Residential schooling and Indian Boarding schooling have both been used throughout Canada and America. It was said to be a solution for the “Indian problem”. For many others who attended, it was a time of abuse and desecration of culture. The first residential school opened in the 1800’s. Under the Indian Act, it became mandatory for every Indian child between the ages of 4 and 16 to attend a residential school or boarding school and it is illegal for them to attend any other educational institution. There are two objective views that the government wanted to establish with these schooling systems. The first one is to isolate the children from their families, so they can be converted and educated into the “white” culture. The second view is …show more content…
This was when the United States was still at war with the Indians. Richard Pratt, an Army Officer, founded the first of this type of schooling. He based it on an educational program he developed in an Indian prison. He described his philosophy in a speech he gave in 1892. “The only good Indian is a dead one. Kill the Indian in him and save the man.” In Canada, Sir John A. MacDonald, acting as both Prime Minister and Minister of Indian Affairs, started the residential school openings. His cabinet advised him that the best way to blend the Aboriginal children into Canadian society is by the opening of residential schools. He quoted, “When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with its parents, who are savages, and though he may learn to read and write, his habits and training mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who can read and write. It has been strongly impressed upon myself as head of the department, that Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will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.” Both American and Canadian governments thought they were helping the children, but little did they know, they were stripping them of their …show more content…
I know of this first hand as my grandmother has suffered from these effects. Evangeline Weller (Owl) was a resident of St. Joseph’s residential school in Spanish, Ontario. She entered the school at the age of five because both of her parents died. The agent convinced her grandmother that she would be better off at a state-run school. At the age of 16, she fled from the school to start a better life; her feet are crippled from wearing shoes from ages 5 – 16 that were too small. Physically, at the age of 18 she found out that she had Tuberculous. She was sent away to a sanitorium for a couple of years before finally having the lung removed because of malnourishment. Emotionally, she has limited nurturing skills. She is not a hugger or a warm cuddly grandmother. She was never taught this growing up. She told me that, “She was afraid to have children for fear she would not know how to take care of them. This as well ties in to the intergenerational circle, as my father has challenges showing love or affection too. Socially, my grandmother stands back in a crowd. She is submissive and quiet when interacting in conversation. She is not a take charge kind of person. On a positive note, she is meticulous with her cleaning. She is always making sure everything is sanitized. I am sure she was taught this in her residential school as the students did most of the