Residential Schools in Canada - 1239 Words

From the late 1800s to the 1980s, more than 100,000 First Nations children in Canada attended residential schools To attend these schools, children were taken away from their families and communities. At the schools, the children suffered from emotional, physical, sexual and spiritual abuse. The worst abuses were often used as punishment for speaking their indigenous languages. The imposition of residential schools on First Nations children has led to significant loss of indigenous languages, and this language loss has led to further cultural losses for traditional First Nations cultures in Canada. One far-reaching result of the residential school system is the loss of indigenous languages in Canada. A major cause of this loss was the†¦show more content†¦Therefore, the loss of language led to the loss of traditional spiritual beliefs and connection to nature. In short, interpersonal relationships and traditional belief systems were both sacrificed when residential schools contributed to the decline of First Nations children’s indigenous language abilities. The effects of these losses continue to this day despite attempts to reverse the damage. On June 11, 2008, Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper offered an official apology on behalf of the Canadian government to survivors of residential schools for the treatment they had received there. Following this apology, Beverly Jacobs, President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, noted that aboriginal people need more than an apology; they need a government commitment to dealing with the negative impacts of the schools in areas such as â€Å"language, culture, . . . tradition, and spirituality†. The effects of the residential schools on First Nations’ language and culture will never be undone; all Canadians can do now is support efforts by aboriginal people to preserve and revitalize those linguistic and cultural traditions that have not been lost. References Blair, H., Rice, S., Wood, V. amp; Janvier, J. (2002). Daghida: Cold Lake first nation works towards Dene language revitalization. In B. Burnaby and J. Reyner (Eds.), Indigenous languages acrossShow MoreRelatedResidential Schools in Canada Essay1065 Words   |  5 PagesSociology Dr.C.Barry McClinchey Residential Schools in Canada Before the nineteenth century, the Aboriginal people had their own way of teaching the children in their community, through organic education. In addition to providing knowledge and skills, organic education kept their culture alive (Ravelli amp; Webber, 2013: pg. 237). This is because the Aboriginal children would also be taught about their culture and its customs. But the Europeans thought, â€Å"Canada’s First Nation peoples were inRead MoreThe Residential School System Within Canada1648 Words   |  7 PagesThe residential school system in Canada was active for over a century, with the last one closing in 1996 (Troniak, 2011), yet many Canadians still remain unaware of this terrible part in our nation s history. Throughout the time that these schools remained open, over 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Mà ©tis children passed through more than 130 residential schools in virtually every part of Canada and it is estimated that more than half of them are survivors (Tron iak, 2011). So if such a largeRead More The Examination of the Residential School System in Canada Essay932 Words   |  4 Pagesmissionaries established a form of formal education for Aboriginal children, which was to be governed at residential schools. However, this tradition did not last long due to rising conflicts. 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According to CBC News if aboriginal children tried to breakout from schools and coming again to their families, they will send back to their schools by Indian agents (2010Read MoreThe Impacts of the Residential School System on the Aboriginal People of Canada 1017 Words   |  4 Pagessingle Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question’ (Scott in Grant, 1996: 273). Canada is a vast territory widely recognised for the cultural and geographical diversity in nature. This alone poses a distinct challenge to understanding a unified conception of Aboriginal Geographies of Canada - particularly for understanding the Geographies of The Canadian Residential Schools System (RSS). The Canadian Residential School System was an earlyRead MoreHow did the residential school affect Canada’s First Nations people?1535 Words   |  7 Pagesthe residential school affect Canada’s First Nations people? In Canadian history, there are a lot of interesting events happened in the past. Some of them are events that are proudly presented such as Battle of Vimy Ridge, Canadian peace keeper and others. On the other hand, there are also a lot of tragedy events that happened in the past. Indian Act is one of an important act which occurred in 1876 and it led to establishment of  Indian residential school, and the Indian residential school is aRead MoreDevelopment Of The Residential School System1740 Words   |  7 Pages: A quote from Aggie George recalling of her experience in the Lejac Indian Residential School (Legacy of Hope Foundation, 2001). In the 1880s all the way to the 1990’s roughly 150,000 aboriginal children where removed from their communities and homes to attend the residential school system set up by the government and operated by the Christian churches (Government of Canada, 2015). 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The federal government took a much larger role in residential schooling in the 1880s as a facet of a larger set of polices that operated to govern and control Aboriginal people, ba n cultural practices, and achieve â€Å"their emancipation from tribal government, and for their final absorption into the general community† (as cited in The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015b, p. 27)Read MoreThe Truth And Reconciliation Commission ( Trc )1536 Words   |  7 Pageswere forcibly removed from their communities, and sent to Indian residential schools. Generation after generation of indigenous children were denied the right to speak their own language, explore spirituality and to learn about their rich cultural history. These schools were designed to assimilate indigenous children into the society of the European settlers. It was under that system that Aboriginal children were required to attend schools that would ‘take the Indian out of the child,’ in hopes to solve