Residential Schools - Research Paper Example

? Residential Schools 3/21 Residential Schools Introduction Different forms of schools have always been introduced in the society with differing purposes. Residential schools are also a kind of schools that were initiated for the natives and they were the center of many arguments owing to different reasons. The increasing debates about the issues related to residential schools are mainly due to its impacts on the aboriginal population. Residential schools are beneficial to promote the learning facilities for both native and foreign students today. However, the residential schools were originally developed for creating efficient learning environment for native students. The system of residential schools was introduced in Canada and North America to remove the differences between the natives and the whites who were living in these countries. Different theories emerged following the formation of these schools. It is believed that the concept of residential schools was aimed at destructing the norms of the natives along with the language and culture that was prevalent among their society. Their functioning started becoming questioned as it came to the knowledge of many people that these schools were not actually for the purpose of educating the natives but they were meant rather to move them away from their culture and way of living. Residential schools have been a target of media for many years because of reported cases of abuse that occurred in these schools. It is believed that these residential schools targeted the natives in order to rip them off from their cultural norms (Lerner 2009; Austen 2008). Residential schools were formed in order to assimilate the natives with the culture of the West and to make them aware of the ways of living and the culture of the whites. In 1920 the attendance for the native children became mandatory and this process was known as ‘aggressive assimilation’ because the natives were not provided with a choice but rather they were asked to attend these schools even if they did not want to. The children who did not come to the school were forced to come and those who spoke their native language were tortured in these residential schools. This was evident of the fact that the school had deeper purposes rather than improving the educational status of the natives. The schools were formed for the purpose of educating but they ended up with devastating results due to their deviation from their goal of providing education. The residential schools run in Canada were mostly run by Christian missionaries. The residential schools are believed to play a negative role in the lives of many natives as these natives had been physically and sexually abused at many instances in the schools. This issue became highlighted after these acts were revealed by some of the natives. Moreover even some native leaders came ahead and spoke about the abuse that they had to face in these residential schools and their public statements further served to highlight this issue. This led to the formation of different commissions to look into the matter which included The Truth and Reconciliation Commission which was directed to find out more about the residential schools and as to how they affected the society in a negative or positive way (Austen 2008). This essay would further revolve around the purpose of these native schools and the impact that these residential schools left on the natives. Residential Schools The first known residential schools were basically initiated in North America and Canada. The primary role of the residential schools operating in Canada and North America was to inject the western culture into a society which was mostly unaware about it and thus it had the purpose of making the western culture dominant above the other cultures that were present in these countries. The schools were based on a scheme of removing children from their family’s influence at a very early age by making their enrollment compulsory in these schools so that they could not grasp much of their original culture and become more aware of the western culture. It is because of these residential schools that intergenerational differences have been witnessed in the natives owing to the gap that was created and it was also associated with other problems which include the Residential syndrome. The history of the residential schools can be traced back to the years of Captain Richard Pratt who was the head of a prisoner camp in Florida. Prisoners were usually confined to a place known as Fort Marion and after this fort closed the prisoners were given education in an institute known as the Hampton Institute. It was there that Pratt started to experiment on the natives and began teaching them English language without paying any heed to their native language. He opened a school known as the Carlisle Industrial School whose slogan was “Kill the Indian, save the men”. It was this industrial school that paved a platform for the Canadian educational policy to form similar institutions which included the schemes of residential schools. In the early nineteenth century a native was considered to be dangerous for the whole society and these residential schools were formed to catch these natives while they were very young so that they would not be much aware of their own culture. This can be found in the report on ‘Industrial Schools for Indians and Half-Breeds’ where it is clearly stated that “if anything is to be done with the Indian, we must catch him very young”. In order to control children it became essential that these residential schools came into existence and this is exactly what happened when residential schools became an important part of Canada’s policy (Lerner 2009; Muckle 2007). The residential schools snatched the rights of natives as they had to send their children to school so that they could study. If these children were not sent to school the families were tortured in way or the other by the state authorities. These policies were to ensure the fact that the natives could not have any other option rather than sending the children to the schools. The Canadian government started funding the religious institutions working in the country so that these children could be assimilated in the new society. The Roman Catholic Church of Canada was known to operate most of the residential schools located in Canada. The situation got so worst that at times the native children were abducted from their communities and led to unknown places where they were given education (Joel 2000). Some of the residential schools operating in the countries were below par as they did not even have enough budgets to run a school. The children were forcibly brought into the residential