RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLSCruel Lessons

1955 NEWSCAST Residential Schoo

l Propaganda For 10 months a

year, First Nations children — some taken from their homes — start each day with a religious service before heading to classes.

TESTIMONIAL

"At the mission, the truck backed-up and off we went. Right away, boys were separated from girls. We were lined up, sat on chairs, and had our long, beautiful braided hair chopped off. We were thrown into the shower, then had DDT sprinkled all over. It stunk. They gave me a number 79. My name was gone. I was only a number now. We all had the same little bundle of clothing, pinafores, back clothes, socks. You couldn't tell one kid from the other; they transformed individuals into a group. I don't understand how my Shuswap language was turned into English in just one day."

(Elder, Agnes Snow, 1999)

PURPOSE

Canadian government wanted to “assimilate” Aboriginals into European-Canadian society.

Assimilation means to absorb a minority group into a majority group by having the minority group accept the culture and characteristics of the majority culture.

This may be done peacefully or forcibly.

TIMELINE

1857 - Gradual Civilization Act passed to assimilate Aboriginals. 1870-1910 - Period of assimilation: objective was to assimilate

Aboriginal children into the lower fringes of mainstream society 1920 - Compulsory attendance for all children ages 5-16 years.

Children were forcibly taken from their families 1980’s - Residential School students began disclosing sexual and

other forms of abuse at residential schools. 1996 - The last federally run residential school, closes in

Saskatchewan. 1998 - The AFN establishes the Indian Residential Schools

Resolution Unit. 2008 – Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologizes to

students of the Residential School System. $20,000 is paid to each student who went to the schools.

Over 150 000 students attended Canada’s residential schools from the 1870s into the 1970s

Over 6000 students died The goal was to “kill the Indian in the child.” Curriculum was designed to assimilate Aboriginal

children into mainstream culture and turn them into labourers

Children were often forcibly removed from their families

families were threatened with prison if they failed to send their children willingly

Students were required to live on school premises

Most had no contact with their families for up to 10 months; sometimes had no contact for years

Prohibited from speaking Aboriginal languages so English or French would be learned and their own languages forgotten.

Were hit for speaking their own languages or for practicing their own religions

QUOTES

According to Saturday Night magazine, reporting on residential schools, Nov. 23, 1907: "Indian boys and girls are dying like flies.... Even war seldom shows as large a percentage of fatalities as does the education system we have imposed on our Indian wards." 

Duncan Campbell Scott, then deputy superintendent-general of Indian Affairs, wrote in 1913: "It is quite within the mark to say that fifty per cent of the children who passed through these schools did not live to benefit from the education, which they had received therein."

IMPACTS Loss of cultural identity, language, traditions and

spiritual growth development which caused a deep sense of loss and confusion.

Inadequate communication skills and poor expression of feelings. Residential School Survivors were not allowed to speak for themselves.

Inability to trust others. Poor decision-making and behavioral difficulties.

EFFECTS OF ABUSE ON SURVIVORS Sample of 127 British Columbia survivors: Ninety percent experienced sexual abuse

at residential school 3/4 of the respondents reported that they

had abused alcohol Half of the subjects reported that they

had a criminal record Thirty one percent reported that they had

assaulted police officers

EFFECTS OF ABUSE Only two of the participants did not suffer from at least

one diagnosable mental disorder. The most common mental disorders were:

PTSD (64.2%) Substance Abuse Disorder (26.3%) Major Depression (21.1%) Dysthymic Disorder (Chronic depression) (20.0%) Anxiety Disorder (7.4%) Borderline Personality Disorder (7.4%)