Author Archives: troymoore

About troymoore

Librarian/Teacher at Correlieu Secondary School.

Impact of Residential Schools – Weblog 4 – 5

The Impact of Residential Schools

http://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/dspace/bitstream/10219/382/1/NSWJ-V7-art2-p33-62.PDF

The article was found through a search, but comes from the Native Social Work Journal, volume 7. Ideally, what the article outlines is the idea that residential schools not only impacted those who went to the schools, but generation after generation following those survivors. It discusses the sordid history of colonialism.

It is interesting to note, the author, Cheryl Partridge discusses the traditional learning styles of Aboriginal peoples using the medicine wheel. She then discusses the history of residential schools following the Davin Report of 1879. The idea that churches must run schools.

What I really found interesting was the description of self view from residential schools. Children were being taught that their way of life, their parents, everything about them was wrong and dirty. They were told their rituals would condemn them to hell.

She explains further that the punishment put upon these students impacted not only who they were, but the kinds of parents they would make. Think about that for a second, we know the damage done to victims of abuse, yet are surprised at the long reaching impact of residential schools. It is an interesting dichotomy between the impact of the schools and the subsequent impact by future generations.

I will probably use this article in my project to highlight that the ramifications of residential schools was not only on the survivors, but impacts generations and communities as well.

Honour the Apology – Weblog 4 – 4

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It’s Time to Honour the Apology

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Carleton+student+wants+residential+schools+documents+released/8712899/story.html

I chose this story because it is very recent (3-4 days ago). For those who haven’t followed it, I will recap it. A student at Carleton University, Geraldine King, has asked the government to release documents to the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission). She helped spearhead a protest on July 25^th, in Ottawa. The government has responded that they aren’t holding many documents and that some TRC searches have been irrelevant.

The TRC sees it differently. They have asked, repeatedly, for millions of documents the government is still holding onto. King, whose grandmother attended St. Joseph’s (not the one in William’s Lake), is still trying to get the release of documents. This follows closely on the revelation a few weeks ago on the nutrition experiments the government conducted on students in residential schools.

I am planning on using this, among some more recent stories, to showcase that the TRC was the only thing the government has done since the apology by Stephen Harper. This, coupled with Annett’s allegations from the ITCCS, may show the government has been dragging its feet, after all the promises in the apology.

Two Rows – Weblog 4 – 3

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Two Rows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxnYrm2cHi0

Two Rows is a documentary by Freedom Central featuring Kevin Annett, who is an ordained minister and has been investigated residential schools and what he calls the “Holocaust of Native Peoples in Canada.” Annett is called Eagle Strong Voice by the Anishinabe Nation in Winnipeg.

Kevin Annett was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 for his work on the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS).

Annett tells the story of his life in Pt. Alberni where he was first exposed to the troubling lifestyle following residential schools. He founded the ITCCS to bring to justice the people behind residential schools in Canada. He makes some broad claims about the government ‘buying silence’ through remuneration. Also he documents many of the students plight. He also tells about suspicious circumstances following some of the people he has worked with, uncovering the truth of residential schools.

I am not sure how much of this film I will use, however, there are lots of Annett videos online, which I will probably filter through. I chose this one because it was award winning and offers allegations of resistance from the government about finding out the truth about residential schools.

St. Joseph’s Commemoration – Weblog 4 -2

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St. Joseph’s Commemoration

http://www.sjmcommemorationevents.com/

This site is the official St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School Commemoration page. It is an overview of all the events that occurred in April 2013 at the Commemoration of the school. Included is the SD27 Pro-D day, complete with a special presentation by Quesnel students and their tile project. It was great to see so many of my students do their part and decorate tiles.

April 28^th, marked the viewing of We Were Children, a film written by Jason Sherman which discusses the impact of residential schools by following 2 children (Lyna and Glen) through the residential system. It also invites survivors to share their stories with the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) in Williams Lake at Thompson Rivers University (North) in May of 2013.

During this Commemoration there is also a Town Hall:

What does reconciliation mean to everyone in the Cariboo Region which was hosted by Justice Murray Sinclair, Conference Chair and Chair, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

However, the part of the site which interested me most and will probably have the greatest impact on my project is the videos page. It includes 4 videos including the Commemoration, stories from survivors and two videos from William’s Lake Secondary students ‘Survivors from Alkali Lake,’ by Sadie Johnson & Ses Jack and ‘What is Reconciliation?’ by Tiffany Boston. “These stories [were] created to build an awareness and recognition of the residential school experiences of First Nations in the Cariboo region of British Columbia.”

I am not sure how much, if any, of the videos I will use, but they are part of the public domain.

