Canada’s Dark History of Residential Schools
Canada is grappling with a history of genocide and reconciliation.
Like many countries around the world, Canada has a mixed history, filled with many successes and failures. One of the failures has been the national tragedy of the residential schools.
From about 1880 to 1996 large numbers of indigenous children living in Canada were forced to attend state funded schools run by the Catholic Church. It’s estimated up to 150,000 children and youth went through these schools. The goal of the program was the assimilation of Canada’s First Nations people into the dominant European culture.
Recently 1,000 unmarked graves were found on the grounds of these former schools. It’s estimated as many as 6,000 people died while in these institutions.
Under Confederation, Canada became a political entity in 1867. It was a time of a growing settler population and European immigration pushing westward. There was constant need for new farming land. In the way were numerous Indigenous tribes. Encroaching on Indigenous lands brought societal disruption and poverty and removed traditional ways of life.
In 1876 the Indian Act was introduced. The Act gave the Canadian government sweeping powers over Indigenous territories throughout the country. This included education.
The federal government provided funding for these boarding schools which were run by several churches denominations. The most prominent was the Catholic Church. The purpose of the residential schools were to take Indigenous kids from their homes and after years of education return them as Christian converts assimilated into European culture. The reality was decades of trauma, sickness, and abuse.
The experience for aboriginals was almost universally negative. For Indigenous youth, going to a residential school was mandatory. Young children were forcibly removed from their parents by authorities. Siblings were separated according to gender.
Hair was cut short and traditional clothing banned. Students were not allowed to speak their native languages. They were given new European sounding names.
Education was basic. Fundamentals in English, French, and math were taught. Half the day was spent studying several academic subjects. There was also a heavy emphasis on religious teaching.
The second half of the day put the students to work in a variety of areas. They included farming, cooking, sewing, and construction. Indigenous labor was increasingly used to offset growing costs to school funding that the government wanted to unload.
Sickness in residential schools was widespread. Children were removed from their traditional tribal diets and fed bland spartan meals. Many were vulnerable and died from tuberculosis, flu symptoms, smallpox, measles, and pneumonia.
Emotional, physical, and sexual abuse was rampant. Kids were often beaten as punishment or put in forced confinement for periods of time. One student, Marcel Guiboche, described one encounter:
“A sister, a nun started talking to me in English and French, and yelling at me. I did not speak English, and didn’t understand what she, what she was asking. She got very upset, and started hitting me all over my body, hands, legs and back. I began to cry, yell, and became very scared, and this infuriated her more. She got a black strap and hit me some more.”
Sexual predators roamed freely. Criminal acts were in the thousands. Few were ever held accountable. Those that were prosecuted faced light sentences or were quietly transferred to other institutions where the same behavior often continued.
In 2015 a Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report detailing the history and effects of residential schools on Indigenous youth. It also set forth recommendations on moving forward from the tragedy. It published 94 “calls to action”, calling on all levels of government to repair the harm done and work toward true reconciliation with Canada’s aboriginal peoples.
The implications for Canada were serious. It left a dark stain on Canada’s history. Several important historical figures were accused of directly contributing to the implementation of the residential school system. This included the first prime minister of Canada, Sir John A. MacDonald.
There is much work still to be done to repair relations with Indigenous peoples in Canada. The process of reconciliation has just begun.
Sources:
Indian Act | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Residential Schools in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Why so many sexual predators at Indian Residential Schools escaped punishment | National Post
