1. The Indian Residential School System of Canada The search for truth – the need for reconciliation Justice Murray Sinclair Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Honesty Respect Courage Wisdom Truth Love

2. 2 Education and schools: The Vision Education was important to Aboriginal people from the outset of Confederation in 1867

3. 3 Education and schools: The Vision They wanted their children to be able to participate fully in the new Dominion. They saw it as a means to participate as partners in the new Canada.

4. 4 Education and schools: The Vision Schools were negotiated in all of the treaties signed after Confederation Schools were to be constructed on the home reserves of each band.

5. 5 Treaty 1 1870 “And further, Her Majesty agrees to maintain a school on each reserve hereby made whenever the Indians of the reserve should desire it.”

6. 6 Education and schools: The Vision The government belief was that Aboriginal people were “uncivilized” and were socially, culturally and intellectually inferior.

7. 7 Education and schools: The Vision They needed to be civilized through education and christianization

8. 8 Sir John A. Macdonald (1883) “When the school is on the reserve the child lives with its parents, who are savages; he is surrounded by savages, and though he may learn to read and write his habits, and training and mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who can read and write.”

9. 9 Sir John A. Macdonald (1883) “…Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men.

10. 10 Residential Schools – The Reality

11. 11 Residential Schools – The Reality The Government of Canada took a multi- generational approach, deciding to remove children from their families and communities, and to civilize them in distant institutions that came to be known as residential schools The involvement of churches and missionary societies was an important component of the government approach

12. 12 Residential Schools – The Reality “In order to educate the children properly we must separate them from their families. Some people may say that this is hard but if we want to civilize them, we must do that.” Public Works Minister Hector Langevin, 1883, explaining the need to establish residential schools to the Canadian House of Commons.

13. 13 Residential Schools – The Reality Government officials also saw the potential benefit of having Indian children in their care in times of political unrest – Indian leaders were unlikely to go to war against Canada if the government had their children

14. 14 Residential Schools – The Reality The model of education imposed by the government under legislation was not the model that had been discussed during treaty negotiations. It became mandatory under the Indian Act to send children to schools designated by the Superintendant General of Indian Affairs Virtually from the outset there were concerns about how the children were being treated in the schools.

15. 15 Residential Schools – The Reality Language and cultural traditions and practices were prohibited and corporal punishment was administered freely. Children were demeaned from the beginning: they were told that they were “savages”, “pagans”, “heathens”, inferior and dirty. Siblings were separated and brothers and sisters were prohibited from speaking to each other.

16. 16 Residential Schools – The Reality The manner in which the children were treated and the schools were imposed were received with mixed feelings Some parents wanted their children to receive whatever education they could

17. 17 Residential Schools – The Reality Others wanted the schools that had been negotiated in the treaties.

18. 18 Residential Schools – The Reality Institutionalization and intolerance Separation from family and community Demeaning treatment Physical punishment Fear and oppression

19. 19 Residential Schools – The Reality Denial of language Interference with family Denial of culture Imposition of European religious belief systems

20. 20 Residential Schools – The Reality Death rates 24-42% Bryce Report Senior Health Official Dr. Peter Bryce “National Crime” Removed from office

21. 21 Residential Schools – The Reality Physical abuse and injury Sexual abuse Bullying Emotional violence

22. 22 Residential Schools – The Reality Credit: Canada. Dept. of Interior / Library and Archives Canada / PA-048021, Fort Resolution, NWT Inadequate education initially Lack of curriculum or educational standards for most of the history of the schools

23. 23 Residential Schools – The Reality Credit: Canada. Dept. of Interior / Library and Archives Canada / PA-048021, Fort Resolution, NWT Those who taught were not required to be trained to teach A great deal about the schools was hidden from Canadians

24. 24 Residential Schools – The Reality Reality of IRS for over 150,000 students bore little resemblance to values of higher or even basic education promised during Treaty negotiations, with few marketable skills learned while losing traditional knowledge Schools were understaffed and teachers under- qualified Food shortages left students weakened & susceptible to disease such as tuberculosis

25. 25 Residential Schools – The Reality Neglect and violence were common within IRS; punishments were frequent and severe Incidents of attempted escape were not uncommon; Unknown numbers died from exposure when they ran away; The results for many others are unknown; Children who died in the schools were buried in poorly marked and recorded graves

26. 26 Residential Schools – The Reality Claims of physical and sexual abuse within residential schools have characterized 90% of individual court actions filed against the churches and government. Almost all criminal prosecutions have stemmed from sexual abuse allegations.

27. 27 What would you do if “they” came for your children? Resist Protest Challenge in court Challenge through the political process Go to war

28. 28 Conquest Through Law Resistance was rendered futile Legal punishments were imposed on parents for failure to comply with a direction to send their children to Indian Residential Schools There were regular round ups of children by authorities including the RCMP Government paid what must have been enormous costs to transport the children Some children were successfully hidden

29. 29 The right to protest was taken away Not only was the government concerned about the children but they wanted to stamp out Indian culture authority and rights, altogether Legal restrictions were placed on Indian gatherings Ceremonial events were outlawed – “Sundance and Potlatch laws” Indians could be prosecuted for wearing “Indian Garb” Movement was restricted – the “Pass” system was created

30. 30 Access to justice was denied The right to go to court was restricted. An Indian who wanted to sue the government had to get permission from the Minister first. The right to obtain legal advice was prevented Lawyers faced disbarment for advising or assisting an Indian without prior government permission Non-Aboriginal friends and supporters could not take action in support

