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Effects of residential schools today
Little summary about aboriginal people in canada
Little summary about aboriginal people in canada
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Wesakahpinewin – the Cree word meaning the act of hurting or being hurt, which is a feeling that Aboriginals have faced over the years, and continue to face. Aboriginal people are some of the most important people in Canadian history and they should be provided with the rights they deserve. Unfortunately, the results of the harsh treatments they have received in the past have changed the way Aboriginal people live in the present. The harsh and ill-treatment that Aboriginal people faced at residential schools have lead to various issues that affect their lives now. Those issues include suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, and sexual assault. They have been treated with disrespect throughout their entire lives, and all Canadian citizens must be informed …show more content…
on the issues relating to the people of their land in efforts to ensure change in the future. Aboriginal people had to endure a multitude of trauma during their time in residential schools. “Residential schools were government-sponsored religious schools established to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture.” Aboriginal children had to deal with the loss of their culture, abuse, and horrible living conditions. Young children were taken away from their homes and families and were put into residential school. The schools were segregated by gender so many children were separated from their siblings. The children were forced to forget their own culture. They were prohibited from speaking and writing in their own native language even in letters to their families. Residential schools were created to convert Indigenous children to Christianity. The classes at the schools were taught in English and French which are languages many of the children did not know. If their native language was spoken they would be beaten and sometimes forced to put needles in their mouths. The children were not only abused physically but also sexually. The Aboriginal children were raped and were asked for sexually favours by their teachers. If they did not abide by their teacher's requests they were usually physically abused. The living conditions in residential schools were extremely harsh. There was inadequate heating, nutrition and clothing, and the dormitories where they were forced to live were overcrowded. These harsh living conditions lead to the spread of many diseases such as tuberculosis and smallpox, which resulted in the unfortunate death of many of the children. Unfortunately, in many cases, when children died from these harsh conditions their parents were not informed and left in the dark. The devastating treatment of Aboriginal children in residential schools have lead to bigger problems affecting their present lives, and the futures of their families. The separation Aboriginal people had from their families when they were sent to residential schools have lead to intergenerational trauma.
“Intergenerational trauma is the transmission of historical oppression and its negative consequences across generations” The children who were taken from their families at a young age are now parents of their own children have the parental knowledge to raise their own children. Rosanna Deerchild, a woman whose mother was a victim of residential schools says “growing up, my mother often cried or raged or drank or disappeared into herself. She found it difficult to express affection” . This shows how the distance between parent and child have been effected by Residential schools. The distance between parent and child is not the only issue that was caused due to residential schools but also the increase in sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities. Many of the children who were sexually abused on residential school have now become abusers. In 2015, the American Indian Culture and Research Journal published a review study; “researchers say child sexual abuse is one of the major challenges facing indigenous communities across the continent.” It is proven that Aboriginal Canadians have a greater risk of being sexually assaulted, or of being the victims of child sexual abuse. The closeness of the Aboriginal people living on reserves creates a higher chance for the abuse to go unreported. If someone were to report the issue their whole family would be impacted and the family would be seen differently in their communities. In many communities, it is discouraged to report incidents of sexual abuse because it brings shame to family and community. Furthermore, many of the victims of intergenerational trauma or sexual abuse turn to alcohol or drugs to get rid of their
pain. Alcohol and drug abuse is a prominent issue among Aboriginal people, as Many Aboriginal communities use drugs and alcohol to cope with their memories in Residential schools. Alcohol and drug abuse have become a huge problem in Aboriginal communities, Inuit communities have been impacted by illicit drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and solvents. As more Aboriginal people relocate the prescription drug abuse rate has gone up, and the abuse of prescription drugs in Inuit youth is five times greater than non-aboriginal youth . This is in relation to the discrimination they receive when attending school in urban centres. This is not the only way Aboriginal youth are affected by drugs and alcohol but also because many aboriginal pregnant women consume alcohol and drugs during their pregnancy putting their child at risk. Drinking alcohol whilst pregnant can impair growth, central nervous system function and cause birth defects. Due to the consumption of alcohol while pregnant many of the aboriginal children are born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Many of these children end up dying after birth. Deaths related to alcohol among First Nation people are six times higher compared to the general population. The abuse of alcohol and drugs is not the only problem Aboriginal people are facing, they also have a higher rate of suicide. A report by The Canadian Institute of Health states “suicides among First Nations youth (aged 15 to 24) was about five to six times higher than non-aboriginal youth in Canada.” Over a third of the deaths of youth are due to suicide. Researchers say that suicide among Aboriginal people is considered a different disease from suicide among non-Aboriginal people. ¬¬¬¬Suicide is much more common in Aboriginal people than it is in non-Aboriginal people. This is a huge epidemic in Aboriginal communities and this is an issue that must be quickly addressed. In conclusion, the pain, fear, and harm that the Indigenous communities have faced in the past, have clearly affect their future and if action is not taken their futures are at stake as well. Listed above, is merely just an ounce of the real suffering and pain Indigenous communities have gone through, and it is up to us as Canadians to educate ourselves about our history to prevent such happenings in the future.
