What was life like at a residential school

What was Life Like for First Nations Children as a Result of the Residential School System in Canada and what were some of its Consequences? Elisabeth Servello 2 It is said history is written by the victors and the vanquished relegated to the dust bin of history. A representation of this is symbolized by the creation in Canada of a system of residential schools that made as its official policy the removal of First Nations children from their families and the use of the entire apparatus of the state to ensure this policy was reinforced and perpetuated. This led to the death of thousand of innocent children whose lives were stolen from them and their families and hidden, until recently under the grounds of many of the former residential schools (Miller, 1996; Daniel, 2006; Moore, 2003). Only after decades of protesting and a renewed sense of pride among First Nation people, did the shame of the painful past of residential school abuse come into the light of day at the table of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, (TRCC). The question this essay attempts to answer is what was life like at a residential school and what were some of its consequences. The paper explores this question with a critical lens? To understand the question and to answer it one must first have a brief background on what gave rise to such a stain on Canada’s historical legacy and its relations with First Nations communities. The question of why the system was set up in the first place needs to be understood within an historical context. Residential schools were government-sponsored religious schools that were established to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture. Although the first residential school were established in New France, the term by and large refers to schools established after 1880 (Daniel, 2006). Perceptions and Attitudes First Nation children, their parents, family, and Tribes knew very little of the whirlwind that would visit their way of life and their lives which would forever change the trajectory of the First Nations people of Canada to design their own destiny. The structure set up that was called the residential school system by the Canadian government had the cooperation of various social agencies, such as the Catholic and Protestant churches who ran most of the residential schools in 3 Canada (Hanson et al.2020). The situation regarding how the then government of the Dominion of Canada, under its first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, perceived and dealt with the First Nation people of Canada and subsequent governments after this is paramount to understand the tragedy that beset the First Nations people of Canada. The idea of such a system is predicated on the understanding that First Nations children can and should be removed from their parents, isolated far away, and forced to endure foreign ideas and practices as well as abuse in all its tragic forms. No protection for young children from the ills and evils “in the hearts of man” (Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, 1899). For his part, Canada’s First Prime Minister (1815-1891) believed that, When the school is on the reserve the child lives with its parents, who are savages; he is surrounded by savages, and though he may learn to read and write his habits, and training and mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who can read and write. It has been strongly pressed on myself, as the head of the Department, that the Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men” (Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, Official report of the debates of the House of Commons of the Dominion of Canada, 9 May 1883, 1107–1108). The objective of the residential schools was about removing all vestiges of any influences of a child’s “Indian” cultural upbringing and linguistic uniqueness and basically obliterate it within the dominant Anglo-Saxon idea that if one is not “white”, one must be made “white”. Not all Canadians thought as such, however, one must realize that the attitudes towards First Nation people then and now is one that is still dominated by the idea that Indigenous people cannot take care of themselves or the land that belongs to them and so a caretaker needs to watch over them. 4 This sentiment was very much the theme of Duncan Campbell Scott, who as Minister of Indian Affairs over one hundred years ago (Milloy, 1999; Change & Chakrabart, 2007) believed that there should be no doubt that the First Nations people will be forced to convert to the “white man’s way or severe consequences will ensure. Of course, Scott’s role in the whole residential school question was and still is a sore topic for First Nation people for it was he more than anyone who pursued this with a single purpose, and he states this in a matter-of-fact way; I want to get rid of the Indian problem. I do not think as a matter of fact, that the country ought to continuously protect a class of people who are able to stand alone… Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill" (Duncan Campbell Scott, Minister of Indian Affairs, 1920). The Long Journey into the Light of Day Residential schools were intentionally designed with the idea of creating much distance between a child and their family and culture. This was to ensure that parents, siblings, and family were unable to reach these children and so the influence of one’s home and culture is cut abruptly in essence to shock these children to comply. Using fear, force, coercion, abuse and laws, the policy of removing these children lasted until the last residential school closed in 1997 (Dean & Therrien, 2003). As with many crimes against humanity, and against a cultural group, a series of Canadian governments right up until today, believed that the residential schooling of thousands of young First Nations children was a necessary structure in order to ensure compliance from First Nations people. The accepted view was that this “massive “scoop “of Indigenous children was being 5 done to help the Indigenous community. It would better integrate them into mainstream society and allow them to become “productive” citizens according to the official governmental line at the time and for a very long time after the creation of this system (Mussell et al. 1991; Milloy, 