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Essay On Residential Schools In Canada

502 Words3 Pages

Imagine being ripped apart from family members, culture, tradition, and labelled a savage that needs to be educated. Imagine constantly facing punishment at school for being one’s self. Unfortunately, these events were faced head on for many First Nations people living in Canada in the late 20th century. These First Nations people were the victims of an extensive school system set up by the government to eradicate Aboriginal culture across Canada and to assimilate them into what was considered a mainstream society.
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 …show more content…

The idea of residential schools, the frustration of students in the environment, as well as hatred for the school system would have definitely drove many of the students to continue their defiant behaviours. The fear of losing their language; their culture; and most importantly, their identity, further increased their determination to resist the force put upon them in residential schools. Despite facing harsh punishments such as a variety of forms of corporal punishment, the idea of showing opposition towards a subject that they did not comply with was a much stronger force that drove students to engage in acts of resistance than the force of fear that the residential schools attempted to inflict toward them. As a result of this, many students were able to resist the desired outcome that the government hoped for, in spite of the

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