Residential School Legacy 1920’s A Shameful Event In Canadian History By HANNAH KNIGHT

What is a Residential School? The term residential schools refers to an extensive school system set up by the Canadian government and administered by churches that had the nominal objective of educating Aboriginal children but also the more damaging and equally precise objectives of disciplining them Euro-Canadian and Christian ways of living and assimilating them into mainstream Canadian society.

Why Were There Residential Schools? Two primary objectives of the residential school system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, “ to kill the Indian in the child”.

Christianity The goal of the missionaries was to ‘convert the children to Christianity’.

Where Were They? Residential Schools were located all across Canada. In total there were 130 schools located across Canada.

Background The first residential school was set up in the 1890’s by the missionaries. They wanted to Christianize and educate the natives, and get them to read the bible. The government helped support the residential school system as far back as 1874. In 1856, the first Indian Act was enacted which gave the Federal government the authority to the Minister of the Department of Indian Affairs to control Indian Education.

What Is The Indian Act? The Indian Act of Canada is an act that establishes the rights of registered First Nations and of their bands. The act is administrated from the Minister of Indian Affairs And Northern Development.

The Schools The schools were located in almost every province in Canada. Except for PEI, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. There were over 100 of them open in Canada and even some day schools in the 1920’s Pelican Lake School - early 1920

Schools They were also meant to promote economic self-sufficiency by teaching First Nations children to become farmers and laborers

Academics Students were taught numeracy (math), reading, and writing Students were also forced to study Christianity This was only taught for half the day while the other half of the day was spent doming chores Many things they taught were new to them so the students struggled to adjust to the European style of education. Most of the teacher were inexperienced and didn’t have a full education

Attending The Schools In 1920 The Indian Act is amended to make it compulsory for status Indian children between ages seven and fifteen Children as young as 6 would be removed from their families to attend school. They would have to stay their for 10 months every year. Some children had to stay year round

Who Attended Residential Schools? Aboriginal Children ages 6-16 Métis children were excluded from this process as they didn't fall under the Indian Act, however, one residential school for Métis was run by the Catholic Church in Ile a la Crosse, Sask. This school also included FN children

They Could Not… Speaking their own languages was forbidden. Only French and English were expectable. They could not practice any of their cultural activities. They could not speak to other family members. If they did any of these things they would get physically punished. One of the punishments was the teachers whipping them with a strap

Removal Children were removed from their homes, often under the force of law​ Children were forcibly taken from their families by priests, Indian Agents and police officers Some families saw education as progress and voluntarily sent their children   

When They Arrived… They were often separated from siblings The students were only given one set of school clothes and one set of work clothes. They were forced to get their hair cut very short, even for girls. The students were assigned daily chores The children got their names changed and they had to go by the names the staff gave them. Sometimes they received a number for a name.

A Typical Day At Residential School 5:30 A.M: The boys got up to do morning chores such as milking cows, feeding animals. 6:00A.M: Everyone else got up and washed. Breakfast Morning cleaning chores Classes: 1 hour Religious studies, 2 hours academic studies. Lunch

A Typical Day (Continued) Chores and work time Study hour Supper Clean up Recreation time Prayers Bed time

Sleeping Quarters All Of The Beds Were Very Close Together

Sleep Many students had problems sleeping in residential school due to anxiety Once a school staff member were to turn off the light they expected everyone to fall asleep If a students wet a bed or be caught talking during sleep hours they would e punished Some children were forced to sleep outside as punished

Classrooms

A Boy Before And After Attending Residential School.

The Girls Chores The Girls Were Expected To Sew

The Boys Chores The Boys Had To Do Chores Such As Farming

Diet Food at residential schools were often cheap to make and had little to no nutritional value As a result of this many of the students were malnourished Students were served the same tasteless food everyday Poor dieting contributed to the high death rate of Aboriginal students in residential schools Breakfast consisted of : A hard porridge, made the night before with a piece of bread and milk

Meals Breakfast consisted of : A hard porridge, made the night before with a piece of bread and milk Lunch and Dinner: potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage and meat chunks.

Some Children Never Returned Home Some of the children ran away and never returned. When there was a virus going around a lot of children caught it because of the poor living conditions.

Illnesses Aboriginal students experienced many illnesses including smallpox and tuberculosis Students often became sick with the cold in winter due to their thin winter uniforms which provided little warmth Tuberculosis was common because the schools were unsanitary and had poor ventilation systems

Funding Schools were funded by the federal government but were operated by the Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United Churches

The Survivors There are about 93,000,00 survivors left in Canada Each year this number decreases as a lot of them are in their late 70’s A lot of them missed their families and wanted to go home Some even tried to run away, most were found and returned to school Some suffered physical abuse and for others mental abuse Some survivors tell horrid stories such as staff physically and sexually abusing them

When They Grew Up… When the survivors grew up and had their own families, many of them did not know how to parent for their own families They were not taught any of this while at school The school did not show love to the children, and with this some of the survivors do not know how to show love towards their families. Many of the survivors have problems with drugs, alcohol, anger, depression and loss of culture and language. This was not right for the government to take them away from there families

The Info Is From….. http://www.afn.ca/residentialschools/photos.html http://rbrussell.org/resschool.htm http://www.wherearethechildren.ca/en/home.html www.wikapedia.com www.cbc.ca/news/background/aboriginals/residentialschools.html

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