1996). First Nations people became, in essence, wards of the state and basically at the mercy of government policy towards them. It should be noted the process of destroying the culture and language of First Nations community and families, was very much tied to the ability of the government to take and control lands that did not belong to them and thus further and intentionally impoverish First Nation people. The reality of life for young First Nation children some as young as three years old was very regimented. Boys had to wake up very early usually around 5:30 am to milk cows, pluck chickens, and feed animals. The girls and very young children awoke at 6:00 am to clean their rooms and wash clothing. They went to mass before eating breakfast. Breakfast was basically porridge and milk which often had insects inside. Meals were sparse and very little effort given to feed these students nutritious meals was made (Milloy, 1999). Students were schooled in civilization training in how to become more like an Anglo-Saxon and less like an “Indian”. After the day’s lessons, and the hard back breaking work including farming was done supper was served at 6:00 o'clock. This food was basic, tasteless and without nutrients. The best food was kept and usually eaten by staff. After supper the students were allowed limited recreational time. If a student strayed off by themselves, they were punished by forcing these students to kneel on rock floor for hours where everyone could see (Miller, 1996). All students had to kneel, say a prayer before bedtime and if they refused a punishment would ensue. The instructors selected to work in residential schools were religious usually nuns or priests or both and persons of unsavory character looking to prey and abuse helpless and 6 defenceless young children males or females. A large percentage of instructors had failed in their previous jobs and found a niche on total mediocrity and no expectation in the residential school system. This meant the teachers were low quality and didn't know how to educate children the proper way. Punishment for many teachers against First Nations children was done to cover up their dismal teaching and abuse (Milloy, 1996: Dean & Therrien, 2003). Not all teachers were like this, there were of course exception to this situation, however few First Nation students were educated by a teacher who was kind and not abusive. Most who were kind-hearted and compassionate left the situation. It is important to note that First Nations students were left to fend for themselves in so many ways. The bulk of the “so” called learning for residential school children was in manual and backbreaking labour meant to break the spirit and reshape the mind of these children. Children in the residential school system were treated more like child labourers than students (Milloy, 1996: Dean & Therrien, 2003). Typically, these students spent perhaps 2 to 4 hours a day in the classroom, and the rest of their day was spent working. By the time most of these students turned eighteen they could neither read or write English or speak or write their own Indigenous languages. Most had only graduated to a grade five level. Not only did these schools fail to integrate these children but failed them also by destroying any ability of them to connect to their families and thus their own cultural roots. The damage was and has been done to the generations that went to these schools. It has been estimated that approximately 150,000 First Nation, Inuit, Metis children were removed from their families to attend residential schools (Milloy, 1996: Dean & Therrien, 2003) From 1830 onward the development of Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Methodist schools became part of church policy in what was known as Upper Canada (Ontario) (Milloy, 1999). These early residential schools set up the framework with what would be known as the residential school system in Canada post-Confederation (1867). From 1831 to 1996, there were 7 130 residential schools that operated in Canada. The very first residential school, called The Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ontario, accepted its first boarding students in 1831. The last residential school to close was the Gordon Residential School in Punnichy, Saskatchewan, which closed in 1996. It was the last federally funded residential school in Canada (Hanson et al, 2020). With the passage of the British North America Act in 1867, and the implementation of the Indian Act (1876), the government was obligated to provide First Nation children with an education and to integrate them into Canadian society. The federal government did support schooling efforts to make First Nations economically independent on public money. It was required to provide Indigenous youth with an education and to assimilate them into society. The federal government supported schooling to make First Nations economically self-sufficient. However, in joining efforts with Christian churches the policy of self-sufficiency morphed into the residential school system that created generations of lost and abused Indigenous youth (Daniel, 2006). This was not the school system Indigenous leaders wanted for their young. Former students of this system demanded that the government provide restitution and recognition to the thousands of survivors of the systemic abuse that occurred in the residential school system and that caused them pain and suffering they endured and are enduring (Dean & Therrien, 2003; Hanson et al, 2020). These voices of outrage and anger resulted in 2007, in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and a formal public apology by Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008 (Hanson et al, 2020). Isolation and Assimilation Overall, students’ experiences at the residential schools were negative, and would have long lasting and chaotic consequences in their lives and their families. First Nation students, of all agencies were forcibly isolated from each other, denied speaking the language of their birth 8 and culture, and refused basic life necessities to force compliance and discipline. Gender segregation was adhered to boys and girls were regimented into male and female classes (Mussell et al. 1991). To deny any type of association the hair of these students was cut off again denying boys and girls a direct