babusyatanya | Residential Schools for Indiginous kids in Canada - exhibition (UBC, October 1

Why is this important to non-Aboriginal Canadians?

Why should it matter to a Canadian who never attended a residential school?

it matters

- because it happened here , in our country , a land considered a world leader in democracy and human rights

- because the Residential School System is one of the major causes of poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, and other forms of violence amongst Aboriginal Canadians

- because Aboriginal communities suffer levels of poverty, illness, and illiteracy which one would expect to find in a developing nation

- because we share this land. We may not be responsible for what happened in the past, but we are responsible for our actions today.

This is why we must all understand what happened in Canada's residential schools, We must see the legacy of the schools in our streets and communities every day. We must all commit ourselves to a process of reconciliation and healing.

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Before 1880

children are forcefully removed from homes and separated from families

1880s

The children now severed from their communities suffer abuse and neglect in the schools

Many students who return to their communities no longer fit in, Some become parents of the next generation

1900

the schools increase in number

1920s

the school system continues to expand, Students are abused by staff and other students

abuse permeates the community, By now every generation has attended the schools. Communities are impoverished in every sense

1940s

Students show evidence of abuse and neglect . Loss of parenting skills, rampant substance abuse and increasing suicides leave many children orphaned and neglected

1960s

Schools begin to close. Churches petition the government to keep some schools open for orphans and neglected children. Abuse at the schools continues.

as schools close, the government takes many children out of their homes and places them in white families

Communities struggle with substance abuse physical and sexual abuse, poverty, unemployment, incarceration and suicide .

1980

most children have now been integrated into mainstream schools

Increasing numbers of children are taken from their communities and placed into "care"

While students no longer attend residential school, their communities continue to experience intergenerational impacts.

2000s

Years after the closure of the last school, the legacy of residential schools persists.

School days

Students living at the residential schools faced experiences which, for most, ranged from degradation to abuse and death. Their parents, left behind in communities devoid of children, suffered as well. n 1920, it became a crime punishable by imprisonment to refuse to send an Aboriginal child to a residential school. In 1933, principals were granted guardianship of the children attending the schools thus stripping Aboriginal parents of their right to make decisions affecting their children.

While some Survivors did not experience abuse at the residential schools and indeed some report having benefited from the experience, the Residential School System, on the whole, had devastating impacts that continue to affect Aboriginal Peoples and their communities psychologically, emotionally, physically and spiritually,

This section contains information about the experiences the children endured at the residential schools. Be advised that this content may be disturbing to some visitors.

I learned to feel shame

The Aboriginal Child's education did no begin when they arrived at the residential schools, As young children, they had been mentored and guided by their parents and Elders. Traditions and ceremonies passed down through generations, provided knowledge, skills, and wisdom.

The residential schools taught Aboriginal children that the practices of their parents and Elders were "uncivilized" and "revolting". Traditional learning was replaced with short daily lessons in subjects such as arithmetic, writing, science, and history. Until the 1950s. students spend, at best, half of their school day on academics. The remainder of the day was spent doing physical labour and receiving religious instruction. As late as 1950, the Department of Indian Affairs admitted that over 40% of the teachers in residential schools had no formal training.

Most students left the schools with only a basic education and without the skills needed to find jobs. At the same time, they had lost traditional skills and knowledge, leaving them with broken connections to their home communities.

I died in this place...

Disease, abuse, and suicide claimed the lives of many Aboriginal children in the Residential School System, Inadequate housing, food and medical care resulted in outbreaks of tuberculosis which took the lives of thousands of children. Many others died from injuries sustained in bearings or sexual assaults, Still others, desperately sad and hopeless, took their own lives. This was known to the Federal Government as early as 1907 when Dr/ P.H. Bryce, the Chief Medical Inspector for Indian Affairs, reported a death toll among residential school students of 24%, or one quarter of the entire student population. He later called the poor conditions in the residential schools a "national crime"

In this picture, we see a boy re-named Baby George. The name given to him by his parents is unknown, He was living at the Carcross Indian Residential School near Whitehorse when he contracted tuberculosis. He died in Whitehose Hospital but his burial place in unmarked.

They Cut my hair and burned my clothes

Children, many as young as four or five years of age, were sent to residential schools, Upon entering the school, the names given to them by their parents were erased, and they were given Christian names or a number. Their long hair was shaved or close cropped. The clothes brought from home were thrown away, to be replaced by European-style school uniforms. They were often separated from their siblings and were not allowed to speak their own language - even to their brothers or sisters. The process of stripping away Aboriginal identity began within minutes of arriving at the school.

Some students were able to return to their families during the summer. Many children didn't see their families again for many years. Virtually all of the children suffered acute loneliness and fear, and felt abandoned by their families who were, in reality powerless to protect them.

I was invisible...

