TheEeffect of the Residential Schools on the Aboriginal People in BC Canada - Term Paper Example

? Effect of Residential Schools on the Aboriginal People in British Columbia Effect of Residential Schools on the Aboriginal People in British Columbia Introduction Similar to other disenfranchised groups across the globe, the Aboriginal people of British Columbia endured over a century of hardship aimed at forcing them to become more accepting and acclimated to Canadian culture. This was certainly a classic example of the dominant group in society exerting its power and influence over a minority group. Through their actions, they demonstrated an abhorrence towards the Aboriginal’s and would seemingly stop at nothing to either force their removal, or insist on them becoming more like a ‘true’ Canadian. A major strategy to see this goal become a reality was to take children away from their families and send them to residential schools, the purpose of which was to really indoctrinate them into the way of Canadian life, culture, traditions, and language (Safyan, 2013). This process lasted for more than 100 years and have caused great division within Canadian society as a whole. As we begin to discuss this important issue, it is imperative that we understand how the residential schools were formed, what their purpose was, and what happened within their walls. Many mistakingly believe that the schools were solely created by the Canadian government, but it needs to be mentioned that it was actually a joint effort between the government and various religious groups. The Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, United and Presbyterian churches all played a role in the creation of the residential schools and the policies mandating that aboriginal children attend them (Barnes & Josefowitz, 2006, p. 19). During the time that they were in operation, nearly 150,000 children of various degrees of Aboriginal descent attended. The goal was to insist that they learn to speak English or French, being punished if they spoke their native language, and to get the students to talk, dress, eat, and live like average, non-Aboriginal Canadians. Through it all, reports of abuse abounded, creating the need to day for national reconciliation with the Aboriginal people as a result of the failed effort at forced acculturation (Aman, 2008, p. 365). It is important, therefore, to understand the effects that residential schools had on the Aboriginal people and Canadian culture in general, factors that have contribute to current mental health issues experience by Aboriginal’s, and to better understand how to reconcile over a century of hard feelings towards one another. Residential Schools and their Effect on National Health and Healing Anytime a group of people in society is subjected to treatment based on who they are and the culture that they are raised in, there will likely be adverse effects down the road. This can be seen throughout history with the treatment of the Native Americans in the United States, the Japanese during World War 2, and the ethnic cleansing that has occurred in Yugoslavia, among others. The fact remains, however, that Canadians have long prided themselves as being above the fray when it comes to matters of ethnicity, yet the treatment of the Aboriginals in British Columbia does show an ugly side to the treatment of minority groups that must be dealt with in order for reconciliation to occur. The residential school concept was, in essence, a form of colonialism undertaken by the Canadian principalities, similar to that of other events occurring throughout history. Now, while the project was successful in filling up residential schools with residential children, many members of the First Nation did not go down with a social fight, and fight they did for over a century (De Leeuw, 2007, p. 339). It is important to note that Aboriginal communities often actively resisted the efforts at colonizing them and forcing acculturation into the British Columbian, or Canadian way of life. Whereas acculturation should be a gradual process where one dominant culture slowly exerts influence over others, the implementation of residential schools thwarted this process and attempted to transform the entire Aboriginal people into their fold in the shortest amount of time. This was done by targeting children. It simply was not acceptable to the people, and now there is a great rift between the two cultures that will certainly require a time period of immense reconciliation and healing in order for the process to be complete. The desired effect of the residential school system was to remove children from their families and to isolate them. The thinking here was this would take away the influences of their own traditions and cultures, thereby assisting them in accepting the way of the life of the dominate Canadian culture. As we know through extensive research, children should not be arbitrarily removed from their families for any reason, except in the case of abuse or neglect of course. By setting course on the path of residential schools, the Canadian government and religious institutions were basically telling the Aboriginal people that they were inferior and unequal to the Canadians (Haig-Brown, 2010). The assumption, then, was that Canadian culture was somehow ‘better’ and must be adhered to. In beginning the national healing process, then Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed the reality that the Residential School was inherently flawed, and was based on the assumption that Aboriginal culture must be eradicated from British Columbia altogether. He stated in his apology that, “Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country” (Safyan, 2013, p. 205). This is certainly a beginning point in the process, but certainly 140 years of neglect