Residential Schools

The first residential schools in Canada were established in Quebec in the 1600s to turn native children into Christians. In the 1800s, Protestant missionaries set up schools in Ontario. Besides teaching the native children to speak English, they also tried to teach them about agriculture. At this point, the government could see that the programs offered by the churches would encourage assimilation of the Indian people into the white culture. The government believed that the way ahead for Aboriginal children was to learn the ways of the white man. They believed that Aboriginal culture was inferior and not sustainable.

Under the Indian Act, the education of First Nations and Inuit people was a responsibility of the federal government, which established schools across the country. Most of these schools were operated by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. Native children as young as four were taken from their homes, sometimes by force, and sent to live at these schools, where they were forced to learn English and forbidden from speaking their own language, even with each other.

Students were punished, sometimes with unreasonable force, for speaking their own languages or practicing their own religion. The early schools were overcrowded and unhealthy, and many children died from diseases, such as tuberculosis. Nearly half of the students who attended these schools in the 1800s and early 1900s died. Because the schools were often underfunded, they relied on forced labor of the students to maintain their facilities.

The last residential school closed in 1996. The federal government has since apologized for the trauma the students experienced. Because morals have changed with the times, the policies of the residential schools are now often considered racist. Similar policies were in effect in the United States and in Australia, where that segment of the Aboriginal population is called the "stolen generation".

Compensation

In 2005, the Canadian government announced a $1.9 billion compensation package to benefit tens of thousands of survivors of abuse at native residential schools. Then Justice Minister Irwin Cotler called the decision to house young Canadians in church-run native residential schools "the single most harmful, disgraceful, and racist act in our history".

The process of assimilation has caused many problems for First Nations families. Children and parents were separated for long periods of time. Sometimes parents were forbidden to see their children for years. Children were not taught the ways of their ancestors. They often became ashamed of their language, culture, and families. Parenting skills were lost, and families were deprived of normal family life. The quality of education offered in these schools was inferior to that offered in other schools. In some schools, children suffered physical, emotional, and even sexual abuse.

These actions damaged the feelings of self-worth and identity essential for every child, and led to increased violence and suicide in many First Nations communities.

In Unit Three, Legacies of Imperialism, Residential Schools will be examined in greater detail.