31. 31 Political rights were taken away Indians lost the right to vote Traditional leadership was removed Indian Act amendments required Band elections where only men could be elected and only men could vote. The role of women in community decision making was eliminated Elected councils were restricted in power and closely supervised

32. 32 Personal Loss Emotional trauma Language Culture Identity Pride and self-respect Capacity to cope Respect for education Respect for government Respect for country

33. 33 Aboriginal Healing Foundation Research Series

34. 34 1960s The Second Wave of Separation Child welfare Incarceration Criminal victimization

35. 35 Child welfare Approximately half of all children in care in Canada are Aboriginal More children are in care of government agencies than had been taken into residential schools Most children are removed from their families based on allegations of actual or potential neglect Newborns are apprehended from hospitals at alarming rates Teenagers are/were abandoned to hotels

36. 36 Child welfare Foster homes are often not culturally appropriate No legal requirement for culturally appropriate placements Foster home background checks and supervision are a concern to Independent Child Protectors Foster and adoptive breakdowns are exceptionally high, leading to teenage runaways

37. 37 Child welfare Chronic underfunding of Aboriginal child welfare agencies Similar to chronic underfunding of Indian Residential School System Subject of a Canadian Human Rights Commission Hearing

38. 38 Incarceration In Manitoba 70% of incarcerated adult males 80% of incarcerated youth 90% of incarcerated adult females are Aboriginal This is similar to other Prairie Provinces where the highest numbers of residential schools were

39. 39 Incarceration Throughout Canada In 2010/11, Aboriginal people constituted 25% of Federal male admissions to custody and 41% of sentenced admissions for women. In the same year, Aboriginal youth constituted 24% of imprisoned male youth and 34% of imprisoned female youth.

40. 40 Victimization Aboriginal women are up to 8 times more likely to be the victim of a violent offence than non- Aboriginal women Among youth, homicides and suicides are the leading causes of death Street gangs have proliferated with increased urbanization

41. 41 Community Loss Families were lost through disruption and breakdown Communities lost leaders Tribes lost status and authority

42. 42 National Loss Canadians lost the benefit of understanding and having a proper relationship with Aboriginal societies Canada lost the respect of Aboriginal people Canada’s reputation and influence among the other nations of the world is diminished

43. 43 The children of survivors lost something too Violence Lack of love and intimacy Lack of support Role models Drug and alcohol addiction in the home Police interventions

44. 44 The children of survivors lost something too Child welfare interventions Suicides Poverty

45. 45 Rights were blurred if not obscured Indian residential schools even without the violence, were a clear violation of human rights.

46. 46 Another side to the reality Yet there were positive outcomes Friendships were formed Marriages and families resulted In later years children were educated to a standard that allowed them to go on to higher education

47. 47 Another side to the reality There were healthy teachers in this unhealthy system and many students recall such teachers fondly

48. 48 Economic Impact Lifestyles changed Leadership authority and skills were lost Economic authority and decision making was undermined Economic relationships were negatively affected

49. 49 Reconciliation and Canadians This is not just an Aboriginal problem – it belongs to all Canadians. Public schools have been a major influence in creating a negative relationship between Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal people

50. 50 Reconciliation and Canadians While Aboriginal children were being taught that they were inferior, non-Aboriginal children were also being taught that Aboriginal people were inferior, and that people from European countries were superior. What Canadians have been told and what their children and grandchildren are still being told about Aboriginal people has its foundations in the racism of the past

51. 51 Reconciliation and Newcomer Canadians Newcomers to Canada are also caught up in this Canada’s population growth depends on immigration In 50 years Canada’s culture and languages will have been influenced by people arriving between now and then Most people in Canada in 50 years will come from families that will have arrived within previous 2 generation What will they know?

52. 52 Reconciliation and Newcomer Canadians What were they taught before coming to Canada about this country and its Indigenous people? What are they told upon arriving? They may not be connected to the sins of this history, but they are sharing in its legacy, and they are connected to the solutions of the future.

53. 53 Changes have occurred 1969 White Paper triggered a strong Aboriginal reaction Calder Case 1973 - the recognition of Aboriginal Title Numerous court decisions since Calder mark a change in the legal environment

54. 54 Changes have occurred The concept of a fiduciary relationship The duty to consult and accommodate

55. 55 Changes have occurred Section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982 recognized and affirmed the Aboriginal and Treaty rights of aboriginal peoples Comprehensive land claims are slowly being settled The Indian Claims Commission has morphed into the more independent and binding Specific Claims Tribunal

56. 56 Changes have occurred The OKA crisis – loss of innocence The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Statement of Reconciliation by INAC Minister Jane Stewart on January 7, 1998 in response to the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

57. 57 Changes have occurred The Parliamentary Apologies in 2008 The public recognition of the wrong-headedness of the Residential School Policy Apologies by the churches The IRS law suits and the Settlement Agreement The Truth and Reconciliation Commission

58. 58 Reconciliation and Canadians Reconciliation has to include legal reconciliation Education has the major role in reconciliation needed between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people Reconciliation is about respect.

59. 59 Reconciliation and Canadians This means not teaching theories as fact (Bering Strait Theory) Avoid teaching legally invalid doctrines that are nothing more than extensions of historical racist thinking – e.g. the doctrine of discovery It also calls for educators to look carefully at materials for such thinking. Educators have to assess their own cultural biases.

60. 60 Reconciliation and all Canadians All Canadians must take ownership of this history and the legacy it has left All people must assess where their own biases come from and question their ongoing legitimacy All Canadians must recognize that the way Canada has been doing business will likely have to change

61. 61 Reconciliation and Canadians The relationship is damaged It has taken a long time to get to this point. It will take a long time to fix it. Reconciliation is about Respect