Her book focuses on the myriads of issues and struggles that Indigenous men and women have faced and will continue to face because of colonialism. During her speech, Palmater addressed the grave effects of the cultural assimilation that permeated in Indigenous communities, particularly the Indian Residential School System and the Indian Act, which has been extensively discussed in both lectures and readings. Such policies were created by European settlers to institutionalize colonialism and maintain the social and cultural hierarchy that established Aboriginals as the inferior group. Palmater also discussed that according to news reports, an Aboriginal baby from Manitoba is taken away every single day by the government and is put in social care (CTVNews.ca Staff, 2015). This echoes Andrea Smith’s argument in “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy: Rethinking Women of Color Organizing” that colonialism continues to affect Aboriginals through genocide (2006, p. 68). Although such actions by the government are not physical acts of genocide, where 90% of Aboriginal population was annihilated, it is this modern day cultural assimilation that succeeded the Indigenous Residential School System and the Indian Act embodies colonialism and genocide (Larkin, November 4,
Some of the residential school students were so scarred from the way they were treated in the schools, that they even started putting the same abuse that they had received in the schools, onto their own children. The abuse has left the students with mental trauma and many of the students were unable to erase the memories of abuse from their minds. Many the survivors of the Canadian Residential Schools have been inflicting their children and spouses with physical abuse similar to the abuse that they had received previously in the Residential Schools. In an article talking about the victimization of aboriginals they stated, “Males who had experienced abuse as children were found to be at a significantly high risk to repeat the cycle of violence with future spouses” (Scrim as cited in McGillivray and Comaskey 1996). This sad cycle shows that even though the last Residential School closed in the late 1990’s, the experiences that students had during their time is still negatively affecting their lives today. Many of the former students of the Canadian Residential Schools have turned to substance abuse in hopes to try and cope with their struggling mental health. It is shocking to see that a school this harsh could have such long lasting impacts on its students. In an article related to helping people understand the trauma
Parental influences from each generation leads to chain reactions affecting the behaviour of future children. The instructor of the Warrior Program states that “they (the children separated from their families by residential schools) didn’t learn to be parents and instead just passed on their hurt to their children” (LaBoucane-Benson, 2015, p. 49). As told from Uncle Ray Carver, Bernice Carver was taken by the government as a child to stay of in a residential school. She did not remember her family, as seen in Peter’s small and incomplete family map. Charoenwongsak et al. (2017) conducted a lab observing the relation between parenting styles and drug abuse in Thai adolescents. This study concluded that neglectful parents (or the absence of parents) put Thai adolescents in a risk for substance use. The lack of attention and warmth from parents creates dependency needs, leading children to rely on substances to fulfill dependency. Therefore, it can be inferred that Benice Carver depended on drugs caused from the separation from her family, which lead to poor parenting skills resulting in Peter’s drug association. The current Canadian education system needs to put an end to the chain reaction of disturbed parenting styles within the Aboriginal community caused by the residential schools. Research of personal family members, teaching correct parenting styles and training
This again shows the traumatic effects of residential schools and of cultural, psychological, and emotional upheaval caused by the intolerance and mistreatment of Aboriginals in Canada. Settlers not only displaced Aboriginal people from their land and their homes, but they also experienced emotional trauma and cultural displacement.
