A timeline of residential schools, the Truth and Reconciliation Commision - Canada. Students in a classroom in Resolution, N.W.T. ((National Archives of Canada)) March 14, 2011 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins three months of hearings in 19 northern communities in the lead up to its second national event, which will be held in Inuvik, N.W.T. between June 28 and July 1. Nov. 12, 2010 The government of Canada announces it will endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a non-binding document that describes the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples around the world.
June 21, 2010 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is pleased with the outcome of its first national event in Winnipeg, despite receiving a smaller number of survivor statements than hoped. April 16, 2010 Thousands of aboriginal residential school survivors meet in Winnipeg for the first national event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. April 8, 2010 March 19, 2010 March 2, 2010 Dec. 30, 2009 Oct. 15, 2009 Gov. Gov. Sept. 21, 2009 June 10, 2009 April 29, 2009. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) It is difficult to place an exact figure on the number of residential schools to which Aboriginal people have been sent in Canada.
While religious orders had been operating such schools before Confederation in 1867, it was not the 1880s that the federal government fully embraced the residential school model for Aboriginal education. While the government began to close the schools in the 1970s, the last school remained in operation until 1996. For purposes of providing compensation to former students the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement has identified 139 residential schools.
(Despite the fact that the agreement is titled the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the lives of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people were all touched by these schools.) This does not represent the full number of residential schools that operated in Canada. In particular, it excludes any school that operated without federal government support. Happiness in Res. Schools. J. FRASER FIELD While the horror of what occurred all to often needs to be brought out, such a one-sided and simplistic characterization constitutes a distortion of the truth and an injustice to the many, and there were many, who served the native people in good faith and with much love. Painting all residential schools as dysfunctional places of abuse and making them a collective scapegoat for the social problems which continue to plague the native people of Canada will not solve these problems, nor does it do justice to the many who worked tirelessly for the betterment of native children (Schools aimed to “kill the Indian in the child,” Nov. 22).
It is well known that epidemics of tuberculosis had a devastating effect on native populations, especially in the close quarters of residential settings, where the disease could spread easily. While shocking individual cases of abuse can be horrific, it would be wrong to suggest that this kind of treatment was the norm. J. J. The Residential School System. Children's dining room, Indian Residential School, Edmonton, Alberta. Between 1925-1936. United Church Archives, Toronto, From Mission to Partnership Collection. Residential Schools Two primary objectives of the residential school system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, official apology, June 11, 2008 What was the Indian residential school system? The term residential schools refers to an extensive school system set up by the Canadian government and administered by churches that had the nominal objective of educating Aboriginal children but also the more damaging and equally explicit objectives of indoctrinating them into Euro-Canadian and Christian ways of living and assimilating them into mainstream Canadian society.
What led to the residential schools? Prime Minister Sir John A. Living conditions at the residential schools —John S. The Wildly Depressing History of Canadian Residential Schools | VICE Canada. Photo from a residential school off of Onion Lake in Ontario. During the mid 1800’s Canada’s colonization was chugging along with the industrial age, and the thinkers of the day were turning their brainpower towards the pesky task of how to deal with the “Indian Problem.”
In 1841, Herman Charles Merivale, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies (who doesn’t look like he would be a bad guy to smoke cigars and sip sherry with), established and executed a concoction of his four policies on the subject: Extermination, slavery, insulation and assimilation. All of these were wrapped tidily up in the Residential School system. Testifying in Fort Albany, a former female student at St. “I remember the day when we were taken away. This good Christian influence and forced civility upon the ‘Indians’ resulted in nothing but a legacy of sickness. 3000 children were confirmed dead. Here is some of what he relayed happening at St. Girls were sexually abused and raped. A history of residential schools in Canada - Canada. What is a residential school? In the 19th century, the Canadian government believed it was responsible for educating and caring for aboriginal people in Canada.
It thought their best chance for success was to learn English and adopt Christianity and Canadian customs. Ideally, they would pass their adopted lifestyle on to their children, and native traditions would diminish, or be completely abolished in a few generations. The Canadian government developed a policy called "aggressive assimilation" to be taught at church-run, government-funded industrial schools, later called residential schools.
The government felt children were easier to mold than adults, and the concept of a boarding school was the best way to prepare them for life in mainstream society. Residential schools were federally run, under the Department of Indian Affairs. Attendance was mandatory for children in the many communities that didn't have day schools. How many residential schools and students were there? Residential school survivors share their stories at Truth and Reconciliation event in Vancouver. The young girl, whose mother had died in childbirth, was being cared for by her aunt and uncle. “But I came into the wrong hands when I was six,” Flanders told attendees at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission this week. As TRC commissioners Marie Wilson and Chief Wilton Littlechild listened, Flanders described the sense of sheer isolation and loneliness that she felt as a boarding student at St.
Michael’s Indian Residential School in Alert Bay. For 10 years, she missed out on typical childhood experiences, like knowing what it was like to celebrate a birthday, or going home to see her family for Christmas. “I felt so alone,” she said, through tears. As Flanders shared her story, her sons sat on either side of her, reaching over at times to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Now I can say to myself that I’m not alone,” she told audience members, many of them shedding tears themselves. Some talked about the ways in which their experiences continue to haunt them. Indian Residential Schools – Key Milestones. The Government of Canada began to play a role in the development and administration of Indian Residential Schools in 1874. It operated nearly every school as a joint venture with various religious organizations including Anglican, Presbyterian, United and Roman Catholic churches.
Indian Residential Schools recognized by Canada, and all parties to the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (legal counsel for former students, legal counsel for the Churches, the Assembly of First Nations, other Aboriginal organizations), are those where children were placed in a residence for the purposes of education by, or under, the authority of the Government of Canada; and, where the Government of Canada was jointly responsible for the operation of the residence and care of the children resident therein. Some 150,000 Aboriginal children were removed and separated from their families and communities to attend residential schools. Learn More. Video - Indian Residential Schools Statement of Apology - Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The House met at 3 p.m. Prayers [Translation] The Speaker: I invite the hon. members to rise as our distinguished guests enter the House and take their seats. Applause [English] Hon. Peter Van Loan (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform, CPC): Mr.
Hon. Mr. Ms. The Speaker: Is there unanimous consent to proceed in this way? Some hon. members: Agreed. (Motion agreed to) The Speaker: Pursuant to order made on Tuesday, June 10, 2008, the House will now proceed to statements by ministers. The right hon. Right Hon. First of all, for their hard work and professionalism, I want to thank both the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and his predecessor, now the Minister of Industry. Second, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my former colleague from Cariboo—Chilcotin, Philip Mayfield, who for a very long time was a determined voice in our caucus for meaningful action on this sad episode of our history. [Translation] We are sorry.
Residential School Money: Has It Helped Survivors Heal? | mediaINDIGENA. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) has just released The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement’s Common Experience Payment and Healing: A Qualitative Study Exploring Impacts on Recipients. (PDF of study available here.) The Common Experience Payment (CEP) is a component of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and is intended to monetarily recognize and compensate the experiences of former Residential School students. The study — a follow-up to the 2007 AHF report, Lump Sum Compensation Payments Research Project — builds upon 281 interviews with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Residential School Survivors. (Full disclosure: my mother and my friend Rick Harp co-authored the Lump Sum report.) Its aims were two-fold: to understand the impact of CEP on individual healing, and, to find out the roles of support services for CEP applicants.
I’d like to highlight one of the findings about the CEP related to healing: [Image via wherearethechildren.ca]