Policies of Assimilation Canadian History 30F

Residential Schools “The education of Indians consists not merely of training the mind but of weaning from the habits and feelings of their ancestors and the acquirements of the language, arts, and customs of a civilized life” – Egerton Ryerson – chief superintendent of education, Upper Canada, 1847

Implementation Advocated the separation from families and reserves to encourage adoption of European life By 1894 there were over 45 schools, by the 1930’s there was 80 schools 1920 amendment to the Indian Act made attendance compulsory and children as young as 6 were taken to the schools In the schools children were separated from siblings, given European style clothes and haircuts and were not allowed to speak traditional language (hope to destroy oral history)

Implementation (continued) The schools were largely run by different denominations of the Christian church This helped further the governments assimilation goals through Christian teachings

Consequences On June 11, 2008 PM Stephen Harper issued a formal apology for the residential school system Children taught that their culture was inferior Family breakdown and disconnection is still a lasting legacy today

Consequences

Suppression of First Nations Culture and Traditions The objective of suppressing traditional ceremonies was to slowly extinguish First Nation culture Two traditions targeted were the Potlatch and the Sun Dance ceremonies

Implementation The Potlatch was looked upon badly because it featured people giving away possessions and was seen as wasteful In 1884 the Indian Act was amended to outlaw its practice The Sun Dance was targeted to prevent traditional customs from being carried out

Consequences The Potlatch was more heavily suppressed in BC than the Sun Dance in the prairies In the 1920’s many people were arrested and many good confiscated in potlatch raids The ban on both ceremonies ended in 1951 and both ceremonies continue to be practiced today

Enfranchisement The objective of enfranchisement was to encourage First Nations to give up their Indian Status By becoming enfranchised a person would leave the reserve, be granted full Canadian citizenship and give up their treaty rights The government saw this as the best way to assimilate the First Nations

Implementation and Consequence Between 1859-1920 only about 250 people accepted enfranchisement through voluntary means More became enfranchised after 1920 when the government extended the vote to those who lived off the reserve For most enfranchisement was not an option as the treaty agreement was the only way to maintain traditional culture

Aboriginal Participation in WWI The objective was two-fold Many Aboriginal soldiers wanted to volunteer but to do so would cause them to lose status Although initially the government did not want Aboriginal soldiers they relented as the war went on

Implementation and Consequence Consequences Estimated that about 4,000 First Nations volunteered for the war Over 50 earned medals of bravery, with Henry Norwest and Francis Pegahmagabow receiving special medals of honour All Aboriginal soldiers were excluded from any post war veteran programs Most could not return to reserves because they had given up their status to fight in the war