Residential schools were made to assimilate Indians into society and to “get rid of the Indian problem” as said by Duncan Campbell Scott, the Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs in the year of 1920. (Overview). Residential schools left a negative impact on the lives of those who attended, they took the children away from their culture, the children were sexually abused and they were physically abused. The thought of the people who caused these effects and never got caught or in trouble just disgusts me Residential schools stripped children from their culture and traditions. Firstly, the students were not permitted to speak their mother tongue or practice their language (6.11), If they did, they were smacked on their hands or severely punished …show more content…
Connie mentioned when she attended residential school she was sexually abused by a student in a higher grade while she was lying in her bed. Not to mention, Connie’s brother was sexually abused by a worker of the church throughout the years of attending residential school (Connie). Students were severely punished or beaten if they did something they didn’t like or something they weren’t allowed to do. Some reported inhumane punishments such as forcing children to wear their own soiled underwear on their head (6.11). As well, when students were caught speaking their language or practicing their own culture they were hit on their hands or something worse (Connie). Additionally, students were forced to eat all of their food, despite the face that the food was spoiled (Connie).
In conclusion, residential schools left a negative impact on the people who attended such as taking away their culture and traditions, molesting the students and physically abusing the students. All of these factors drastically changed the lives of these people who attended residential schools in Canada. Aboriginal communities throughout Canada have some of the highest rates of alcoholism, crime, violence, disease and suicide due to the trauma of residential schools.
As a result of children being punished for their culture, it ultimately gets lost during their stays at these schools. Culture is a large part of self-identity, and when this is lost it often leads to a lack of self-belonging. Another issue caused by residential schools is intergenerational trauma which is largely caused by the abuse, both emotional and physical, that the children were subjected to. Intergenerational trauma largely affects future
The atrocities that the children of residential schools had to endure is not something that can be ignored, just as the lessons these children learned, like shame, humiliation, hate, compassion, and forgiveness cannot be overlooked (Borrows 486-7). Borrows raises an important point, which is that the children of the Residential schools, who survived, grew up to eventually become elders (487). Although there are some who feel Residential schools had positive impacts, the high suicide rates in Indigenous communities cannot be
The book “Anthem” written by Ayn Rand is a book that deals with many topics within the main idea of the perfect world. The only problem is the word “I” is forbidden. “We” is the only acceptable word, there is no distinguishing yourself. The book takes place in the future, when all human rights are taken away and you live to your government's standards. No one has any individual rights anymore.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs removed tens of thousands of American Indian children from their homes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to assimilate the youth into the dominant Euro-American culture. Although the schools provided education and vocational training, their primary intention was to deprive Indian children of their tribal culture, language, and appearance. There was a significant amount of abuse in the boarding schools with administrators, teachers, and staff often treating students harshly, including physical and sexual abuse and neglect. Moreover, children suffered serious illnesses and disease. Due to these harsh conditions many Indian youth returned home with mental and physical health problems that transcended for
Dear Diary when I came to residential school my life got ruined. Let's start from the beginning. On Sunday, March 16 at that time I was 7 years old. In the morning some nuns came to our house they were saying that they were starting a new school sponsered by the government name residential school. They told my parents that it is a school where they help the children to how to live by themselves and also some stuffs like that
If this was to happen in the present, it would violate the legal rights found in the current charter of rights and freedoms. Legal rights prohibits people from being taken away without proper reason or consult. Secondly, inside of the residential schools, students were not treated properly. They did not feel safe inside of these schools, and instead felt lonely and trapped. This often lead to mental illness and horrible thoughts.
More than 130 Indian residential schools operated in Canada from the 1870s to the 1990s. The system forcibly separated children from their families for extended periods and prohibited them from acknowledging their Indigenous heritage and culture or speaking their language. School staff often used punishment methods such as solitary confinement, whipping, fasting, and slapping. The Government of Canada sought to educate and transform Indigenous youth and integrate them into Canadian society. However, the coercive, brutal and violent ways in which schools disrupted lives and communities created long-term problems for Indigenous peoples.
The effects of residential schools on Indigenous children and communities are blatantly shown by Maisie's story. She suffers from the violence she endured physically and emotionally in the residential school, as well as the trauma of being unwillingly torn away from her family and culture. We can see that she deals with the trauma she's endured in unhealthy ways like self-harm, and drugs to eventually end her life. Her experience is like a reminder of the tragic impact that Canada's residential schools had on Indigenous peoples, as well as the continued need for peace and healing. Sociological imagination helps us understand Maisie’s experiences at the micro level.
At St. Jerome’s Indian Residential School, Saul see’s the lonely world, which crams on him like a black hole with no light, however creates a determination for him to stay strong. As he is expeditiously thrown in to the vast world of a different religion he quickly realizes, “They called it a school, but it was never that” (79) … “There were no grades or examinations. The only test was our ability to endure” (79). The emotions and perspectives present in each quote signify the feelings of Saul towards the school and define the school to be unnerving and painful for the Indians living there, however they also show that Saul knows his expectations and is strong enough to tolerate the torture.
The Canadian residential school system as we know it was opened from 1863 until the closing of the last school in 1996 (Miller, 1996). These schools were funded by the government of Canada as well as several different churches such as catholic, Anglican, Prospetarian, and united church, which were created as an assimilation tool as an attempt to systematically integrate indigenous children into European way of life by “killing the Indian” in the child. This paper will briefly go over some contextual information such as what life was like before the Europeans arrived, as well as some history of the residential schools in Canada. It will also look at the intentions of the schools, abuse that took place, and the laws that were in place that allowed abuse to flourish in these types of environments.
These schools were bad for both boys and girls as they were often abused, and so I wondered how the psychosocial problems related to child abuse would hinder the
Over 150,000, Indian, Metis and Inuit Children within ages of 4-16 attended Residential Schools ( Indian Residential Schools Commemoration Project, 2013 ). These Schools were torture, they wanted to suck the indian out of the children. They neglected them, They ripped the children from their parents and taught them the Christian way of living. This Era lasted through the 1870s and the 1990s. There were Residential Schools all across Canada, except in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
In the story “Bleeding the Children to Feed the Mother-House’, a history of Native residential schools is talked about and reflected upon. J. R. Miller, the author of the story recounts numerous descriptions from the viewpoints of the children and real life testimonies of those who were affected by the residential schools and how it impacted their lives as children. Food, clothing, and health conditions were all factors that played major parts in the lives of the students of residential schools and how they were treated during their time at these facilities. Treatment of the children was poor and the living conditions they survived in were anything less than acceptable in terms of being treated as dignified human beings. Within this essay
Then being left with a physical pain of rulers or belts whipped across the hand for not living up to their teachers expectations. This is not a way schools should 've punished innocent children, schools are supposed to be a place of learning, safety and being who you are gaining knowledge that will help you in the long run. The public schools in this novel show a very obedient unpleasant way of learning, to punish or expect such high standards from young children is ridiculous when they are only kids still in the process of understanding concepts right then
“Culture, language, family ties and community networks were destroyed for generations of First Nations, Inuit and Metis children as a result of residential schools.” ( Appiah-Kubi, 2015) Also,