, “Canada’s First Nation peoples were in the way of the relentless onrush of capitalist and industrial expansion (Ravelli & Webber, 2013: pg. 238).” This is when the residential education system was established. Since the organic education was what made the Aboriginal culture

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).

Residential schools first started appearing in the 19th century. They were introduced as a way to mold children into civilized people. Their goal was to eradicate the Indigenous culture and once they were Canadian citizens, they could be a part of society. In the eyes of the Europeans who colonized, they were educating these wild beings. Many of the churches took the responsibility of teaching the children. They would teach the

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.