Origins of Residential Schools

Autonomy Lost Before the 1820s, the British position in North America was precarious Threat from the French until 1763 Threat from the Americans until 1820s Because of this they were reluctant to exert control over the Natives to “civilise” them. Starting in 1818, the British colonial government started policies to civilise the natives through education. Most of this focused on teaching farming and on reading / writing.

The attempts to educate the natives was inconsistent and never really progressed. The only thing really accomplished was the collection of natives into specific areas (reserves) Instead, religious organisations filled the void and began to build schools. As can be expected these groups preferred to try to convert them rather than teach them anything beyond literacy. At the time of Confederation the government funded the Native schools, but let the churches run them.

The natives recognised that the traditional way of life was difficult to maintain. Some native leaders argued that education was important. “We have been too long children, the time has come for us to stand up and be men. We must all joins hands like one family, and help one another in the great cause of Indian improvement: this is our only hope to prevent our race from perishing, and to enable us to stand on the same ground as the white men…”

Some of these early religious schools like Mount Elgin in Ontario attempted to teach the natives something more. They were rare and often under funded and did not survive for very long.

Beginning of Repression After Confederation in 1867, the Canadian government took over responsibility for native policies. The government developed a common policy through the Indian Act of The Indian Act empowered the government to forcibly remove children from their homes to send them to school. The forced settlement etc, were based on American policies and precedents.

The purpose of the act was cultural assimilation and was only thinly disguised as an attempt to “improve” the condition of natives. The government decided to enhance the existing system The government would build and fund the schools. The churches would run them. With this every Christian denomination applied and received funding to develop schools. One of the new forms this took was with boarding schools were the children would live for most if not all year round.

What these schools focused on was straight forward. “Their education must consist of not merely of the training of the mind, but of a weaning from the habits and feelings of their ancestors, and the acquirements of the language, arts, and customs of civilised life.” By the early 1900s parents were hiding their kids and the government was forced to pass more laws to get them to hand over the kids. Parents who refused had a potion of food / funding withheld from the band. They also began to move schools away from the reserves making it hard for kids to run away, or parent to steal them back.

Cultural Assimilation Once the schools were isolated any façade about improving natives was dropped. Children were forced to assimilate or they were physically or mentally abused. They had their hair cut, forced to wear a uniform, given “white” names. Siblings were separated and under no circumstance were kids allowed to speak their native language. Because they were already effectively marginalised, they were easy victims for sexual predators.

End of the System The end of residential schools came about due to economics, not injustice. The First World War spelled then beginning of the end. The government wanted to save money and began to decrease funding to the schools. The schools decayed to such a point that many they were condemned. The church did not want to spend the money to keep them.

The government began to re-organise and centralise the education system. Starting in the 1970s residential schools were phased out and the natives sent to the nearest “white” school near their reserve.