...Reconciliation Payments for All Indian Residential School Survivors CANADIAN BAR ASSOCIATION February 2005 PREFACE The Canadian Bar Association is a national association representing 38,000 jurists, including lawyers, notaries, law teachers and students across Canada. The Association’s primary objectives include improvement in the law and in the administration of justice. This submission was prepared by the National Aboriginal Law and the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections of the Canadian Bar Association, with assistance from the Legislation and Law Reform Directorate at the National Office. The submission has been reviewed by the Legislation and Law Reform Committee and approved as a public statement of the Canadian Bar Association. The Logical Next Step: Reconciliation Payments for All Indian Residential School Survivors Executive Summary At its Annual Meeting in August 2004, the Canadian Bar Association adopted a resolution1 calling for the government to go beyond the existing Indian Residential Schools Dispute Resolution process to provide a base payment to all survivors of Indian Residential Schools. The CBA recognizes the tragic legacy of Indian Residential Schools and the failure of the current options of either litigatio n or the dispute resolution process to resolve the situation. The harms caused by Indian Residential Schools are still profoundly felt by the individual students who attended the schools, as well as their families, communities...
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...Residential schools were government-sponsored religious schools established to assimilate Indigenous children into the Euro-Canadian culture. These schools started in the 1880’s into the closing decades of the 20th century and in 1920 it was put under the Indian Act. It was then mandatory for First Nations to attend the school, and illegal for them to attend other education institutes. Residential schools had two main objectives, one was to isolate children from their family and to assimilate them. They did this because they thought that Aboriginal culture was inferior and unequal to theirs and because they thought Aboriginals weren't as civilized as they were. These schools were a part of a large school system made by the government and run by churches....
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...The Residential school system in Canada was a system devoted to providing a disciplined based ideal that promoted the rejection of the aboriginal culture in favor of the then dominant white European population. The teaching strategies that were encouraged ranged from pulling children as young as six away from their parents to mental, physical and sexual abuse. The Residential schools were run by a variety of participating church organizations, which received funding from the Canadian government. The funding was based on a per aboriginal basis therefore it was in the best interests of the churches to enroll as many aboriginal students as possible. The schools were run in almost every province in Canada from 1860-1884 and claimed to be promoting religious and cultural assimilation. However, the cruelty that was experienced by many young aboriginals in the residential schools emphasizes the differences between the aboriginal societies and the European dominant society making complete assimilation impossible. The imposition of residential schools on First Nations children has led to significant loss of indigenous languages, and this language loss has led to further cultural losses for traditional First Nations cultures in Canada. The earliest known date opening of a Residential school was in 1840, located in Manitowaning, Ontario. The school was the Wikemikong Indian Residential School, it closed in 1879. The last Residential school to close was La Tuque Indian...
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...Two key objectives of the residential school system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions, and cultures, and to also make them adapt to the dominant culture. These objectives were created based on the theory of the aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs of the, being unworthy and unequal. It was infamously dais to “kill the Indian in the child”. Initially, about 1,100 students attended 69 schools across the country. In 1931, at the peak of the residential school system, there were about 80 schools operating in Canada. There were a total of about 130 schools in every territory and province except Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick from the earliest in the 19th...
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...The Residential schools designed to civilize and Christianize Indigenous children often took the children by force from their parents, forbid them to speak their native languages, cut off their traditional long hair, and kept them away from home for years at a time. Many Native American children did not see their homes and families again until they had become adults. Times like these greatly influenced the future tribal response to the educational systems. The purpose of the residential schools was to eliminate all aspects of Aboriginal culture. The students had their hair cut short, they dressed in uniforms, and their days were strictly regimented by timetables. Boys and girls were kept separate, and even siblings rarely interacted, further...
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...taken place with the operation of residential schools in Canada. Canada has impacted the lives of many Aboriginal indigenous children by ripping their cultural identity by force and destroyed their childhood with a disordered organization, during the 1880’s to the late 1990’s. During this time period, indigenous children lost their relationship towards their family and culture due to separation forced by residential schools. Students had been abused, sexually harassed and killed at residential schools. Also, the health of students in residential schools was very poor compared to living in Aboriginal...
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...Defining the issue Aboriginal families all across Canada were affected by the residential school system. The two main objectives of residential schools were to remove and isolate indigenous children from their families and cultures and to assimilate them into the Western cultures. From the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s it was mandatory that Aboriginal children went to residential schools by the federal government, to try to make them more like “children in mainstream society” (Kevin, Beeds, and Filion 340). Aboriginal values were looked down upon. Schools were operated by a staff that consisted of nuns and priests. They focused on teaching children Christianity. This event was significant in Canadian history because it represented the loss of culture, language, and family connection due to long separations and the hardships faced at school. The experience at residential schools continue to affect generations of Aboriginals still to this day. History of the Issue Prior to the Canadian government’s involvement in the education of Aboriginal children, traditional education effectively sustained Aboriginal cultures for decades of years (340). Early in the 1600s French missionaries came to North America to convert Aboriginals to Christianity (340). They established mission schools in New France. By the 1800s the government focused on educating First Nations children in a way to indirectly assimilate them into Canadian society (340). In 1879, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald commissioned...