Canadians are just recently beginning to realize the detrimental aftermath of the years of trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples of Canada, such as the survivors of the residential school system. It is often difficult for these people to overcome the impact that follows. Undoubtedly, it requires help and support from others, but these people must make their personal healing journey themselves. The passages “Rock Bottom” by Steven Keewatin Sanderson and the “Legend of the Sugar Girl” by Joseph Boyden prove that although trauma can significantly undermine groups of people, they can overcome their difficulties. Both authors illustrate how trauma negatively affects characters, causes them to fall victim
Across North America, the scattering of Aboriginal children contributed to damaged identifications with traditional First Nations culture (Alston-O’Connor 2010). Consequently, the Sixties Scoop caused irreversible psychological, emotional and spiritual damage to not only the individual, but to the families and the community too. In the 1950s and 1960s, the government began abolishing the compulsory residential school education among Aboriginal people. The government believed that Aboriginal children could receive a better education if they were integrated into the public school system (Hanson). However, residential schools were later deemed inappropriate because not only were the children taken away from their culture, their families and their people, but the majority of students were abused and neglected....
During the 19th century the Canadian government established residential schools under the claim that Aboriginal culture is hindering them from becoming functional members of society. It was stated that the children will have a better chance of success once they have been Christianised and assimilated into the mainstream Canadian culture. (CBC, 2014) In the film Education as We See It, some Aboriginals were interviewed about their own experiences in residential schools. When examining the general topic of the film, conflict theory is the best paradigm that will assist in understanding the social implications of residential schools. The film can also be illustrated by many sociological concepts such as agents of socialization, class inequality, and language as a cultural realm.
For decades First Nations people1 faced abuse in Canada's residential school system. Native children had their culture and families torn away from them in the name of solving the perceived “Indian Problem” in Canada. These children faced emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of residential school supervisors and teachers. Since the fazing out of residential schools in the 1960's the survivors of residential schools and their communities have faced ongoing issues of substance addiction, suicide, and sexual abuse.2 These problems are brought on by the abuse that survivors faced in residential schools. The government of Canada has established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to address these issues but it has been largely ineffective. Though the Government of Canada has made adequate efforts towards monetary reparations for the survivors of residential schools, it has failed to provide a means to remedy the ongoing problems of alcohol and drug addiction, sexual abuse, and suicide in the communities of residential school survivors.3
“To kill the Indian in the child,” was the prime objective of residential schools (“About the Commission”). With the establishment of residential schools in the 1880s, attending these educational facilities used to be an option (Miller, “Residential Schools”). However, it was not until the government’s time consuming attempts of annihilating the Aboriginal Canadians that, in 1920, residential schools became the new solution to the “Indian problem.” (PMC) From 1920 to 1996, around one hundred fifty thousand Aboriginal Canadians were forcibly removed from their homes to attend residential schools (CBC News). Aboriginal children were isolated from their parents and their communities to rid them of any cultural influence (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Parents who refrained from sending their children to these educational facilities faced the consequence of being arrested (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Upon the Aboriginal children’s arrival into the residential schools, they were stripped of their culture in the government’s attempt to assimilate these children into the predominately white religion, Christianity, and to transition them into the moderating society (Miller, “Residential Schools”). With the closing of residential schools in 1996, these educational facilities left Aboriginal Canadians with lasting negative intergenerational impacts (Miller, “Residential Schools”). The Aboriginals lost their identity, are affected economically, and suffer socially from their experiences.
