Author Archives: tsher

Module 2 Post 2 – Residential School Promotional Film (CBC)

The link below is to a YouTube clip of a residential school promotional video. The clip shows the school as a fun place for the students where they enjoy their daily lessons and outdoor activities.

All of the activities are ‘Canadian’ – the children are playing ice hockey outdoors, table tennis, and exercises. Note the western style haircuts and clothing, as well as they lessons they are learning (science lessons on the movement of the sun, for example).

Of course, nothing shows any of the atrocities that are claimed by so many aboriginals in Canada from this period. The school does look like it is doing its job, however, in assimilating the children to Canadian culture.

YouTube Link.

Module 2 Post 1- Residential School Syndrome

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This paper from the BC Medical Journal suggests a ‘residential school syndrome’ is similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Much has been written on the atrocities of the Canadian government and the residential schools and many of the horrors that occurred at some of these schools have come to light of late. Residential school syndrome shares similarities with post-traumatic stress disorder in that both include someone who has either witnessed or experienced past trauma and continue to have recurring memories.

The article in the BCMJ can be found here.

Connecting Weblog to Research

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As mentioned in module 1 postings, I am interested in the residential school history in Canada. As a child growing up in New Brunswick and living close to a reserve, we had a number of native students in our school and classrooms. As a child, I didn’t like it at all and I didn’t understand why the native students were in school because it was obvious, even to a primary school child, that they really didn’t want to be there.

My education about native Canadians is very weak and I do not recall ever studying or learning about their history or culture while in school. I know only a small amount about the residential school programme in Canada and this is an area I would like to research more. I would like to look at the government’s purpose for these schools, how they operated, the curriculum taught, treatment of the students and their eventual closer and government apology for them.

Module 1

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Like many of us, my elementary school in New Brunswick had a number of aboriginal children in attendance. At the time, my feelings toward my aboriginal classmates were dictated by the actions of the aboriginal students towards myself and others in the class/school, and we were mostly afraid. The aboriginal students didn’t want to be there (I realised later) and it showed.

I have often thought back to those days and I have an interest in finding out more information about school and education systems that were put in place (or attempted) for the aboriginal children in my area. Thus, I am looking at researching into the history of residential schools in Canada.

1. The CBC has an article that is a pretty good starting point for information on the residential school history. This page is from 2008 but contains an archive of links for further information.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/a-history-of-residential-schools-in-canada-1.702280

2. Wikipedia, though certainly not always a reliable source, contains a list of residential schools in Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_residential_schools_in_Canada

3. UBC has an indigenous foundation with a wealth of information on residential schools and includes a good list of recommended resources, from books to websites and different organisations.

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

4. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) has the following mandate “The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has a mandate to learn the truth about what happened in the residential schools and to inform all Canadians about what happened in the schools.”

The organisation’s site has a wealth of resources and artefacts that will prove useful in a better understanding of what happened in these schools and the Canadian government’s role in their development and forced attendance.

http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/index.php?p=4

5. Just recently media reported findings that over 3,000 aboriginals died in dormitories in residential schools in Canada. The majority of deaths were due to the spread of disease. From the Spanish Flu to the spread of TB, the dorms were apparently a perfect breeding ground for disease.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/at-least-3-000-died-in-residential-schools-research-shows-1.1310894