More handpicked essays just for you.
How do residential schools affect indigenous people now
Thesis on residential schools
Thesis on residential schools
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Indian Residential Schools is a horrible event that happened from the 1840s until the 1990s. From these past mistakes in judgement, the education system has added curriculum to bring more knowledge to the event. By doing this we read “Indian Horse” by Richard Wagamese which is a fictional novel based on true events. It is about an Ojibway boy who experienced the hardships before, during, and after the Indian Residential School. The importance of learning the past is to ensure that this can be prevented in the future, to recognize what happened, and to help those affected by Indian Residential Schools.
I was told to embrace my culture and traditions and share them with my peers. However, this was not the case for Indigenous children who went through the residential school system. The Indigenous children were told that their “languages, their cultures weren’t relevant, [and] they were told that their people and their ancestors were heathens and pagans and uncivilized” (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation [NCTR], 2019, 0:46). The
On July 11, 2008, Stephen Harper officially apologizes for the residential school which is called reconciliation. People did feel heard but it was not enough. The movie “Rabbit Proof Fence” made in 2002, it showed that the half castes’ children were taken from their parent and got sent to residential school. Someone in the upper government has controlled power over who will be sent to school, and who will be sent to another place. But it was all done to make the American’s population more spread out.
However, what is presented is even more dark and appalling. This book differs from typical non-fiction works on residential schools in its unflinching revelation of the ugly truths. Benjamin does something remarkable by shifting the focus from the victims to the perpetrators. While most people are familiar with the survivor stories of Indigenous children, with emphasis on the abuse they endured and loss of their cultural identity; few works delve into the actions of the oppressors. Benjamin's approach is not intended to diminish the survivor's experiences, but rather to shine a light on the abuse of power by the priests, nuns, and government, which has gone unchecked for too long.
Ebrahim Radwan NBE3U Ms. Abunassar March 29, 2023 Stripping Identities: Trauma in "Indian Horse" Imagine a world where the innocent and vulnerable children are subjected to abuse, mistreatment, and even death, all because of who they are. This is the heartbreaking reality of Canadian Residential Schools. From 1831 to 1996, Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their homes and communities, and placed in these government-run schools, where they were stripped of their culture, language, and identity. The destruction these schools caused to Indigenous peoples is immeasurable. These schools are the cause of 6000 deaths out of 150000 victims, all of which are vulnerable children.
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
Indigenous people across Canada have been suppressed by the government, system, and settlers still to this day. The residential school system was a system of boarding schools that were established by the Canadian government and administered by various churches to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture. Many of these children suffered physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from school staff. Even though residential schools have been abolished they can still affect indigenous people today. The book “Indian Horse” clearly represents the intergenerational trauma of Indigenous communities in Canada.
In the story, a character named Stazz talks about his experience being taken to a residential school, “One spring morning with the arrival of a bus that was soon filled with sobbing bodies of children'' (Wagamese 322). He along with many other children were taken in broad daylight and forced into residential schools. This was a common method of stealing Indigenous children from their families, where they were then taken miles away from home and forced to attend one of these schools. These schools were designed as a tool to alienate Indigenous children, leaving them traumatized due to the horrific situations they experienced. Children were beaten and locked away from others for things such as speaking their language and practicing their own religious traditions such as prayers.
The establishment of residential schools marks a dark chapter in Canadian history. The residential school system was a nationwide network of boarding schools with the purpose of destroying the Indigenous identity and assimilating children into the dominant European-Canadian culture. The schools were known for their harsh environments, abuse, and mistreatment, which led to generational trauma and long-lasting effects. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, narrates the life story of Saul Indian Horse, a young Ojibwe boy whose identity is stripped away and who is taken from his family to attend one of these schools. The book examines Saul’s journey, from his traumatic school experiences to his love for hockey.
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
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…
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.
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.
Those kids got the message that no matter what they learned at home in their tribal cultures, it was wrong. The worst part was, some of the people teaching and working at those schools abused them”(Pearson et al. 11). The adage is a adage. It was clear that the goal of these Native American Boarding Schools was to assimilate young generations of indigenous people and erase their cultures from American society. To add, the “educators” themselves were complicit in even violating the law.
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.
