Culture and Diversity "Residential Schools : A lost heritage"

Posted on Nov. 22, 2010 

Posted by : Jorge S. 

Why were residential schools developed ?

   The Canadian government developed in 1867 a policy called "aggressive assimilation" to be taught at church-run, government-funded industrial schools, which is now  called residential schools. The Canadian government was responsible for educating and caring for the country's aboriginal people. It thought their  chance for success was to learn English and adopt Christianity and Canadian customs. and they would pass their adopted lifestyle on to their children, and native traditions would be completely abolished in a few generations. The Canadian government developed a policy called "aggressive assimilation" to be taught at church-run, government-funded industrial schools, which is now  called residential schools. The government felt children were easier to mould than adults, and the concept of a boarding school was the best way to prepare them for life in  society. Residential schools were federally run, under the Department of Indian Affairs. Attendance was mandatory. Agents were employed by the government to ensure all native children attended.
    1948 - There were 72 residential schools with 9,368 student
    1980 - Students began disclosing sexual and other forms of abuse
    1996 - The last residential school, the Gordon Residential , closes in Saskatchewan  
In Manitoba you can find these schools in the following locations :

Assiniboia (Winnipeg)	Winnipeg
Birtle	Birtle
Brandon	Brandon
Churchill Vocational Centre	Churchill
Cross Lake (St. Joseph's, Jack River Annex – predecessor to Notre Dame Hostel)	Cross Lake
Dauphin (McKay)	The Pas/Dauphin
Elkhorn (Washakada)	Elkhorn
Fort Alexander (Pine Falls)	Fort Alexander
Guy (Guy Hill, Clearwater, The Pas, formerly Sturgeon Landing, SK)	The Pas
McKay (The Pas, replaced by Dauphin)	The Pas
Norway House United Church	Norway House
Notre Dame Hostel (Norway House Roman Catholic, Jack River Hostel, replaced Jack River Annex at Cross Lake)	Norway House
Pine Creek (Camperville)	Camperville
Portage la Prairie	Portage la Prairie
Sandy Bay	Marius

Posted by : Eduardo C.

What was the culture like in these schools and how were aboriginal children placed or chosen to attend these schools?

    The late 1950s, native residential schools operated on a half-day system, in which students spent half the day in the classroom and the other at work. The theory behind this was that students would learn skills that would allow them to earn a living as adults, but the reality was that work had more to do with running the school inexpensively than with providing students with vocational training. Funding was a dominant factor in the residential school system.

    From the 1890s until the 1950s, the government tried constantly to shift the burden of the schools onto the churches, whose members made donations, and onto the students, whose labour was a financial contribution. Only with the affluence of the later 1950s was funding increased, and the half-day system eliminated.

    School days began early  with a bell that call students to dress and attend chapel. Breakfast,   consumed hurriedly  and followed by 3 hours of classes or a period of work. The late afternoon might see a short play period before supper. Evening recreation was limited, and bedtime was early. Weekends  by eliminating classes, but Sunday usually more time spent on religious observances.

    The 1950s, holidays for many of the students included periods of work and play at the school. Only in latter years did the schools routinely send children home for holidays.Although some students left with happy memories and would look back with a mixture of pleasure and pain, the experiences of residential school students were more negative than positive. The food was low in quantity and poor in quality; preparation did nothing to enhance its limited appeal. Clothing was universally detested: ill-fitting, shabby and, in the case of winter clothing, not adequate protection for the season. The pedagogical program, both academic and vocational, was deficient. Students had to cope with teachers who were usually ill-prepared and curricula and materials derived from and reflected an alien culture. In the workplace, the overseers were often harsh and the supposed training purpose of the work was limited or absent. In contrast, missionary staff lavished time and attention on religious observances, often  denigrating aboriginal spiritual traditions.

Posted by : Elvie C.

How did these schools impact aboriginal people with their parenting?
    The testimonies of hundreds of former students, whose list of abuses suffered includes

kidnapping, sexual abuse, beatings, needles pushed through tongues as punishment for speaking Aboriginal languages, forced wearing of soiled underwear on the head or wet bedsheets on the body, faces rubbed in human excrement, forced eating of rotten and/or maggot infested food, being stripped naked and ridiculed in front of other students, forced to stand upright for several hours – on two feet and sometimes one – until collapsing, immersion in ice water, hair ripped from heads, use of students in eugenics and medical experiments, bondage and confinement in closets without food or water, application of electric shocks, forced to sleep outside – or to walk barefoot – in winter, forced labour, and on and on. Former students concluded in a 1965 Government consultation that the experiences of the residential school were “really detrimental to the development of the human being.”     This system of forced assimilation has had consequences which are with Aboriginal people today. Many of those who went through the schools were denied an opportunity to develop parenting skills. They struggled with the destruction of their identities as Aboriginal people, and with the destruction of their cultures and languages. Generations of Aboriginal people today recall memories of trauma, neglect, shame, and poverty. Thousands of former students have come forward to reveal that physical, emotional and sexual abuse were rampant in the system and that little was done to stop it, to punish the abusers, or to improve conditions. The residential school system is not alone responsible for the current conditions of Aboriginal lives, but it did play a role. The Indian residential school, the systemic policy known as “aggressive civilization” has continued in other forms.
    Many of the abuses of the residential school system were,  exercised in deliberate promotion of a “final solution of the Indian Problem,” in the words of Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Duncan Campbell Scott. If development of the healthy Aboriginal human being meant respect of Aboriginal cultures, then indeed the regimented culture of the schools was designed  to be harmful.  the residential school “is where the alienation began” – alienation of Aboriginal children from family, community, and from themselves. Or to put the matter another way, the purpose of the schools was, like all forced assimilationist schemes, to kill the Indian in the Indian – an effort many survivors today describe as cultural genocide.

Posted by : Juliet

" I brought them up in a pretty horrible way-did'nt know how to parent, did'nt know how to show love".. peguis First Nation Elder Josie Bear . What is the significant of that statement ?
Elder Josie Bear (EJB) got her childhood taken away while growing up in residential school. EJB thought her parents were not their for her childhood teenage life and did not care about her. EJB though her parents allowed the residential school people to parent her. The people in residential school's did not show love or comfort or a safe environment , EJB brought up in a pretty horrible way and  experienced a horrible lifestyle while growing up in residential school. The memories stayed with her even still when she had children of her own, EJB maybe did not have any counselling than then  led to alcoholism the led to bad parenting skills. EJB was probably treating and discipline her children with the same attitude she was facing in residential school. Elder Josie Bear had no support , Today there is a lot of support to let her know it was not her fault and her children should respect her, show her love , forgiveness and be a family together.