Commemoration video

St. Joseph’s Timeline – Weblog 4 – 1

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St. Joseph’s Timeline – Weblog 4 – 1

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bccaribo/StJoseph.html

This site is interesting. It is hosted by ancestry.com which is a site that allows you to search out your ancestry, through various records, including school histories. I stumbled on it by accident, but it piqued my interest. It chronicles, in timeline format, the history of St. Joseph’s Mission in William’s Lake, BC.

It starts with Father James McGuckin being assigned to the William’s Lake are in 1886. The one thing I liked about this site was that it provides background to the residential school, prior to it becoming a residential school. The site lists the priests who have worked at the mission, as well as a list of many of the marriages that took place at the mission, starting in 1873.

The mission school officially started in 1872, serving 11 “white” and “half-white” boys. Aboriginals were not allowed to attend. This piece is important because, although perhaps prevalent at the time, the school began as a racially segregated school. Within, 6 years the school population was 75 – 42 boys & 33 girls.

In 1886, St. Joseph’s Mission became a residential school. The white children were forced to attend other schools in the William’s Lake area. The ‘Sister’s of St. Anne’ were the primary teachers. In 1957, the school burned down, but was rebuilt. In 1981, St. Joseph’s became the “Cariboo Indian Education and Training Centre.”

What I like about this site is the easy to follow format and although heavy with non-necessary items (for my purposes) such as wedding listings, it does provide some interesting background to the school. I will likely only use this site for some brief background to the school, and to highlight the fact that after it closed, it was made into something positive, the Cariboo Indian Education and Training Center (which I believe is now called the Cariboo Chilcotin Aboriginal Training Employment Centre or CCATEC)

Residential School Syndrome – Weblog 3 – 5

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Residential School Experience

http://pimatisiwin.com/uploads/291994116.pdf

The document is a doctoral thesis outlining the idea of a specific post-traumatic stress disorder called the “residential school syndrome.” The question posed is the damage done from residential schools or colonization as a whole. The author was a psychologist at a residential school in 1991 and 1992. He found many youth suffered emotional problems following the closure of the school .

The document discusses the history of residential schools, following the Riel rebellion. This I found very interesting, as I had previously never thought there was a link between the two, but it makes a lot of sense. It also discusses the way students were ‘herded’ and separated at the school, often from family members. It also discusses the way students were given numbers as a way of further stripping culture. No names, just numbers.

It discusses a 1991 study based in Williams Lake in which 89 of 187 adults admitted to sexual abuse, the interesting thing to note is that 60 also refused to answer the question.

It also discusses the way in which the school not only tried to change the culture of students, but change the way they viewed culture as well. It discusses the number of disorders many survivors have individually, but also the damage done to the communities as a whole. The article documents, through interviews, some problems facing some survivors, including poverty, violence, and substance abuse.

The article offers suggestions for future study, but does determine that residential school syndrome does exist and affects people to this day.

I will use this article more for its bibliography than anything. I am in the process of trying to track down the research from 1991 in William’s Lake that is documented. My hopes are to see the results first hand, so I may extrapolate the data myself.

St. Joseph’s Memorial – Weblog 3 – 4

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Events for St. Joseph’s Reunion

http://www.splatsin.ca/wp-content/uploads/SJM-COMMEMORATION-COMMUNIQUE-December-21-2012.pdf

This site shows the planning of the committee which culiminated in a memorial in May of 2013. It’s purpose was to help facilitate the healing process as St. Joseph’s residential school was one of the more horrific schools. The interesting point was it was organized by the Esketemc First Nations. It also shows that St. Joseph’s drew from 15 First Nation communities and operated, officially, for 90 years.

The first event was put on by SD27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin) and I knew a few people that attended and said it was extremely informative.

The original funding for the memorial came from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. However, additional funding was raised through events. It also shows that SD27 used their Professional development day as a focus on residential schools. I am not sure if that is accurate as the date sited is in April, so it may have been a non-instructional day.

It discusses the unveiling of the monuments and what can be done in the future as it pertains to education around the residential school issue in William’s Lake. It also discusses the book (although the title was changed) They Called me Number One by Bev Sellars a recount of her time at St. Joseph’s.

This document will not be used in my project as a source, however, it was valuable as it clearly demonstrated the work that went into the day. It is also important to note that the day, although initially funded by TRC, was also completely organized by the School district and the Esketemc First Nations.

An additional thing that came from this event was the idea for a day in September to become an annual remembering residential schools day. This year it will be on Sept. 30 (I think) and orange t-shirts will be worn and teachers are being asked to discuss residential schools in classes on that day. I have been in contact with both my Aboriginal teacher liaison and Principal for an event to occur in my library on that day. Every little bit helps.

Harper’s Apology – Weblog 3 – 3

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Harper’s Apology

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100015644/1100100015649

This site, from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, contains a transcript of the apology Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave for residential schools on June 11, 2008.

