In the short documentary film “Canada’s shame: Residential schools, unmarked graves, and the search for justice- people and power” I learned a lot about what Canada did to the indigenous people regarding residential schools and the trauma we left on their community. The lives of the indigenous communities are forever altered because of the way these schools were designed to assimilate and strip the children of their identity. Carl Sam was just one of the Saint Mary’s residential school survivors and he says, “His experience at the residential school has stripped him of his whole life”. He goes on to say one day he was put on a boat and all the children were crying around him because they were taken out of their homes and they didn’t know what was going on,
“Indian School Road” by Chris Benjamin sheds light on the horrific experiences of Indigenous children and families at residential schools. It is a non-fiction book that explores the impact of the residential school system in Canada on Indigenous Communities. The author focuses specifically on the Shubenacadie Residential School in Nova Scotia, where Indigenous children were taken and forced to attend the school from 1930-1967. The Canadian government established these schools intending to indoctrinate Indigenous children into Christian ways, with churches as the main locations and priests and nuns as educators. The book uncovers the history of the Shubenacadie Residential School, exposing the responsible individuals, the government's passive
Over the past few decades, there has been many distinct perspectives and conflicts surrounding the historical context between the Indigenous peoples in Canada and the Canadian Government. In source one, the author P.J Anderson is trying to convey that the absolute goal of the Indian Residential School system in Canada has been to assimilate the Indian nation and provide them with guidance to “ forget their Indian habits”, and become educated of the “ arts of civilized life”, in order to help them integrate into society and “become one” with their “White brethren”. It is clearly evident throughout the source that the author is supportive of the Indian residential school system and strongly believes that the Indian residential School System
As a result of children being punished for their culture, it ultimately gets lost during their stays at these schools. Culture is a large part of self-identity, and when this is lost it often leads to a lack of self-belonging. Another issue caused by residential schools is intergenerational trauma which is largely caused by the abuse, both emotional and physical, that the children were subjected to. Intergenerational trauma largely affects future
The short stories “Apology Day” by Isabelle Knockwood and “To Own Ourselves” by Niigonwedom James Sinclair share multiple connections when it comes to the residential school system. They have connections when it comes to the government failing to keep children safe, intergenerational trauma, and how the communities reacted to the government's apology. Over 15,000 indigenous children were sent to residential schools; over a third did not make it out alive. The residential school system was first initiated in the 1930s and later closed in 1996. The official apology made by the government was released in 2008 by Stephen Harper who was the prime minister at the time.
Daniel Birch Mrs. Agostini ENG 2D1 Friday, May 2024 Cultural genocide, Trauma and addiction in indigenous communities What exactly have indigenous people gone through? Indigenous kids, families, and communities went through many forms of abuse within residential schools, all at the hands of the school staff in Canada. The novel Indian horse illustrates the impact that the residential school system had on Indigenous communities in Canada by focusing on the experiences of Saul Indian horse and how he decides to persevere despite all of the things he has faced within residential schools. Indigenous communities in Canada were impacted by the residential school system as the survivors experienced cultural genocide, trauma and addiction to alcohol.
Government Control in Canadian Residential Schools and Fahrenheit 451 Government control is often seen in real world circumstances, as well as in fiction novels. Indian residential schools were government-funded religious schools whose goal was to assimilate Aboriginal children into Euro-Canadian society. (Miller) About 150, 000 Aboriginal children attended these schools that operated from 1831 to 1996, when the last residential school closed down. (Miller)
The purpose of the schools was to “westernize” them to the point where there wouldn’t be anymore indigenous people, and in my opinion the people who agree with that are sick. To conclude, residential schools have a lasting effect on everyone who
For example, in 1867, the Indian Act was passed and that act was made to eliminate First Nations peoples’ cultures and they had their rights and land taken away without any warning. This was the beginning of how Canada began their process of assimilation with the Indian Act. Along with the Indian Act, the major expansion of residential schools was a major factor in Canada’s history with Aboriginal peoples and how they treated them. The intention of residential schools were to assimilate the children into Euro-Canadian cultures without any influence from the parents. Kids age 7 to 15 were removed from their homes and were forced to live far away.
In 1996, the last of a number of schools in Canada created for the purposes of assimilating indigenous youth into Canadian society was shut down. The residential school phenomenon can be traced back to the late 1800’s, when the government authorized the taking of indigenous children from their families to be placed in church-run schools. While the schools did provide some education, many students suffered physical, mental, and sexual abuse while being stripped of their language and culture in favour or European language, culture, and values (Legacy of Hope Foundation, n.d.). Here, I will look at the residential school phenomenon through a picture of a young indigenous boy getting his hair cut in a classroom of a residential school, approached
No one wants to be the “bad guy,” so an environment free of judgement is important for recording experiences as accurately as possible. It is through this that we can create a more detailed account of what happened. Residential Schools are necessary to Canadian history. The indigenous people were Canadians long before it was colonized by European powers. Canada as we know it would not exist if not for its indigenous peoples, and the consequences of creating this Canada come at the expense of those same indigenous people.
Residential schools were government sponsored Religious schools for the Aboriginal community. Assimilation is the process by which a person or a group's language and/or culture come to resemble those of another group. The residential schools were made to assimilate the Natives to live within Canada in peace with society. The residential Schools were closed in 1996 with the last school in Saskatchewan. This was due because the schools were close due to expense and teachers preferred working at public schools.
Savagery. Residential schools is a subject in Canadian history that many citizens pretend never happened. Starting in the 1870s, residential schools were created to ‘take the Indian out of the child’ by teaching them the white ways, but many survivors suffered physical, sexual, emotional, and spiritual abuse during their time at the institutions. What happened inside the schools was barbaric and malicious. As well as, the boys arrive on the island civilized British citizens but turn into savages that enjoy killing.
Hi suja, I agree with you that being away from family during childhood can be very distressing. Lots of people are unaware of the existence of the residential school which can be overcome by adding it in nursing curriculum as you mentioned. I was reading one article from Ottawa citizen published on October 25, with a title 'High hopes' for Trudeau to act on residential schools report ‘’ in which Liberal spokesman Daniel Lauzon reiterated that pledge last Thursday, saying, “We believe it is time to act, without delay, to renew Canada’s relationship with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples based on rights, respect, and co-operation to ensure we create a fair and prosperous shared future. ” this article developed some hope in the survivors
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.
