Residential schools were indubitably gruesome and immoral acts by the federal government to assimilate the Aboriginal culture to gain power. I was very surprised to learn that 150 000 Aboriginal children were forced to attend residential schools. It is crazy to fathom that so many human beings were tortured, neglected, abused and treated wrongfully while others let it happen for decades. I also found it surprising that the government surveyed the Aboriginal communities and the number one complaint was residential schools and yet no action was taken. If the federal government never intended to listen to the Aboriginals then why did they bother spending time doing surveys in the first place? My assumption is that the government took these surveys to make Aboriginal people feel as if their opinion was heard as opposed to reality where it meant nothing to the Europeans. It was completely absurd of the federal government to be aware that Aboriginals did not like residential schools and that it was taking away their culture and still continue to operate the detrimental schools. In addition, something I think was very troublesome was that residential schools only hired religious officials. This was troublesome because the Aboriginal children were being taught by unqualified people who are incapable of teaching any subject …show more content…
Some Aboriginals stated that they valued the knowledge they learned in residential schools, such as how to act as a European. I think it is interesting to know that some Aboriginals actually wanted to live life the European lifestyle because it was a developing nation and living as a European was perceived as more luxurious. It does seem rationale in my mind for a minority of people to actually appreciate residential schools because it was the federal government’s plan afterall. Nonetheless, this still does not make the concept of residential schools
The atrocities that the children of residential schools had to endure is not something that can be ignored, just as the lessons these children learned, like shame, humiliation, hate, compassion, and forgiveness cannot be overlooked (Borrows 486-7). Borrows raises an important point, which is that the children of the Residential schools, who survived, grew up to eventually become elders (487). Although there are some who feel Residential schools had positive impacts, the high suicide rates in Indigenous communities cannot be
This paper will review the first five chapters in J.R. Miller’s book Shingwauk’s Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools. These chapters examine the events that took place before residential schools were made, as well as looking into the historical context of Canada during this time period. The first chapter of the book explains the way in which indigenous communities educated their children before contact by the European settlers. The educational systems from these indigenous communities were much different than the European educational systems, in the sense of a formal, rigid, institution.
Before the Indian Act most of the young members of the First Nations followed the traditions and beliefs of previous generations, however, this changed with the introduction of Residential schools through the Indian Act. By 1948, there were 78 schools operating with nearly 10,000 students enrolled. This education network was established by the government but was controlled by the Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian churches. The objective of this school system was to teach young aboriginals how to integrate themselves into the “normal” Canadian life. In other words, this whole system was a major cultural genocide.
The residential schools had been built so that Indians (First Nations) could be educated and fit into Euro-Canadian
Residential schools were religious schools that were sponsored by the government in order to convert aboriginal children into the European – Canadian way of living.2 The government believed that if they were able to successfully assimilate the children, the Native culture would cease to exist, the children that would have participated in those schools would only be able to pass down the Euro-Canadian culture. Residential schools were ran in a methodical way, bells will ring waking up the children and motioning them to dress up then they were forced to attend a Christian church regardless of what they believed. After that breakfast would arrive then they would attend classes and do school work. There was a short period for the children to play, followed with dinner and then bedtime.
These schools gave traumatic experiences to the Aboriginal youths and haunted them for the rest of their life. the government pursued the schooling to first nations to make them “economically self-sufficient” with its underlying scheme(Miller) the government secretly lied to them and planned on lessening Aboriginal dependency on the public purse (funds raised by the government) Eve Cardinal, a former student of a residential school, still has traumatic memories that even 45 years later, Eva still cries about (Boguski) “Students were punished for just about everything,” -Eve Cardinal (Boguski) getting out of bed at night, wetting the bed, speaking their native language, etc. some students were forced to hold down their peers on a table as the nun beats her (the peer being held down) with a strap “I want to get rid of the Indian problem. I do not think as a matter of fact, that the country ought to continuously protect a class of people who are able to stand alone…
There were three types of schooling offered, including a day school, industrial school, and residential school. However while day school, industrial school or residential school were all offered, a residential school in many/most cases was the only viable option for the families. While these schools did teach the basics of education including math, rudimentary science, and language, these schools were still seen and immoral and unjust. This poor imagine derived from the fact that the schools were controlled by the church and not by the government, therefore meaning that religion was forced upon the minor aboriginal population for the purpose of assimilation. These schools were also viewed as immoral because that separated the minor population from their families.
