Robbing identity: Killing the “Indian” in the child INDIAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS

APOLOGY A Formal Apology from the Prime Minister (Government of Canada) Video: A long-awaited apology 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ryC74bbrEE

Cultural Genocide The mass extermination of a people’s culture and way of life was done through residential schools. Even today the effects are seen: Children who attended residential schools were deprived of family life and did not learn how to raise children themselves! This gap in parenting is a key reason from societal problems in Aboriginal communities (ex. Spousal and child abuse, violence, alcoholism, and suicide).

Long before Canada was formed assimilation existed WHAT IS ASSIMILATION? to bring into conformity with the customs, attitudes, etc., of a group, nation, or the like MISSIONAIRIES were sent by the church (either Catholic or Protestant) to the New World to convert lost Aboriginal souls to Christianity. This had damaging effects on Aboriginal peoples who suffered assimilation, abandonment of traditional beliefs, forced conversion and misunderstanding of Christian teachings, etc.

Residential Schools were a continuation of religious assimilation … and more. The Canadian government and the church operated residential schools (the government funded them $$$ and the church ran them). Keep in mind, the federal government was responsible for financing education for First Nations who were considered ‘wards of the state’ (under the Indian Act, 1876)

Who would willingly allow their kids to go to residential school? Many First Nations actually fully supported the idea that their children should go to school and receive an education in order to ensure that their cultures survived in a changing world. But residential schools removed children from their reserve, family home, culture, language and way of life to live at school where the government could further its objectives: assimilation.

Structure of Residential Schools All aspects of First Nations culture were eliminated from residential schools. Children were forbidden to speak their native language and punished for doing so. Boys segregated from girls, and siblings were separated in an effort to weaken family ties They wore school uniforms instead of traditional clothing. Hair was cut short – European style. And they ate primarily Euro-Canadian foods.

Celebrated Christian holidays. Learned European sports (ex Celebrated Christian holidays. Learned European sports (ex. Soccer and Cricket) Day was divided between religious instruction and training for manual labor. Children were taught practical skills like sewing, woodworking, reading, and writing (rather than academic subjects like history, geography, math, and science) During the school year, students were not allowed to have contact with families and communities. Even during vacations they were not reunited with their families. As a result, children had little or no contact with their families for many years (up to 10).

How does the structure of residential schools differ from today’s schools? VIDEO CLIP: “A new future” http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/society/education/a-lost-heritage-canadas-residential-schools/a-new-future-for-children-at-james-bay-residential-school.html

Problems: Abuse in Residential Schools These schools were the source of the many problems and concerns: They were breeding grounds for potentially fatal diseases like smallpox and tuberculosis. Students were not allowed to practice Aboriginal customs or speak Aboriginal languages. Punishable physically. They were poorly maintained to the point of posing serious safety and other health hazards.

In fact, many historians feel these schools were responsible for grooming children to grow up with various social behavioral problems. Many blame this failure on government under-funding and disinterest or Aboriginal resistance. Although the government would increase funding to these schools in the 1950s, they had finally come under intense public scrutiny. One-by-one, they were closed. The last school of its type finally closed in 1996. Didn’t anyone care?

Whistle Blower: Dr. Peter Bryce In 1907, Dr. Peter Bryce, former Medical Inspector for the Department of Indian Affairs, determined that between 25 and 50 % of Aboriginal students who attended these schools died as a result of disease (namely tuberculosis or “TB”), racially-motivated abuse or some other reason. NOTHING WAS DONE. THESE STATISTICS WERE NOT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC/MEDIA. AND IT COST DR. BRYCE HIS CAREER.

How do you think they felt when they DID return home?

How would you feel if you were separated from your family for an extended period of time? How do you think this would effect your relationship with your family if you were away for many years? …That’s if you survived.

Personal History: My great grandmother May Smith taught at an Indian school house in the early 1900s in St. Raphael’s (2 hours South-East). She has a small class of all-aboriginal students who she described as hard workers, but needed tremendous help with reading, writing, and arithmatic.