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...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...
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...ensuring the protection of Aboriginals and their culture. Aboriginals have been oppressed by the Canadian government for many years and continue to fight against restrictions in order to preserve their traditions. The mistreatment of Aboriginals is significant to Canadian history because of the mental and physical abuse they endured from Residential schools, the progressive changes from the Indian act, and the lack of basic needs being deprived on the reserves. The creation of residential schools is significant to Canadian history due to the physical and...
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...The topic I chose was residential schools because I think everyone should be more aware of them and the harm they caused. The idea of residential schools has changed a lot over time because it caused great harm to the children, families, and the culture. Canada has realized that they shouldn't have assumed that Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. They now know that there was no need to try and “Kill the Indian in the child.” It was racist and unnecessary. The impact it has had on Aboriginal people is horrendous. Over 4000 Aboriginal children died. Former students of residential schools have come forward and spoken of physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse at the hands of some of the staff. The...
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...In 1876, the Canadian government passed and put into law the “Indian act”. The “Indian acts” specific goal was to fix the “Indian problem”. The “Indian acts” main beliefs were to civilize native people, mange reserve activity and control Indian Status. With all this power over the aboriginal peoples the treatment towards aboriginals was inhumane. Many Aboriginal peoples were mentally traumatized in residential schools, discriminated against and neglected in residential school. The Residential schools left many aboriginal peoples mentally traumatized. For example “Some children experienced… psychological…abuse” (Quinlan etal 66). Being exposed to such a horrifying ways of life students begin to develop low self-esteem throughout the years. Having...
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...Acts of violence are common for many individuals who experience racism and discrimination, purely due to skin colour, heritage, or culture. These acts of violence are known to strip culture, identity, sense of self-worth, and dignity among the individual. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese portrays exactly how one can lose culture due to the acts of violence. The acts of physical violence and psychological violence that Saul Indian Horse goes through allows the audience to make sense of the racism that has existed, and still can exist, in Canadian society; furthermore, this piece allows readers to understand the effect that racism has on one’s identity. The effects that the Canadian Residential School System’s brutality had on Saul, and even more so on Saul’s classmates, undoubtedly altered Saul and his identity. As soon as Saul arrives at St. Jerome’s Residential School, he is exposed to countless instances of traumatic situations. Saul recalled Lonnie being strapped by a Sister; this is the first of many counts of...
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...service, it either happens with a court order maybe because of an abuse or with the agreement of the parent. “The term ‘looked after children and young people’ is generally used to mean those looked after by the state, according to relevant national legislation which differs between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This includes those who are subject to a care order or temporarily classed as looked after on a planned basis for short breaks or respite care. The term is also used to describe ‘accommodated’ children and young people who are looked after on a voluntary basis at the request of, or by agreement with, their parents. most look after children will have experienced so many disruptions in their lives. This may include painful experiences such as family bereavement. As a result the children's education may become affected and they may be below their expected class average. This will have caused from poor concentration, the child may also need specific help in their work and class before any sort of progress can be made. * Parental illness: A child may need to be looked after because their parents may be ill or cannot cope and as a result the child may have to leave the family home for a period of time. Throughout this time they may live in foster homes, residential schools or children's homes. * Family breakdown: Families break down for a number of reasons including the following substance abuse, mental health problems, bereavement, parental illness and incapacity...
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...To What Extent was the Canadian Government Treatment of the First Nation of the Prairies Justified The rights of the Natives did not truly recognized by the government. Since white people came to this territory, they did no consider the Natives as a part of the residents. However, it was the Natives who were the first to live and develop on this land. The Canadian government had signed treaties with the Natives and moved them to the prairies, where the crops could hardly grow on. They also forced Natives’ children to go to residential schools. However, Canada was just formed and needed money. Although the government of baby Canada needed land to build a railway with minimal amount of money, it could have achieved it without the cruel treatments to the Natives. One of the treatments was the numbered treaties. After the governments signed the treaties with the Natives, they obtained large area of land with very low price. The government promised that they would give Natives a part of the land and agriculture tools. However, the tool, supplies, animals, and instruction guaranteed by the treaties proved inadequate. For instant, the seeds were sent too late in the year and farmers were not allowed to use threshing machines. The Natives had no ways to plant crops under these harsh conditions even they were successful famers. The soil was also very barren on the prairies, which could not compare to the fertile lands around the Great Lakes. The land had not been fully cleared and...
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...The residential schools of Canada can be dated back to the 1870s. Before 1996, when the last of 170 schools were closed, an estimated 150,000 indigenous youth were forced to attend. In an attempt to blend indigenous youth into Canadian society, both the Canadian government and Christian churches believed educating and converting the youth would achieve their goal of integrating them into Canadian society (Miller, 2014). The infliction of economic self sufficiency and religious conversion caused the loss of languages which further resulted in the loss of culture among traditional indigenous peoples. The death of a language is more complex than simply a loss of communication, it is a loss of knowledge. "The wisdom of humanity is summarized in...
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