The Indian Residential schools and the assimilating of First Nations people are more than a dark spot in Canada’s history. It was a time of racist leaders, bigoted white men who saw no point in working towards a lasting relationship with ingenious people. Recognition of these past mistakes, denunciation, and prevention steps must be taking intensively. They must be held to the same standard that we hold our current government to today. Without that standard, there is no moving forward. There is no bright future for Canada if we allow these injustices to be swept aside, leaving room for similar mistakes to be made again. We must apply our standards whatever century it was, is, or will be to rebuild trust between peoples, to never allow the abuse to be repeated, and to become the great nation we dream ourselves to be,
Despite the decreasing inequalities between men and women in both private and public spheres, aboriginal women continue to be oppressed and discriminated against in both. Aboriginal people in Canada are the indigenous group of people that were residing in Canada prior to the European colonization. The term First Nations, Indian and indigenous are used interchangeably when referring to aboriginal people. Prior to the colonization, aboriginal communities used to be matrilineal and the power between men and women were equally balanced. When the European came in contact with the aboriginal, there came a shift in gender role and power control leading towards discrimination against the women. As a consequence of the colonization, the aboriginal women are a dominant group that are constantly subordinated and ignored by the government system of Canada. Thus today, aboriginal women experiences double jeopardy as they belong to more than one disadvantaged group i.e. being women and belonging to aboriginal group. In contemporary world, there are not much of a difference between Aboriginal people and the other minority groups as they face the similar challenges such as gender discrimination, victimization, and experiences injustice towards them. Although aboriginal people are not considered as visible minorities, this population continues to struggle for their existence like any other visible minorities group. Although both aboriginal men and women are being discriminated in our society, the women tends to experience more discrimination in public and private sphere and are constantly the targeted for violence, abuse and are victimized. In addition, many of the problems and violence faced by aborigin...
Terminology, particularly as it relates to Indigenous peoples, can be tricky to navigate. A term that might be acceptable to some might be offensive to others. Because of this, many people do not feel confident using certain terms when referring to Aboriginal peoples. Fear of using the "wrong" word should never stifle important dialogue and discussions that need to be had. By taking a moment to consider the history of certain terms, it is very possible to learn and be comfortable with which words to use in which contexts.” (2) There are terms that have been used throughout history that today would not be deemed acceptable in society and that is why there needs to be a standard set across the board so that no one race of people will feel like they are being reminded every day and being discriminated against by these derogatory
The over-representation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian Child Welfare system is a growing and multifaceted issue rooted in a pervasive history of racism and colonization in Canada. Residential schools were established with the intent to force assimilation of Aboriginal people in Canada into European-Canadian society (Reimer, 2010, p. 22). Many Aboriginal children’s lives have been changed adversely by the development of residential schools, even for those who did not attend them. It is estimated that Aboriginal children “are 6-8 times more likely to be placed in foster care than non-Aboriginal children (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, 2010, p. 2).” Reports have also indicated that First Nations registered Indian children make up the largest proportion of Aboriginal children entering child welfare care across Canada (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, p. 2). Consequently, this has negatively impacted Aboriginal communities experience of and relationship with child welfare services across the country. It is visible that the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system in Canada lies in the impact of the Canadian policy for Indian residential schools, which will be described throughout this paper.
The end result, rather horrifying as these children were dumped back to their tribes, when they became too old, without a clue of how to survive. Furthermore, children whom returned were discouraged from completing further education due to the fact that they were barely educated in these schools. Most children returned home without semblance of how to raise their own children or show affection. The generational difference also further segregated these children from their parents because most of them failed to understand the culture that they were pruned to deny from childhood. According to the Manitoba Justice institute, the creation of Residential Schools was what created the high rise of abuse and violence among Aboriginal families because the time spent in these facilities isolated the children from nurturing families and taught them abuse. The trauma felt by the children of Residential schools would transcend their behavior to the next generation leading to a vicious
Justice has began to commence for many of Canada’s Indigenous people now that considerably one of our Nation’s darkest secrets has been spilled. The Residential School system was a collection of 132 church-run, government-funded boarding schools that was legally required for all Indigenous Canadian children. Canadian Residential Schools ran up until 1996 and, for decades, the secrets from within the walls of the institutions have been hidden. But now, the truth has finally come to light.