Lesson 12 — Activity 2 (A): Further Consequences of Imperialism

Warm Up

You have learned about the changes and challenges to the Indigenous peoples way of life after the arrival of Europeans due to the policy of imperialism.

In this activity (which is on this page and on the one following), you will learn about further changes and challenges that Indigenous peoples faced.

Beliefs

As more and more traders, trappers, and especially settlers arrived in Canada, so did Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries. Missionaries began their work in the 1600s. By the 1800s, first colonial governments, and then the federal government of Canada, worked with the churches to establish day schools and residential schools.

Some Indigenous peoples resisted the Christian missions; while others welcomed them. The missionaries encouraged Indigenous peoples to put aside their beliefs, although some families continued to keep them alive privately. Indigenous beliefs covered every aspect of life, including the nature of human beings and animals, the use of land, and the education of their children.

This painting by Norval Morrisseau highlights these beliefs.

Bears in life cycle - art by morrisseau

creative commons

Bears in Life Cycle– Norval Morrisseau, Artist

Christianity soon came to be practised throughout Canada, and this threatened Indigenous culture greatly.

Residential Schools

As part of a government policy called "The Indian Act", the Canadian government believed it was responsible for educating and caring for Indigenous children. The church and government worked together to teach English and Christianity as part of this program. However, Christianity as a practise threatened Indigenous culture greatly.

Establishing residential schools served to "aggressively assimilate" the children by prohibiting their first language and if caught speaking it, were severely punished.

Throughout the years, many Indigenous children suffered trauma and abuse in these residential schools. The trauma continued as many Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their families to live and be educated in residential schools

Assumption Residential School

creative commons

Some people who attended residential schools remember good teachers and a warm environment. For many others however, the pain of abuse, the absence of their loved ones, and the loss of their culture has long impacted their lives.

What Others Have Said ...

Rita Joe (1932 – 2007)

Rita Joe was a Mi'kmaw poet and songwriter.

She wrote "I Lost My Talk" in 1978.

I lost my talk
The talk you took away.
When I was a little girl
At Shubenacadie School.

You snatched it away:
I speak like you
I think like you
I create like you
The scramble ballad, about my world.

Two ways I talk.
Both ways I say,
Your way is more powerful.

So gently I offer my hand and ask,
Let me find my talk
So I can teach you about me.

In 2008, the Canadian government formed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It was an official independent body that was to provide former students — and anyone who had been affected by the residential school legacy — with an opportunity to share their individual experiences in a safe and culturally appropriate manner.

The purpose of the commission was to create a historical account of the residential schools, help people to heal, and encourage reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.

Click on the Play button to watch a video about the workings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Commission delivered their final report in 2015. Some of the conclusions of the Commission were as follows:

Residential schools are extremely harmful to Indigenous children, families, and Indigenous culture.

The impacts of the residential school system were immediate and have been ongoing since the earliest years of the schools.

Canadians have been denied a full and proper education as to the nature of Indigenous societies and the history of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Click on the Play button below to watch a video on the Commission's final report.

Now go to the next page to continue this activity.