Metis children, initially turned away by the Canadian government, were later encouraged to fill school spaces left by Indian Children. Metis students encountered racism from all sides - they were often outsiders within the student body, and were treated as second-class citizens. They were not wanted in white schools, but neither would the Department of Indian Affairs recognize them as Indians. With limited options, Metis parents often had to pay for children's education, or the children themselves would be made to "earn" their keep at the schools through manual labour.

This slightly blurred photograph is a rare and important find because its inscription reminds up of the many Metis children who attended residential schools. The government and archives have each contributed to the "loss" of Metis children in history - the government for overlooking the Metis children who helped to fill classrooms designated for First Nations students and thus guaranteed government funding; and traditional archival practices that have not preserved the photographs of Metis residential school children.

I wanted to go home

There are many examples of children attempting to run away from the schools and back to their families. They would often conspire together, stealing and storing food for the journey home. Other children, so desperate to get home, would leave alone during the night, only to die of exposure.

Outside of the schools, some parents travelled many days on foot, by boat, or dogsled, and later by car to see their children. Some tried to help their children escape, while others confronted school administrators with knowledge of the abuses their children were suffering. Other parents attempted to thwart Indian Agents by taking their children into the bush with them to live off the land, or concealed births so that their children would not be registered and later sent to school.

The price paid by the students for their attempts to escape or for their parents' courageous acts of love could be high - many were punished and humiliated further by school staff.

I was bitten and molested

Children in the residential schools were vulnerable. Their parents were not allowed to see them, or the conditions in which they lived. The parents often did not know what was going on inside the schools and were powerless to protect their children. In 1933 the Canadian Government legislated that when a child entered a residential school, the parents were no longer the legal guardians of that child. Custody was given to the school principal. Few children in the schools were properly nourished and most lived in over-crowded dormitories. Almost all residential schools allowed corporal punishment which could be delivered with such severity, the children had to be hospitalized because of their injuries.

In recent years, some Survivors have been able to disclose that they were sexually abused by staff in the schools. The school's were remote and few qualified teachers wanted the work. Given that many of the schools required few if any teaching qualifications, and the conditions in the schools were rarely monitored, sexual predators and abusers were often hired unknowingly.

The effects of the abuse were profound. Some children died from beatings. Others took their own lives our of despair. The vast majority of the victims still experience the effects of the abuse today.

Dr. P.H. Bryce

Medical Inspector of Indian Affairs

Controversy emerged in the early 20th century as large numbers of Aboriginal children were dying in the schools. The government finally intervened in 1907 by sending the Dr. P.H. Bryce (1853-1932) to assess the health conditions at the schools.

In his official report, Bryce called the tuberculosis epidemic at the schools a "national crime ... the consequence of inadequate government funding, poorly constructed schools, sanitary and ventilation problems, inadequate diet, clothing and medical care." He reported that 24% of all pupils who had been in the schools were known to be dead, At the File Hills reserve in Saskatchewan, 75% of the students had died in the first 16 years of the school's operation.

Many of Brice's recommendations for change were in direct opposition to government policy. As a result, Bryce's role within the Department of Indian Affairs was marginalized by Duncan Campbell Scott. The report was published but without the medical inspector's recommendations. These were not made public until Bryce himself published them in 1922, after his retirement from the federal civil service.

Reverend Peter Jones Kahkewaquonaby

In the 1820s, Reverend Peter Jones (1802-1856) from the Credit River Band, along with other Ojibway leaders, began developng a strategy which would enable their people to thrive in the rapidly changing social, political, and economic landscape of Canada. Their vision included providing a euro-Canadian education for First Nations children.

In cooperation with Methodist missionaries, Jones raised money and used funds from treaty annuities to build schools (Mount Eligin and Alinwich). He hired white teachers to provide a formal (Euro-Canadian) education which would lay the foundation for First Nations students to become doctors, lawyers, teachers and farmers.

Chief Shingwauk, "The Pine"

Chief Shingwauk (1773-1854), the Chief of the Ojibway at Garden River, believed that future Ojibway needed a white man's education to survive in what was becoming a "predominantly non-native world with non-native values". In collaboration with the government and the Anglican Church, Shingwauk founded "teaching wigwams" to provide an education that combined both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teachings. With the help of his sons, these schools continued to operate after his death in 1854, and into the early 20th century.

When the residential school concept gained momentum at the time of Confederation, the more collaborative relationship between the First Nations, the churches and the Government, as envisioned by Peter Jones, Chief Shingwauk and others, vanished and was replaced with one directive - the complete assimilation of Aboriginal children.

The politicians

Residential Schools DAVIN REPORT

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The Regina Industrial School

Prior to the introduction of the Residential schools........

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The Regina Industrial School was the first industrial school The local community soon took notice of its graduates. A number of successful Indian farmers began to compete with local (white) farmers, while Indian boys from the school's print office took positions at the Regina Standard and the Regina Leader.

