State and Church Education

Activity

 One of the main tools of colonialism in BC, Canada and throughout the world was the education system. 1800s RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS STARTED

 The values and the language of the colonizer could be taught to the youngest generations through educational institutions that removed children from their homes and isolated them in foreign environments. 1800s RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS STARTED

 In Canada, the education system for Aboriginal children was a partnership between the Department of Indian Affairs (the federal government) and the Christian churches. 1800s RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS STARTED

 The Canadian Government developed a formal partnership with church entities to run industrial, boarding and residential schools for Aboriginal people. 1880s CHURCH AND STATE

 Designed to impose foreign languages, foreign religions, as well as, the values and work skills of Canadian society on Aboriginal children. 1880s CHURCH AND STATE

 They were a deliberate systemic effort to remove generations of Aboriginal children, one by one, from family, community, language, culture, and, broadly speaking, Aboriginal ways of living in the world. 1830s/1880s + ASSIMILATION OR OBLITERATION?

 Although residential schools are usually considered part of the assimilative policies that the Canadian government directed at Aboriginal peoples from the 1880s onward, their roots lie deeper. 1800s RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS STARTED

 139 industrial, boarding and residential schools operated between 1831 and 1996 (1998).  The earliest was the Mohawk Indian Residential School, opened in 1831 at Brantford, Ontario RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS BEGIN ACROSS CANADA

 These schools were set up on and off reserves all across Canada (except NFLD).  In BC, there were 18 residential schools.  See additional handout RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS BEGIN ACROSS CANADA

 Residential Schools in British Columbia  4jYoy2suV3A 4jYoy2suV3A  4:26 mins 1831 RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS BEGIN ACROSS CANADA

 At its core, the residential school system was an organized effort to "kill the Indian in the child.” 1830s/1880s + ASSIMILATION OR OBLITERATION?

 Children were removed and placed in schools far from their community to isolate them. 1830s/1880s + ASSIMILATION OR OBLITERATION?

1884 Indian Act amended to assimilate First Nations. - Education in Residential schools. - Anti-Potlatch laws. - By 1895, amended to outlaw all dances, ceremonies and festivals that involve wounding animals, giving away money or goods. - By 1911, amended to allow municipalities to take portions of reserves away from bands.

 Children were forced to attend anywhere from ages 3/4 – 18/19.  Parents were fined or imprisoned if they refused to send or hid their children. 1830s/1880s + ASSIMILATION OR OBLITERATION?

 In the North (Arctic), the residential school system took the form of hostels.  Many Inuit were billeted in southern cities for the purposes of education and training. 1880s THE INUIT AND THE MÉTIS

 Although not identified as Métis, many Métis children attended residential schools in the West.  And of course, First Nations attended. 1880s THE INUIT AND THE MÉTIS

 Many Survivors have come forward with allegations that they suffered abuses during their time in school.  These included emotional, physical and sexual abuse. 1830s/1880s + TRAUMA

 Assimilation resulted in pervasive loss: loss of identity, loss of family, loss of language, loss of culture. 1830s/1880s + TRAUMA

 As early as 1907, residential schools were noted by inspectors as places of disease, hunger, overcrowding, and in disrepair DISEASE, HUNGER + EDUCATION?

 In most schools, food was scarce, of poor quality, and monotonous.  Hunger was a common refrain among students. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 As late as 1950, according to an DIA study, over 40 percent of the teaching staff had no professional training DISEASE, HUNGER + EDUCATION?

 Until the early 1950s, students spent only half their school day on academic subjects and spent the remainder of the day doing manual work and receiving religious instruction. 1800s – 1950s CREATE A WORKFORCE

 Vocational training centred around animal husbandry, homemaking or common labour.  The goal was to create an Aboriginal workforce for Canadian interests. 1800s – 1950s CREATE A WORKFORCE

 Schools were also used as settings for experiments on First Nations children (2014).  Nutritional experiments were conducted from as nutritional knowledge was sparse. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 Scientists in Canada took advantage of already malnourished Aboriginal students by using them as research subjects to investigate the effects of different diets and dietary supplements. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 Influenza and tuberculosis caused serious sickness and death.  Death tolls ranging from 15 to 24 percent; there are a plethora of unmarked graves at many residential schools. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 20 + mass graves located at Residential Schools across Canada (2008).  Contain the remains of untold numbers of Aboriginal children who died in Indian Residential Schools. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 It is estimated that there are hundreds, and possibly thousands, of children buried in these grave sites alone. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 Student mental health was assaulted by feelings of abandonment, stress caused by physical punishment, public humiliation, loneliness, lack of contact with relatives, and frustration with new languages. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 Some students died from severe beatings (murdered) and several suicides were documented. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 Also noted was the pervasive sexual abuse of the children.  Some did not experience any abuse. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 Many children ran away from the residential schools; some successfully returned home, others died on their journey, still more were found/caught and returned. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 Some children made suicide pacts or committed suicide at school or when they were at home.  Others took their lives years after leaving residential school. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 Ultimately, Aboriginal children’s human rights and their rights as children were denied. 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 Canadian Residential School Propaganda Video 1955  =s_V4d7sXoqU =s_V4d7sXoqU  2:37 mins 1800s – 1990s + DENY HUMAN RIGHTS

 The Residential School System severed ties between children and their families and communities and left people without an identity or a connection to their culture. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 The trauma has been transmitted from parent to child creating "Intergenerational Survivors”:  An Intergenerational Survivor is a child, grandchild or great grandchild of Survivor(s). THE PRESENT SITUATION

 High rates of suicide, violence and alcohol/drug abuse are reported among many Survivors and children + grandchildren of Survivors. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 The friendships and alliances are being built among people from different communities and Nations.  There is a resurgence of interest in Aboriginal culture and traditions. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 The treatment of Aboriginal peoples, particularly in regards to residential schools, in Canada has been called a Cultural Genocide. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 Cultural genocide: the systematic destruction of traditions, values, language, and other elements which make a one group of people distinct from other groups. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the era of residential schools, is a dark one in Canadian history. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 This program was one of the most violent and cold blooded examples of cultural destruction practiced by a government that has since claimed to embrace multiculturalism. THE PRESENT SITUATION

JUNE 11, 2008 PM STEPHEN HARPER APOLOGIZES PM says residential schools were a “sad chapter” in our history.

JUNE 11, 2008 PM STEPHEN HARPER APOLOGIZES “Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country”.

JUNE 11, 2008 PM STEPHEN HARPER APOLOGIZES 1:44 mins

 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is a component of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 It is part of an overall holistic and comprehensive response to the Indian residential school legacy.  It was officially established on June 2, THE PRESENT SITUATION

 Its mandate is to inform all Canadians about what happened in Indian Residential Schools; the Commission has documented the truth of survivors, families, communities and anyone personally affected. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 The TRC hopes to guide and inspire Aboriginal peoples and Canadians in a process of reconciliation and renewed relationships that are based on mutual understanding, respect and acceptance. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 Indian Residential Schools are a part of OUR shared history, a history that is not well understood by many.  It is the history of ALL CANADIANS. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 Canada's relationship with Aboriginal people has suffered as a result of this system. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 Healing and repairing that relationship will require education, awareness, and increased understanding of the legacy and the impacts still being felt for everyone involved in that relationship. THE PRESENT SITUATION

 June 21

  10:21 minutes