schools and given Christian names. The Amnesty Magazine quotes Andrea Smith as stating that “school staff sheared children’s hair, banned traditional clothing and customs, and forced children to worship as Christian” (Andrea 2006). The children were judged in accordance to their gender and age and were separated from the opposite sex. The grade levels that they had to study in were in accordance to their age. The schools regulated a strict time table for all the students as they had to work half the day and study in the other half. These natives were also not given many rights when it comes to family. Family visits were restricted to once or twice during a month along with no such holiday on special occasions. Christmas was an exception where these children would be able to go home. In some cases it was also seen that the children were not allowed to go home but were rather told to stay with the whites so that they could learn the standards of a civilized society. These methods were implemented in a very strict manner to ensure the fact that the native children could stay away from their families to provide for the minimal exposure to their own culture (Lerner 2009). The residential schools became a nightmare for the natives as they did not have much choice left when deciding about the future of their children. These residential schools also became a place for sexual and physical abuse for these natives. The tongue of children would be pierced with a needle at times by the teachers for long periods so that they would think before speaking about anything. Beating the children so much that they got unconscious was also reported in these schools. Many children were also reported to suffer from fractures from which they could not recover for a long time. This explains the inhuman practices that were done o these children (Romain 2010). The BC Medical Journal states that the children were in so much agony that the teachers at times forced them to kneel on shattered pieces of glass along with a needle passed in their tongue. These were the consequences for the natives when they spoke their own language (Brasfield 2001). Lisa Poupart was reported as saying “Boarding schools teachers, staff, priests and administrators often physically and sexually abused students, justifying these violations as disciplinary measures. In several boarding schools in the U.S and Canada 60-70% of all students were beaten or raped. The staff and administrators also forced Indian children to administer assaults upon each other (Poupart 2003)”. In 2008 the government of Canada itself apologized for the abuse that the natives faced over all these years in the residential schools. The prime minister of Canada Stephen Harper was stated as saying “The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history”. The Truth Commission found out that the policy of residential schools was responsible for the deaths of 50,000 native children. This explained the fact that the lives of these natives were not of much value for the state and they wanted to achieve their goals irrespective of what grade of torture they had to implicate on these innocent children (Andrea 2006). The residential schools left a great impact on the natives in terms of every aspect that revolves around life. When the policy of residential school was implemented it was seen that many children were torn away from their parents and they are still traumatized because of the events that took place during their childhood. The culture and norms practiced in the residential schools was totally different than the one that they practiced back at home. The children were treated more as slaves rather than students studying in a school. The children were made to labor for free as they had to work in farms, buildings and kitchens. In certain instances it was also seen that the children were tagged with numbers rather than a particular name. It has been seen that many of the natives who went through the terrible experience of residential schools suffer from some sort of a disorder. The disorder that these natives face is somewhat similar to the post-traumatic disorders which occur at an early age. The disorder has been termed by many as the residential syndrome. In BC Medical Journal it is stated that “Both residential school syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder share criteria that the person has undergone or witnessed some degree of trauma and that his or her response was fearful or helpless. The two diagnoses share requirements of re-experiencing, avoidance, and increased arousal. The residential school syndrome diagnosis is different from that of post-traumatic stress disorder in that there is a significant cultural impact and a persistent tendency to abuse alcohol or other drugs that is particularly associated with violent outbursts of anger. The residential school syndrome diagnosis also highlights possible deficient parenting skills (78-71).” Thus it can be clearly seen that the natives also have to suffer from disorders like residential school syndrome because of the education policies (Brasfield 2001; Lerner 2009). The residential schools have contributed to the loss of culture and traditional lifestyles amongst the natives. Because of the low budgets that the residential schools were allocated it was also seen that the children studying in these schools had a lower standard of education. The non native residential schools received an approximate 25% larger budget in comparison to the native residential schools even in the late nineteenth century. The residential schools mostly targeted trading and farming as subjects for these natives rather than the normal subjects of English and Mathematics (Muckle 2007). The aim of the residential schools can be clearly cited in the words of an Indian Harry LaForme “The policy of the Canadian residential schools wasn’t to educate Indian children” but it was rather to “It was to kill the Indian in the child, it was to erase the culture of Indian people from the fabric of Canada.” (Austen 2008). The natives were not only robbed of their culture and traditional norms but they were also robbed of their freedom. The natives could not practice religion in the way that they would have preferred. Christianity was a platform laid down by the schools and it was forced upon the natives. The impact of the residential schools has been so profound that it can be still found in the communities of the natives. The problems that the natives previously faced were different that those faced by the people living in urban areas. Because the residential schools only targeted the positives of the urban society they never mentioned the cons that this society brought with it. This brought an assimilation of both