Theodore Fontaine's Experience In The Fort Alexandria Residential School

Introduction: In Theodore Fontaine’s work about his experience in the Fort Alexandria Indian Residential School, he narrates his perspective on the various methods, ideologies, and religious beliefs adopted by the school. His narrative describes the structure and purpose of the residential schools, it also helps point out the how this structures influence or affect the lives of students. The book helps to identify how the method adopted by the school was that of a total institution like that of the military. The method of a total institution striped away the individuality and culture of the students. Also the narrative explains what kind of physical and sexual abuse the students suffered at the hand of their care givers. Finally it shows the

The blame transference is caused by the abandonment felt by the children when they are dropped off in the school and the constant reinforcement of these feelings done by the protests and nuns. In his narration, after he gets dropped of at school and left feeling lonely Fontaine states: “ Thus were born abandonment issues i would struggle with for years henceforth.”(Chapter 2). By making the parents drop the children of at the school, a feeling of betrayal against their family starts to foster in the children and the blame and guilt of suffering in the school is shifted from the ones causing the pain and trauma to the parents and family.The guilt and blame transferred would strain the relationships of the sagkeeng as a group because it destroys their interpersonal relationship and fosters the feeling of distrust in the community, Fontaine shows this when he is talking about his relationship with Alfred Mann, he says: “ As i got older, and misguided from being at residential school for some time, my visits during summer holidays became less frequent.”(chapter 6). This shows that Fontaine had a loving relationship with Alfred Mann but as he got older and stayed longer in the residential school, his relationship deteriorated. Th school constantly reinforced the thought that the other members of the community are savage or

When explaining how the concept of genocide applies in a physical perspective, Raphael Lemkin writes “endangering health” (pg.61) as one of the methods of committing genocide. Fontaine explains how the students were all forced to go outside and play even when it was cold. The sick would be sent out with the rest of the students and they would have to hurdle up to keep warm. He also narrates various instances of physical abuse for example when he was hit by brother B across the face. These examples show that the school had adverse conditions that affected the physical health and life of the children. Article 2 of the UNGC Act also describes genocide as an intent to destroy a group by “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.”(pg.63). Bodily and mental harm was imposed on the children through physical and sexual abuse by the care givers in the school. These harms affect them throughout their lives and it leads to reduction and degradation of sled worth and self