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Residential Schools Effect On Aboriginal Culture

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From the late 1800s to the later 1900s Residential schools were used to force white Catholic culture onto Indigenous Peoples. This had a great effect on Aboriginal Peoples and ended up ripping families apart, destroying Aboriginal culture and effecting aboriginal peoples far into the future after the events that happened at the schools. This essay will shed some light on one of Canada's darkest parts of history.
Residential schools pull Aboriginal families apart because they remove the culture holding them together and put distance between them.To begin, residential schools were designed to remove Aboriginal peoples culture thus pushing family members apart.Saul notes, "these schools are designed to break our spirits and tie us to god" (43) …show more content…

With this many generations of Aboriginal people completely lost their culture and background. The people running Residential schools believed the native cultures were dirty, savage, and against Gods will. They set out to force Christianity onto the Aboriginal people and wiped out thousands of children's background and culture. "At St Jerome School we work to remove the Indian from our children so that the blessings of the lord may be evidenced upon them" (47). This quote highlights the Residential school stating its purpose and goal to the children at St Jerome's School. When the culture of one Aboriginal person was removed his or her children's culture would never be the same and there for the rich culture was blocked never to be learned by that family again. With so many people losing their cultures many Aboriginal people today lost some if not all of their culture such as language history and religion. "God will only save those with pure hearts who have accepted god as their holy father. All others shall burn. (60) With the fear of not only punishment from the people at residential schools but the fear of eternal punishment if they do not accept the culture forced upon them many either accepted the new white culture or died before they could be

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