the disadvantages and advantages of the urban society into the society of the natives. Problems such as divorce, poverty, family violence, incest and suicide also crept into the native societies. Smith stated “By the end of the 1990s, the sexual assault rate among Native Americans was three-and-a-half times higher than any other ethnic group in the U.S...and…alcoholism in Native communities is currently six times higher that the national average” (Andrea 2006 par 18). It is because of these differences that the traditional lifestyles of the Aboriginals have changed from what they were previously. Divorce was considered as one of the most deadly sin in the natives previously but nowadays the traditional forum has been removed and divorce is no longer an issue in many of the native communities. Women were the most affected natives because of the new rules that the contemporary society brought with it (Lerner 2009). It was seen that previously women held a stature and status in the native communities but this status has been removed by the societies that exist nowadays in the world. Native women have become more prone to problems like rape and assault in the recent years. Native women were also physically abused and assaulted by the teachers in the residential schools and this led to the worsening of the problems. Less education and housing resources for women have led to other problems like prostitution to prevail in the native societies. This can be witnessed in the Stolen Sisters Report as it states that “more than 30% of sex workers surveyed were Indigenous women, although Indigenous people make up less than 2% of cities’ population” (Indian Country Report 2003). The Residential Schools also faced from unhygienic conditions because of which the natives suffered from different kinds of diseases. Smallpox and tuberculosis were seen to be common in the natives who studied in these schools because of these conditions. They also paved a platform for the enmity between the natives and the government as they created a difference between the goals of the government and the goals of the natives. Moreover because of the lower budget allocated to these schools it was also seen that the natives had to face from the problem of clothing. The children were not properly clothed by the authorities of the residential schools. Another problem that the children were facing in the residential schools was their nutritional intake. Many of the children were reported as being under-nutrition by these schools and this led to other diseased conditions. Child labor was banned in Canada at the time when these residential schools came into full functionality but this could still be witnessed in the chores that these natives were given. The teachers that were provided to the natives were also ill equipped as they did not have much education about their relevant subjects. Because of the conditions that the residential schools were providing the students it was seen in many instances that the children ran away from the school to their original villages. The impact on the natives was such that when the natives grew up many of them became a social menace for the society. History puts forward that many of the natives grew up to become criminals in the society because of these residential schools (Aboriginal Residential Schools). The problem of diseases in these residential schools was so grave that it is believed that 25-50% of the children who studied in these schools died of tuberculosis or other related diseases (Aboriginal Residential Schools). Around 150,000 native children were forced into the residential schools out of which many died because of the problems that they faced in the schools. The residential schools operating left a huge impact on the lives of many natives which is being realized now by the Canadian government. The residential schools started being closed from the 1970s after the problems associated with the schools were brought forward by individuals. The last residential school was closed in 1996 leaving the natives with their remaining culture and traditional norms. The discussion above clearly shows that the residential schools left a negative impact on the whole native society. The implementation of the scheme of residential schools proved to be a total failure and was presumably aimed at eradicating the culture of natives from the country. Snatching away the rights of the natives was a theme of the residential school scheme because of which many of the natives still suffer till date. After studying from the residential schools the natives are also seen to suffer from disorders such as the Residential Syndrome. The physical and sexual abuses suffered by many of the aboriginals have come forward in front of the world. A commission has been formed to find out everything about the residential schools and it is believed that the commission would soon be providing with its results. The impact that the residential schools brought to the natives was a negative one and many of the natives are still recovering from the incidents that they faced while studying in these schools (Lerner 2009; Muckel 2007; Roland Chrisjohn and Sherri Young 2001). Works Cited Aboriginal Residential Schools. Canada in the Making. “Canada-Tales out of School.” The Economist (US). Oct 28, 2000: 36 Charles Brasfield, MD, PhD, FRCPC Chelsey Romain 2010. Residential school survivors speak out. Timmins Press. Hidden from History: The Canadian Holocaust Ian Austen. 2008. Canada Offers an Apology for Native Students’ Abuse. Ny Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/world/americas/12canada.html?_r=1 Lerner, L. R. (2009). Depicting Canada's children. Waterloo, Ont: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. Muckle, Robert J. The First Nations of British Columbia: An Anthropological Survey. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2007. Print. Poupart, Lisa M. "The Familiar Face of Genocide: Internalized Oppression Among American Indians."Hypatia. 18.2 (2003): 86-100. Print. Proyect, Louis. “THE CIRCLE GAME: Shadows and Substances in the Indian Residential School Experience in Canada; by Roland Chrisjohn and Sherri Young, with Michael Maraun” Dark Field Notes Nov. 2001: 65 Residential school syndrome Issue: BCMJ, Vol. 43, No. 2, March 2001, page(s) 78-81 Articles Report on industrial schools for Indians and half-breeds. Ottawa. < http://www.archive.org/details/cihm_03651> Smith, Andrea. Amnesty International USA. 2006. 8 Mar. 2006 Spring, Joel. The American School 1642-1993. 3rd ed.New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994 “STOLEN SISTERS: Discrimination and Violence against Indigenous Women in Canada” Amnesty International. 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