and abuse cannot heal such a deep rift. In order to understand just how far reaching the effect of residential schools had on the Aboriginal people in British Columbia, one should first understand what occurred under this system and the various factors that contributed to certain mental health issues that remain prevalent in the community to this day. Factors Contributing to Current Mental Health Disparities Among Aboriginals There is a primary distinction in the fact the places where Aboriginal students were sent are referred to as residential schools and not boarding institutions. The differences are quite stark. Residential schools did not afford the children the same educational opportunities as Canadian children attending public or boarding schools (Stewart, 2008). Instead of have a focus on academic, women were taught domestics duties, while the boys were basically taught vocational skills. The unequal form of education meant that Aboriginal’s entering adult society we already looked down upon as being uneducated and likely assigned to a life of poverty. In addition, residential schools were sorely underfunded and that staff ill equipped to adequately care for so many children on a full-time basis (Bowles, Ajit, Dempsey, & Shaw, 2011). The conditions, in and of themselves, contributed to a great deal of mental anguish as children were made to feel ashamed of their heritage and taught through the actions of their respective schools that needed to be resigned to a life of hard labor or domestic duties. It was a form of social indoctrination that would have difficult for anyone to handle, much less impressionable young people. Adding to the mental anguish was the fact that siblings were even separated in the school, thereby further weakening any ties that the students might have to their family. As boys and girls were segregated, even at the same facility, brothers and sisters often went years without really getting to know one another, further growing a distance between their family and their traditional way of life. In addition, many students in the school did not have any background in either English or French, the only languages allowed to spoken at any time in the residential school system. As such, children went quite some time without being able to interact with their peers, much less any remaining family ties they might have been able to forge within the facility (Barnes, Josefowitz, & Cole, 2006). This language restriction was a 24/7 policy, so the children could not even feel comfortable engaging in their own Indian language away from the school setting. As such, their communication skills were sorely weakened. Those students remaining in the schools for many years are still suffering from having to go so long without being able to interact in a way that was comfortable to them (Gallagher-Hayashi, 2004). This has now made it difficult to interact with others in a now ‘free’ Canadian culture that they currently reside in. Adding to the meant anguish was the years of emotional and psychological abuse that we now know many of the students endured over the years. The accounts of survivors are rather shocking. The term ‘survivor’ is used here due to the reality that a rather astonishing number of the students in residential school’s actually died before turning 18 and being released. As such, the survivors take it upon themselves to now tell all Canadians the horrors that they were subjected to. There are accounts of students being shackled to their beds for days on end, and there have even been reports that some of the children had needles stuck in their tongues if they did not speak English or French. Add to this the reality that many of the schools were severely overcrowded, had poor sanitation systems, and inadequate supplies of food and medical supplies, and the perfect storm existed to cause possibly irreversible mental health issues for a large number of Aboriginal young people (Lindberg 2001). While it is difficult to note the exact number of students who perished in residential schools, estimates in 1907 pointed to figures as high as 24%. That number becomes even higher when considering that the most critically ill of children were simply returned home to die (Barton, Thommasen, Tallio, Zhang, & Michalos, 2005). Throughout the years that the residential school system was in play, it appears that government and church officials new of widespread physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that was taking place in the facilities, yet they failed to act (Feldthusen, 2007). In fact, many knowingly turned the other way when faced with the reality of the deplorable conditions found at many residential schools, even after government inspectors wrote scathing reports. All of these events surely added up to a feeling of abandonment in countless numbers of Aboriginal children, which only serves to depend the need for further national healing and reconciliation. To be fair, there have also been many reports of quality educators and caretakers employed by the schools. These individuals did genuinely look after the children as best they could, given the limited resources that they had at their disposal. In fact, some of the children in the school have reported that they had many good experiences in the institutions in which they were housed, and that their life there was fruitful. Those accounts, however, do not negate the reality that assimilation was forced upon the Aboriginal children, families were needlessly separated for years at a time, and abuse was considered more the norm rather than the exception. There have been numerous accounts of how the abuse lasted well into adulthood for many Aboriginals, and the nightmares that they continue to endure continue to cause a great deal of mental anguish. George Guerin, one of many