Sexual Abuse In Residential Schools

Resentment that Indigenous people have for our society because of the abuse they suffered through in Residential Schools is a very pressing issue. A huge part of PTSD comes from the sexual and physical abuse that they suffered through as children in Residential Schools. Sexual abuse rates were as high as seventy-five percent in some schools and physical harm rates were even higher . PTSD is a very pressing problem in terms of how Indigenous people interact in the world. When someone has a mental health problem, they are not in the right state of mind – someone suffering from PTSD symptoms, will more likely than not make the right decision . This in return ends with them breaking the law and being incarcerated.
Even in Residential Schools,

where the children were supposed to be educated, most times they were out doing chores or suffering punishments. That being said, a few Residential Schools did educate the children. However, over forty percent of the teaching staff did not have proper education and therefore, where not teaching the children what they were supposed to learn . By having this be a huge part of their life for many, many years, Indigenous people did not have the chance to learn what they could have learnt if not in Residential Schools. There is a feeling of anger towards the Eurocentric culture leading more and more Indigenous people into incarceration. Lack of education leads to low income levels for Indigenous people and therefore disadvantaged communities. In community housing and low-income levels, statistics show that people are more likely to engage in criminal activities . Indigenous people are being sentenced to higher incarceration rates because of the lack of education that they receive.
Residential Schools have played such a big role in the Indigenous way of life. The assimilation, integration and lack of education into a dominant culture have affected Indigenous people in the long term. Not only in the time of Residential Schools, but intergenerational traumas affect the way of Indigenous lives and the high rates of incarceration .
The biggest and most influential problems in the world are Indigenous people and the ignorance that surrounds the rest of the society when addressing them. The reoccurring issues in the paper of alcoholism, Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Residential Schools all effect the incarceration rates. The past experiences that they have had create many issues surrounding them individually and in communities. Indigenous peoples are considered to be one of the most peaceful people in history – living off the land, respecting all aspects of living things and their minimalistic way of life. However, their incarceration rates in Canada are extremely high for a few reasons. Little awareness and understanding of a culture makes society place stereotypes on things and people that they are uncomfortable with. Secondly, the Canadian government, does not want to deal with the burden of Indigenous peoples and their separate system of laws, pressing issues like all the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and the less than second class treatment they get when interacting with the rest of Canadian society. Instead of the government address and solving these problems, they push Indigenous people aside and put them in a closed jail system where they are forgotten about. Lastly, many past issues such as the Residential Schools Act and the many years of assimilation that Indigenous people suffered through puts them at greater risk for PTSD and other developmental issues. This in return, lands them in jail systems instead of allowing for free resources for the public and places for Indigenous people to deal with their PTSD and past experiences.