Residential schools are a shameful part of Canadian history and have had negative long-term effects on Indigenous Canadians. This investigation will be focusing on the long term socio-economic effects on the Indigenous population of Canada that are evident even today, such as substance abuse, the relationship between the criminal justice system and Indigenous people and communities and finally the financial situations and living conditions of people on reserves. An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children attended residential school. The schools were run by Christian missionaries, primarily Roman Catholics and Anglicans.
Although I understand the article is from 1994 and I believe that many attitudes towards Indigenous children and people have changed since then, not only in schools but in general. However, I was recently on professional practicum in a year three classroom where there was an Aboriginal girl that was treated by her teacher in a similar way to the children in the article. It was a horrible experience and I felt bad for the child every day as she was not getting the support she needed to succeed. From this experience I believe there is still a lot of learning to be done on behalf of teachers and other education staff in schools to provide a more culturally inclusive setting and to provide teaching that relates to the needs of the
We Were Children, the documentary on residential schools, is a re-enactment of two aboriginal children and their first hand experiences in the residential school system. The kinds of problems this documentary presented include mistreatment faced by the children who attended these schools, corruption and scandal inside the administration of the schools, and the false perception about these schools that resonated amongst Canadian society. These two children talk about the bullying they had to endure from the nuns which show that the children were not seen as equal to a child of non-Aboriginal decent. Furthermore, the types of abuse administration would put these kids through was immensely disturbing considering this was a state run institution.
Though many First Nations people believed that the concept of these residential schools would help connect their children to a better life, residential schools were also faced with harsh criticism and strong resistance from First Nations parents and students. After generations of family members facing the harsh conditions of the residential schools, parents began to speak out against the use of residential schools, showing their discomfort and their discontent. Parents
In this essay, I'm going to argue to you that residential schools were harmful to indigenous people. Do you know why these schools were horrible well in Erin Hanson, article called The Residential School System, she says that the residents school system was an attempt to ‘kill the“Indian in the child”. And I agree with this, the Residential school was an attempt to take away indigenous kid's culture. Residential school survivors endured horrendous abuse from the so-called staff. Indigenous kids were forced away from their parents and most times never saw them again.
The TRC’s “The History” author appeals to logos through the use quantitative findings. The use of logical evidence from the collection of testimonials made by former residential school students is an effective way to aid the persuasion of a reader. Throughout “The History”, the author describes the memories of known First Nations peoples Frederic Ernest Koe, Marlene Kayseas, Lily Bruce and many others. In addition, the author quotes Vitaline Elsie Jenner’s use of ‘kaya nakasin’ (TRC, 2015, p.38) in describing her experience with residential school. The author’s example that contains the use native language reaffirms his credibility and detailed knowledge of the
Shedding light on a heinous chapter of Australian history, Phillip Noyce’s 2002 film adaption of the book by Doris Pilkington, Rabbit Proof Fence serves as a glaring reminder of the atrocities suffered by those of the “stolen generation”. Set in 1931, the film portrays a simplified version of the early life of three Aboriginal girls and their daring journey from an “integration program” to home again via the Rabbit Proof Fence. They are pursued by A.O. Neville (Branagh), the school director, whom, under government authority, is taking Aboriginal children from their homes and placing them in schools to be educated or more accurately, indoctrinated. Rabbit Proof Fence, through its compelling storyline and depiction of harsh reality, highlights to us that the real villain in colonial Australia was the government and it’s utterly racist policies. As a critic, this film struck me, as I’m sure it will many other viewers, in its veracity of the truth when displaying potentially painful situations.
Residential Schools was an enormous lengthening event in our history. Residential schools were to assimilate and integrate white people’s viewpoints and values to First Nations children. The schools were ran by white nuns and white priests to get rid of the “inner Indian” in the children. In residential schools, the children suffered immensely from physical, emotional, sexual and spiritual abuse. Although the many tragedies, language was a huge loss by the First Nations children.