survivors, tells about how he has so many scars on his hands as a result of being hit with sticks that now he must wear special gloves when the weather gets too cold. He is also report to say that the residential school forced his to shut off his feelings on cue, and today he still has difficult feeling pain and empathy for others. As for others, he considers himself luckily. He once stated that, “It wasn’t just my generation. My grandmother, who is in her late nineties, to this day it’s too painful for her to about what happened to her at the school” (De Leeuw, 2007, p. 348). This is not an isolated case. It is revealed that the pain and suffering that the Aboriginals went through at the residential schools throughout British Columbia did not end when they were let out. For many thousands of them, it continues to this day. A simple apology by the Prime Minister will not change that. Canada must show a willingness to truly make up for the wrongs it committed though this forced assimilation program, and it should also demonstrate that it has learned from this situation by showing a concerted effort to treat those in the minority with dignity and respect. Only then can national healing hope to begin, and it will certainly be a long process that brings new meaning to the phrase ‘time heals all wounds’. Conclusion In spite of all of the efforts of the Canadian government and religious organizations throughout British Columbia, Aboriginal culture survived. By the 1950s, the government began to recognize this as well, as so they slowly abolished the system of residential schools. They realized that separating children from their families was not so smart after all. What they did not recognize, however, was the Aboriginal children had the same rights to a quality education as other Canadian children, because here started about 35 years of segregation in the schools, where Indian children were forced to attend inferior schools, where the underfunding and abuse continued unabated. In fact, many of the teachers in these ‘new’ schools were not even high school graduates themselves (Aman, 2008). Towards the end of the 1960s, the Canadian government slowly began to take over the whole system, forcing the religious organizations out, and slowly integrating Aboriginals into the public education system of Canada. The damage to the relationships between the two cultures, however, had long been well established. Canadian children viewed Aboriginal children with disgust, perpetuated by this own families and social circles, while Aboriginal children either wanted nothing to do with a country that shunned them for so long, or they lived in fear of what the dominant culture was going to do to them next. It was a situation where nobody really won, and only the Aboriginal young people lost. Today, the long term impact of this failed policy can best be summarized buy the following statement: “It is clear that the [residential] schools have been, arguable, the most damaging of the many elements of Canada’s colonization of this land’s original peoples and, as their consequences still affect the lives of Aboriginal people today, they remain so” (Barton, Thommasen, Tallio, Zhang, & Michalos, 2005, 302). While many in Canada view this situation as just a part of history, the Aboriginals are left reliving it over and over again. It has dehumanized in a way that is unimaginable. One cannot forget the horrors that were they were subjected to and simply be expected to forget and get on with their lives. The scars remain, and it remains a serious history that prevents full restoration and reconciliation amongst the various social groups in Canada. Moving forward, all Canadians need to demonstrate that they are willing to embrace the Aboriginal people. It is not realistic to expect or demand that the Aboriginals forgive the people of Canada for what they did, but can only hope that over time the effects of the residential school system will be minimized as generations come and go, and that Canada never again subjects a minority group to such a case of rampant and blatant discrimination. References Aman, C. (2008). Aboriginal student and school mobility in British Columbia public schools. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 54(4), 365. Barnes, R., Josefowitz, N., and Cole, E. (2006). Residential schools: Impact on aboriginal students academic and cognitive development. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 21(1/2), 18-32. Barton, S., Thommasen, H., Tallio, B., Zhang, W., and Michalos, A. (2005). Health and quality of life of aboriginal residential school survivors, Bella Coola Valley, 2001). Social Indicators Research, 73(2), 295-312. Bowles, P., Ajit, D., Dempsey, K., and Shaw, T. (2011). Urban aboriginal use of fringe financial institutions: Survey evidence from Prince George, British Columbia. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 40(6), 895-902. De Leeuw, S. (2007). Intimate colonialism: The material and experiences places of British Columbia’s residential schools. Canadian Geographer, 51(3), 339-359. Feldthusen, B. (2007). Civil liability for sexual assault in aboriginal residential schools: The baker did it. Canadian Journal of Law and Society, 22(1), 61-91. Gallagher-Hayashi, D. (2004). Connecting with aboriginal students. Teacher Librarian, 31(5), 20. Haig-Brown, C. (2010). Indigenous thought, appropriation, and non-aboriginal people. Canadian Journal of Education, 33(4), 925-950. Lindberg, T. (2001). Colonizing bodies: Aboriginal health and healing in British Columbia 1900-1950. Labour, 4848), 279-283. Safyan, S. (2013). Bibliography of British Columbia. BC Studies, 2013(177), 205. Stewart, C. (2008). Taking action on aboriginal issues within the British Columbia teachers federation. Our Schools, Our Selves, 18(1), 19. Read More