Topic: Residential Schools In Canada

Type of paper:	Research Paper
Subject area:	Native-American Studies
Academic level:	College
Style:	APA
Size:	26.5 kB
Word count:	941
Mark awarded:
Date submitted:	2008-11-21 22:56:11
Rating/Votes count:	5.00 / 4

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Tags:

canada, school, children, literature, schools, dispute, english, summary, resolution, geography, residential, sprinkler, maple, leaf, European, Aboriginal, Monetary Union, Tree Canada, Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, Union Organization

Residential School Systems in Canada
Canada is known as a peaceful , polite country rich in cultural
diversity . However , amidst the cultural mosaic that formed over the
last century lies a dark part of its history that , to this day , the
Canadian government is not proud to call its own . This bleak history
surrounds Canada 's residential schools . Residential schools were
created in the nineteenth century in order to educate , enlighten and
refine First Nation peoples in Canada . The government wanted the First
Nation people to adopt a European way of life so that they acted more
like their European counterparts . Children were torn and separated from
their families and European religions , education and history was forced
upon them . The main focus of the schools ' regime was to force European
culture on the First Nation population in order to "civilize " the "uncivilized "
Originating in Ontario in the 1800s , the first residential schools
operated from a religious standpoint with churches as their backbone .
However , the Canadian government 's eventual involvement led to the
Gradual Civilization Act in 1957 and financial reserves were allotted
toward this effort . The government originally got involved in order to
carry out its responsibility under the Indian Act . Under the Act , the
government was obligated to educate Aboriginal people as well as
introduce a plan to integrate the contrasting cultures .
By the mid-1800s , residential schools began to surface in Western
Canada and in 1920 , 74 schools were in operation across the country .
The schools functioned well into the 1950s until stories about
mistreatment began to circulate .
To this day , reports and discussions about residential schools in
Canada are controversial . Some youths within the First Nation culture
tend to display a level of apathy toward educational systems and some
blame the past residential school systems for this blatant lack of
interest . Some argue that certainly not all of the schools mistreated
students while others say that they are trying to forget about the
experiences they had in the schools . It is a decidedly touchy and
complicated subject because there were so many schools in operation
therefore , the students ' experiences vary as much as the terrain does
across the country .
However , some aspects remain constant . Firstly , the children were
separated from their family and friends . Secondly , while at school , the
students were not allowed to speak their respective languages and all of
the staff members only spoke English . Some of the children , who are now
older adults , report that they were punished if they were caught
speaking in their mother tongues . They say it was very frustrating and
exhausting for most children because they entered school with no prior
English language skills . They couldn 't express their feelings , wishes
or opinions until they learned the foreign language . Some struggled
with English for many years . On top of that , certain words that existed
in the English language did not even exist in the Aboriginal languages
so direct translations were difficult and /or impossible to ascertain .
In addition , the students ' school environments...

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