connection to their cultural world. Their clothes were removed and burned, and the students were given clothing that the Anglo-Saxon citizens wore, and, in many cases, their “Indian” name was changed to a more English sounding name. So, the process of intentionally destroying cultural connections for these students began the moment they entered the residential schools. Indigenous spiritual tradition was denigrated and criticized. Institutionalized assimilation by stripping Aboriginal people of their language, culture and connection with family the results for many, have included a lifestyle of uncertain identity and the adoption of self-abusive behaviours, often associated with alcohol and violence, reflect a pattern of coping sometimes referred to in First Nations as, The Residential School Syndrome (McKenzie & Morrissette, 2003, p.254). What went Wrong What went Right It was not until the late 1980s that the Canadian legal system began to respond to allegations of abuse brought forward by Survivors. Few prosecutions and even fewer convictions of claims of sexual and physical abuse resulted. Both male and female First Nations children were abused, but females often faired the worse. As more information about these schools began to circulate, more charges against previous teachers and administrators of the residential schools were being charged with abuse. However, this was not enough and many if not most abuser lived out their lives without seeing the inside of a Canadian court room. Things were changing and as thousands of cases of abuse mounted the government needed to address this stain on Canada’s relationship with the First Nation people. These changes included a Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) reporting the experiences of First Nation survivors of residential 9 schools and documented these cases for the record. The sharp edge of a microscope was now narrowing its investigative lenses at this system and what its consequences and continuing consequences for these children into their adult life was, has been and will be. The RCAP began interviewing people right across Canada’s from First Nation communities to transform this experience into a legacy that would ensure that such an experience never happens again. The commission’s report, published in 1996, brought a lot of attention to the residential school system. It educated the Canadian public what the educational experiences of thousands of First Nations students was for most did not know about this blight on Canada’s past. In 1998, based on RCAP’s recommendations and considering mounting court cases, the Canadian government publicly apologized to former students for the physical and sexual abuse they suffered in the residential schools. Government plans to help communities affected by the residential schools did not go far enough for many First Nations residential school survivor. The government apology mentioned previously did not go far enough since it addressed only the effects of physical and sexual abuse and not other damages caused by the residential school system. Overall, Indigenous students had a negative experience at the residential schools, one that would have lasting consequences. First Nation students were isolated, and their culture was scorned. They were removed from their homes and parents and were separated from their siblings, as the schools were segregated according to gender. It is easy to see how such a traumatic experience would create generations of lost First Nation youth and adults. Intergenerational Trauma Many Indigenous children experienced psychological, spiritual, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of their so-called caregivers in the residential school system. On an individual level, the long-term impact of residential school experiences has created a mental health crisis for many First Nation communities as well as an addiction epidemic. In her 1991 work, Impact 10 of Residential Schools and Other Root Causes of Poor Mental Health, Maggie Hodgson summarizes the generational impact of the loss of parenting knowledge and skills as follows: If you subject one generation to that kind of parenting and they become adults and have children; those children become subjected to that treatment and then you subject a third generation to a residential school system, the same as the first two generations. You have a whole society affected by isolation, loneliness, sadness, anger, hopelessness, and pain. High levels of Indigenous unemployment, a disproportionate number of Indigenous people involved in the justice system, high rates of Indigenous homelessness in urban centres and poor housing conditions in many First Nations communities all share a root cause: Canada’s residential school policy (p.14). Chang, and Chakrabart, (2017) point out that the experiences of most residential school students was similar. The story of John Jones reflects the reality that what is “important to a child is to play and be loved” (p.1). His life before being forcible removed from his family was the loving world of parents and siblings. However, as he remembers well his nightmare started when he was seven years old at the Alberni Residential School and how “The physical abuse was every day and being assaulted verbally if I didn’t do things the way that they wanted me to do, I was called a dirty, stupid Indian that would be good for nothing” (p.1). These are the words and deeds that this helpless, unprotected child experienced at the hands of adult human beings. The residential schools disrupted lives, caused social and personal problems, and caused long-term problems among First Nation peoples which only now many are discovering. 11 References Brant, Jennifer (2017). Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Chang, Jonathan & Chakrabart, Meghna. (2017). Stories From Canada's Indigenous Residential School Survivors. (online) Daniel N. Paul. (2006). We Were Not the Savages. Fernwood Publishing Dean Neu, & Richard Therrien. (2003). Accounting for Genocide: Canada's Bureaucratic Assault on Aboriginal People. Fernwood Publishing, Hanson, E., Gamez, D., & Manuel, A. (2020). The Residential School System. Indigenous Foundations. https://indigenousfoundations.web.arts.ubc.ca/residential school system 2020/ Hodgson, Maggie. (1991). 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