Residential Schools: Canada's Hidden Tragedy

1018 Words3 Pages

Residential Schools
Residential schools were created to teach the First Nation’s Children about European and Christian beliefs so that they could find a useful place in Canadian society. In over 100 years that the schools ran, approximately 150,000 students were enrolled from the age of 5 till they were teenagers. Most of the children were taken away from their parents between the ages of 5-6. The main reason for these institutions was to put a huge amount of stress over the fact that the Indian children did not know anything according to the Europeans. So that they could live and lead good lives in the new country called Canada. These assumptions and mistreatments with the First Nation children caused them to lose their native tongue, develop disorders and then self-medicate themselves for those conditions.
Unable to speak …show more content…

The residential schools banned all native dialects so that the only language and culture continued would be English and Christianity. This sudden change from one language to another was a difficult part of most kids first experiences at residential schools. Especially for the little ones as they were the most confused and lost. As a result of these harsh rules, the government and churches implied at these institutions, when the children finally went back to their homes after finishing at the schools they had a hard time communicating with their families and had to try to relearn their native language. Which was hard, because when people get older it becomes more difficult to learn new things like languages. This loss of language also led to the loss of culture because the first native culture was hugely linked to

Show More
Related

  • Canada´s Immigration in 1920s and Anti-Semitism

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    Canada did accept Jewish refugees, but before the war and they only took in 4000 Jews. Canadians were very hostile towards Jews. Anti-Semitism existed in Canada back in the 1920s-30s. There were no Jewish lawyers, teachers and professors. Many Jews hid their identities in order to get a job. Signs saying no Jews allowed were hung outside of resorts and clubs. In 1930s Canada’s immigration policy was very restrictive, only British and American immigrants were preferred. So it didn’t allow Jews to enter Canada that wanted to flee Europe. 937 Jewish passengers on the M.S. St. Louis were refused to enter Canada. Because of Canada’s wartime policies nearly 2,300 men were interned as enemy aliens in camps across Canada in between 1940-1943.Canadians did think that Jews needed help, but they thought that they should be sent to Asia or Africa. Canada thought Jews would not make good settlers. Mackenzie King also had negative views on Jews, and he also believed in Jewish stereotypes.

    Read More

  • Residential Schools In Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    Residential schools were institutions funded by the government for young indigenous peoples. The idea was to kill the Indian in the children, and to create Westernized youth. Many children revolted the idea, while others accepted it. Crucial development occurs in a child's mind between the ages of five and eight. In the novel Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, a story is told of three Cree people who have experienced Residential Schools and who have been forever changed because of it. Xavier, Elijah and Niska are ripped from the comfort of their naturalistic and self sufficient communities and thrown into materialistic environments where they are shamed and defaced. Each of these characters experienced the Residential schools in extremely different

    Read More

  • The Impacts of the Sixties Scoop on First Nations People

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 abus...

    Read More

  • Myth Of Progress: Discrimination In Canada

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    Canadians view themselves as morally correct, yet the Indigenous peoples are oppressed and discriminated by Canadians. The Aboriginal peoples culture would last longer without Canada since Canada wants to control first, but not by understanding the culture and heritage. Aboriginal peoples express how they felt about the Canadian “Myth of Progress”. Some other works take a more satirical look like “Tidings of Comfort and Joy” but the points still stand. One of the points is Canadians are discriminating the Indigenous peoples to be lazy and corrupt.

    Read More

  • Residential Schools in Canada

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    Living in Canada, there is a long past with the Indigenous people. The relationship between the white and First Nations community is one that is damaged because of our shameful actions in the 1800’s. Unnecessary measures were taken when the Canadian government planned to assimilate the Aboriginal people. Through the Indian Act and Residential schools the government attempted to take away their culture and “kill the Indian in the child.” The Indian Act allowed the government to take control over the people, the residential schools took away their culture and tore apart their families, and now we are left with not only a broken relationship between the First Nations people but they are trying to put back together their lives while still living with a harsh reality of their past.

    Read More

  • The Sociological Effects of Residential Schools

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Residential School Abuse in Canada

    2828 Words  | 6 Pages

    Residential schools were first established in the 1880's to solve Canada's “Indian Problem”. Settlers in Canada thought of the First Nations people as savages, and the goal of the residential schools was to civilize them and integrate them in to white Canadian society. The first operators of residential schools thought of their forced integration as a benefit to native peoples. One of the overseers of residential schools wrote to the Sisters in charge of St. Joseph's Mission at Williams Lake that “It now remains for ...

    Read More

  • How The Aboriginal Assimilation

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Richard Henry Pratt And The Residential School System

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Canadian and American governments designed a residential school system to assimilate Indigenous children into Western society by stripping them of their language, cultural practices as well as their traditions. By breaking these children’s ties to their families and communities, as well as forcing them to assimilate into Western society; residential schools were a root cause of many social problems, which even persist within Aboriginal communities today.

    Read More

  • Assimilation In Canada

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Discrimination against Aboriginal Women in Canada

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Aboriginal

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Residential Schools In Canada

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    The creation of the Residential Schools is now looked upon to be a regretful part of Canada’s past. The objective: to assimilate and to isolate First Nations and Aboriginal children so that they could be educated and integrated into Canadian society. However, under the image of morality, present day society views this assimilation as a deliberate form of cultural genocide. From the first school built in 1830 to the last one closed in 1996, Residential Schools were mandatory for First Nations or Aboriginal children and it was illegal for such children to attend any other educational institution. If there was any disobedience on the part of the parents, there would be monetary fines or in the worst case scenario, trouble with Indian Affairs.

    Read More

  • We Were Children Film Analysis

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    The government’s goal of the Residential School System was to remove and isolate the children from their families and their culture in order to assimilate the Indigenous race to the dominant new Canadian culture. What the citizens did not know about was the

    Read More

  • Memoir Of A Residential School Survivor Essay

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    The true north strong and free, is a saying commonly used by Canadians to describe their country, a nation that is depicted by many to be one that practices equality and free speech. However, what most people do not know is Canada’s racist and dark history, especially in regards to their treatment of the original inhabitants of this land with its infamous residential schooling, whose lasting effects continue to haunt generations after generations of Indigenous people. The goal of the residential schools was to kill the “Indian out of the child”, a concept that was far from effective while being psychologically damaging in nature. Children who attended these schools were forcefully assimilated into Western culture, and were often physically, sexually and verbally abused, leaving multiple generations of Indigenous people traumatized with the aftermaths of this horrific part in Canadian history. The loss of childhood resulted in

    Read More

More about Residential Schools: Canada's Hidden Tragedy

Open Document