Debates soon raged in the House of Commons, as the opposition criticized government spending on industrial schools. The Minister of Indian Affairs argued, "It has never been the policy of the Department for the design of industrial schools to turn Indian pupils our to compete with whites." Continued political pressure brought about a change in intent - industrial schools would now focus exclusively on agriculture, Aboriginal boys would become farm hands, and Aboriginal girls would learn the skills to become "excellent housekeepers".

Louis Riel and the North West Rebellion of 1885: The Rebel Indian

The Rebellion - which saw Louis Riel and other leaders unsuccessfully attempt to defend their land and property rights through an armed uprising - was the most assertive act of resistance by Metis and First Nations at the time. While the resistance took place in Saskatchewan it resulted in punitive consequences in all parts of the country. The Rebellion convinced the government in Ottawa that it would be necessary to break down Aboriginal tribal systems. The government and churches took clear and aggressive steps to extinguish Aboriginal land title and presence, and to make room for Euro-Canadian settlers and a railway. Individuals considered supporters of the Rebellion lost treaty rights and freedom of movement, There was a new perception on the part of the government and its agents that Aboriginal Peoples were not only primitive and uncivilized ... they were also dangerous.

To avoid further acts of resistance, Aboriginal identity had to be destroyed and all Aboriginal Peoples assimilated into Euro-Canadian culture. Amongst the various methods used to achieve this, the residential school system would be a key feature.

Aftermath of the North West Rebellion: Crushing Aboriginal Identity

Following the 1885 Rebellion, the Metis and First Nations leaders of the resistance were arrested and tried for treason. Louis Riel and Eight other Aboriginal leaders were hanged. Cree Chiefs Big Bear and Poundmaker were both sentenced to prison. As a result of ill health, neither served their full sentence. Poundmaker died in 1886 and Bear Bear in 1888.

The execution of Riel, along with other Metis and First Nations leaders, combined with the incarceration of Big Bear and Poundmaker, had a profound impact. These acts demonstrated that Aboriginal leaders could be shamed by the government and their power and authority too protect their people could evaporate. The message to the Aboriginal populations of Canada was clear - resistance was futile. Any attempt to resist government policy would be met with force, and could result in imprisonment or death.

Thomas Moore: The "Civilized" Indian

This image shows a young Aboriginal boy who was re-named Thomas Moore. It was taken while he attended the Regina Industrial School in the late 19th century.

the first photograph shows Moore in his traditional tribal clothing. His long hair is wrapped in fur and he holds a pistol in his right hand, In the second photograph, Moore looks slightly older. He now wears a military-style uniform and has short hair, The two photographs offer two different views of the Aboriginal body - the first represents an uncivilized and potentially dangerous Indian. The second, a civilized, unarmed and therefore unthreatening Indian.

Chronological events

1755

the first Indian Department is created in Canada as a division of the British military.

1763

The Royal Proclamation of 1763, issued by the British Crown, acknowledges that Aboriginal land rights "...hot having been ceded to our purchased by Us, are reserved to them."

1857

the Act to encourage the gradual Civilization of the Indian Tribes in the Province requires that all Indian males over the age of 21 who can speak, read and write English or French will be "enfranchised", meaning that they must renounce their Indian status and become a British subject.

1879

The Davin Report recommends the creation of a system of industrial schools where children are intentionally separated from their parents to reduce the influence of the "Wigwam".

1869

Metis leader Louis Riel Forms a provisional government in the Red River settlement (Manitoba), and resists Canada's plans to expand into the settlement without consultation with the inhabitants

1885

Amendment - traditional Indian ceremonies, such as potlatches and the Sun Dance, are prohibited

1911

Official curriculum shifts from vocational training to manual labour.

1914

Amendment - western Aboriginals must seek official permission before appearing in Aboriginal "costume" in any public dance, show, exhibition, stampede, or pageant.

1951

Major revisions are made to the Indian Act - women are allowed to participate in band democracy, prohibitions of traditional Aboriginal practices and ceremonies are removed.

1961

Amendment - Aboriginals can vote without having to give up their Indian status.

1969

The partnership between the government and churches ends, and the federal government takes over the Residential School System, Transfer of control of the schools to Indian bands begins.

1980-1990s

Eleven residential schools are still operating - 10 are federally controlled, 1 is band controlled.

1990

The Oka Crisis, between the Mohawk Nation and the town of Oka, Quebec began on March 11, 1990, and lasted until September 26, 1990. It would be the first of a number of well publicized violent conflicts in the late 20th century between Indigenous people and the Canadian government.

Ptc. Patrick Cloutier and Aboriginal activist Brad Larosque, fact to face in a tense standoff at the Kanesatake reserve, Sept 1. 1990. Shaney Komulainen/Canadian Press.