The apology was issued, on behalf of the Government of Canada, to all people impacted by residential schools, particular those whose had survived the horrific treatment at the aforementioned schools. The apology admits over 150,000 children were separated from their families during this tumultuous time. He states the schools were started, partly, to meet the educational needs of Aboriginal children in the 1800s. The need to assimilate children was based on the belief Aboriginal culture was inferior to European culture. 132 schools were funded nationwide with every province containing them, with the exception of Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. The government recognizes these schools were a tragedy and should have never occurred.

The government also recognizes the fallout to residential schools and the impact it has had on people and communities. Although, Harper states, some enjoyed their time at school, these positives are overshadowed by the tragic stories of survivors. He also recognized the absence of an apology has slowed down the healing process. The onus should fall on the government and country for not issuing an apology earlier and they must shoulder the burden. He apologizes to all survivors and families impacted by residential schools. He also recognized the steps that need to be taken moving forward, including the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

This apology will be used in my project because it is the first time the government truly recognized what an atrocity occurred on Canadian soil. It also began the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which will a small focus of the project. I also remember watching the apology on television and wondering the sincerity of it. Given what occurred, I can’t help but wonder if healing will ever happen.

The Residential School System

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The Residential School System

http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/government-policy/the-residential-school-system.html

This website, through the University of British Columbia (shout out!), is an excellent look at the residential system in BC and Canada. It discusses the purpose of the residential school which was to assimilate and destroy culture. As the site points out it was to, “kill the Indian in the child.” It stated in the 1880s, with the church assuming the role of educator and forcing theological beliefs on children who were uprooted from their homes. The site discusses the torment these children faced on a daily basis: abuse, which was physical, psychological, and sexual . It also outlines the inferior education the children received, often only to grade 5 and preparing the children for a life in agriculture or wood working. It was not until the 1990s that churches began to recognize their part in this destructive ploy.

The site is a great source because it also outlines the ‘need’ for residential schools. The government of the time believed in order to settle Canada, the Aboriginal population needed to be reformed and the best way to do that was indoctrination at an early age. They went as far as to make it illegal for First Nations to attend schools which were not residential. The conditions at the residential school also highlighted the capabilities the government thought Aboriginal children possessed. Work was geared toward practical ability: sewing, carpentry and farming. Ironically, for a school, it was so unfocused on education that many students only reached grade 5 by 18 years of age. Many children died to the unsanitary conditions faced at residential schools, yet the value placed on Aboriginal life was so low the schools continued for a century.

In the late 1950s the government finally began to treat these institutions more like a school and began to hire qualified staff, and the 80 years of mistreatment was swept under the rug. The worthlessness created by these schools is still in communities today. As an aside, when St. Joseph’s finally shut down many non-Native peoples had no idea what when on because that implied worthlessness still lingered in 1981.

This site will be very valuable to my project because it outlines why the government felt the need to create residential schools and always demonstrates how the schools created a sense of despair and worthlessness in many Aboriginal communities. Many Aboriginal people are still reluctant to attend schools and are distrustful of schools due to the horrifying repercussions these schools caused. I hope to glean from this site some of the overt means of making students ashamed of their culture and some of the not-so-overt means of destroying self worth.

Indian Residential School Resources – Weblog 3 – 1

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Indian Residential School Resources

http://irsr.ca/lesson-plan-2/

This is not a website I intend to use for my project. It is one I intend to use in school. Even though, over the last few years, residential schools have come up in the media, most people are completely unaware of the truth behind residential schools or the impact residential schools had on community, families, and individuals.

One of the nice things about the website is its disclaimer, which recognizes the sensitive nature of the subject matter. It also provides a list of guidelines to follow when teaching about residential schools, which include: don’t overgeneralize or simplify, respect the differences people in the class will have, encourage empathy, among many others.

The website also has links to 8 individual lesson plans. The first four deal with learning about sensitive issues and how to investigate and research a paper/project on residential schools. These four lessons are great in the fact that they can be tailored to suit almost any grade level and interest group.

The second four deal with reconciliation and recovery. There is a superb , albeit brief, summary of Aboriginal education going forward for the teacher. The first lesson: Roots deals with the idea of institutionalized racism. The second: Removal or Relocation deals with the horror of removing children from their homes. The third: Reconcilliation deals with the idea of what Canada needs to do to reconcile with survivors of residential schools. It also introduces learners on ways of using newspapers as research tools. The fourth plan: Rights and responsibilities deals with the Charter and the UN Human Rights. This lesson forces students to reflect on times they felt violated and also makes students look to the future for things they can do to make this world a better place.

The lesson plan page on Indian Residential School Resources may not be used for my project, but will be ideally suited for social studies teachers and this is a link I plan to share with colleagues.