Review Of Cultural Assimilation At St. Joseph's Mission By Jennifer Mitchell

Indigenous people across Canada have been suppressed by the government, system, and settlers still to this day. The residential school system was a system of boarding schools that were established by the Canadian government and administered by various churches to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture. Many of these children suffered physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from school staff. Even though residential schools have been abolished they can still affect indigenous people today. The book “Indian Horse” clearly represents the intergenerational trauma of Indigenous communities in Canada.

The perception was that Native American adults had a limited ability to learn new skills and concepts. Later in the report, it is expressed that children learn little at day school, causing their “tastes to be fashioned at home, and [their] inherited aversion to toil is in no way combated. ”11 Davin recommended that similar industrial boarding schools should be built in Canada, which would attempt to assimilate Native children into the European culture.12 Nicholas Flood Davin’s research and advances about the industrial schools in America, was important in the creation and developing of the Residential school system in

Introduction: In Theodore Fontaine’s work about his experience in the Fort Alexandria Indian Residential School, he narrates his perspective on the various methods, ideologies, and religious beliefs adopted by the school. His narrative describes the structure and purpose of the residential schools, it also helps point out the how this structures influence or affect the lives of students. The book helps to identify how the method adopted by the school was that of a total institution like that of the military. The method of a total institution striped away the individuality and culture of the students.

Death Became Their Scapegoat: The Boarding School Trauma Effects In this article the author traces native language usage among three generations of a Lakota family, explaining one woman's decision not to teach her children Lakota to protect them from abuse at a boarding school and her descendants' efforts to learn and preserve their language (Haase). Phyllis’s was a third generation Lakota child. Phyllis’s mother never taught her Lakota because she feared harm would come to her. Phyllis felt that what American settlers did to her mother killed her.

This was ultimately done to seamlessly absorb the indigenous people into the colonist population. Major aspects of the Indian Act include residential schools, enfranchising, and cultural bans. Residential schools were mandatory for indigenous children to attend. At residential schools, children were forcibly taught the culture of the settlers and were punished if they showed any connection to their native culture. Enfranchising forced high work status and settler-married indigenous people to change their name to be like a colonist.

1972 will forever remains to be a historically significant year with Indian community in America. The Adoption of the Indian Control of Indian Education Policy by the general assembly of the native Indians national brotherhood marked a new beginning in the way education was perceived and imparted among Indian children. The establishment of the department of Indian education affairs and subsequent delegation of powers to implement the contest of the policy indicated a new beginning in the Indian education system. The Indian education system had for a long time been dependent on federal government. Since its adoption in December 1972 when the then minister for Indian affairs the policy has had significant influence in the way Indian access education.

The Allotment and Assimilation Era brought about many policies to make Native Americans act “americanized.” Two extremely impactful policies were boarding schools and the allotting of American Indian land. These both affected Native Americans and their culture by splitting up families and tribes and forcing them to assimilate into American culture. Although both policies are extremely devastating for their culture, allotment and boarding schools had slightly different impacts and legacies on the culture. Allotment had a bigger impact on Native American communities at the time, whereas boarding schools had a more significant lasting legacy.

Intimate Colonialism is when the government tried to set up a policy that would encourage Indian Service staff members to intermarry with Native Americans. During the late 19th century, immigration was rising and the big thing in this era was assimilation. Assimilation is integrating people to be accustomed to the United States culture, behavior, value and norms. Though Native Americans have lived in America longer than anyone, the federal government thought that instead of ostracizing them for wanting to value their traditional culture, they created an assimilation policy for Native Americans. “The government’s assimilation policy sought to destroy Native nations’ cultural and political identities by replacing them with Anglo – American norms of behavior (108).”

Imagine being ripped apart from family members, culture, tradition, and labelled a savage that needs to be educated. Imagine constantly facing punishment at school for being one’s self. Unfortunately, these events were faced head on for many First Nations people living in Canada in the late 20th century. These First Nations people were the victims of an extensive school system set up by the government to eradicate Aboriginal culture across Canada and to assimilate them into what was considered a mainstream society.

In the poem “Treblinka Gas Chamber”, by Phyllis Webb and in the TRC’s “The History”, both texts share a common theme of inhumane treatment towards children within certain cultural and ethnical groups. While the two authors explore distinct historical contexts, both texts are centred on racial segregation with nationalistic motives. Phyllis Webb appeals to a logos strategy through the use of allusion. In her poem, “Treblinka Gas Chamber”, Webb presents fictional and historical examples to display her knowledge and establish her credibility.

Critical Summary #3: First Nations Perspectives In Chapter eight of Byron Williston’s Environmental Ethics for Canadians First Nation’s perspectives are explored. The case study titled “Language, Land and the Residential Schools” begins by speaking of a public apology from former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He apologizes for the treatment of “Indians” in “Indian Residential Schools”. He highlights the initial agenda of these schools as he says that the “school system [was] to remove and isolate [Aboriginal] children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them[…]” (Williston 244).

Residential Schools was an enormous lengthening event in our history. Residential schools were to assimilate and integrate white people’s viewpoints and values to First Nations children. The schools were ran by white nuns and white priests to get rid of the “inner Indian” in the children. In residential schools, the children suffered immensely from physical, emotional, sexual and spiritual abuse. Although the many tragedies, language was a huge loss by the First Nations children.

The indigenous people have a long and proud history, including the rich cultural and spiritual traditions. However, many of these traditions have been changed or even disappeared after the arrival of the European settlers. Forced introduction of European culture and values, Aboriginal community, indigenous land being deprived, and the imposition of a period of governance outside the pattern of the beginning of a cycle of social, physical and spiritual destruction. You can see the effects of today. Some of the effects include poverty, poor health, and drug abuse.

In Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, Alexie’s father’s love for books grew to make his self-love books ending up in Alexie teaching himself how to read. Alexie describes the stereotypes and what is expected of Indian children and how Indian children were expected to basically have no knowledge Many lived up to those expectations inside the classroom but invalidated them on the outside. While other children were doing this, Alexie’s father was one of the few Indians on the reservation who went to Catholic School on purpose and was also an devoted reader. Alexie grew up around books. His father had a strong love for books as he bought them by the pound from pawn shops, goodwill and the salvation army.

I particularly agreed with the authors’ argument about blending cultural and academic knowledge (McKinley & Brayboy, 2005, p. 435). I think it is institution’s responsibility to respect their cultural knowledge but also provide appropriate academic knowledge, relative to Indigenous students to be able to actively engage in reciprocal learning with their cultural knowledge, which, then, adds value to their survivance practice. I find that this piece opened up a new way of looking at the challenges which Indigenous students encounter and the ways to move forward with the situation through changing the perception of education not only from Indigenous students, but also from the perspectives of non-Aboriginal members in institutions by providing a way to