In an effort to obliterate the First Nation groups, residential schools were put in force by the Canadian government to try and assimilate these groups of people targeting the children at very young ages. The families had their kids taken away from them and were forced to send their children to these schools, or else they would suffer different consequences. The residential schools were an unpleasant, brutal and unjust environment for the children who attended and have left lasting impact that we still see today in the First Nation communities. The last residential school in Canada closed in 1996, and an acknowledgment to the First Nations was not presented until 2008 by then prime minister, Stephen Harper, who made the formal public apology. The sources I will present in this essay all outline the injustice and harsh consequences that the residential schools had on First Nations.
The book Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese gives a clear insight into the brutal history of the residential schools in Canada.Saul is the one that gets to experience the detrimental effects that the school had on him but it was also his parents who were residential school survivors, and his mother is still so disturbed by her experience that “she ceases to exist in the outside world.” meaning that the memories of the school still haunt her. On top of all that, Saul’s parents lose their oldest daughter to the residential school and later on his brother Benjamin who escapes from the residential school but contracts tuberculosis and dies shortly after. All of these events make his parents turn towards alcohol abuse and his parents end up leaving Saul with his grandmother whom he also loses. The chain events from the family splitting up to Saul being by himself and alcoholism are all effects that the residential schools had not only on his family but many thousands and other cases. Saul also mentions that a priest was there to help him with his hockey skills but in reality the priest was raping and abusing Saul through his time in the residential school. The school didn't just forever torment and scar Saul for life but they also were the reason for the split and death of his family members.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report highlights that the residential schools were not a way for the government to teach Aboriginals and educate them but it was a way to disconnect them from their families, their roots and what they identified as. This was a way to assimilate the younger children into the Canadian customs and way of living.The report also mentions the inadequate and poorly trained workers in these schools plus the fact that these schools were not properly managed and held up to harsh living standards including no heating,poor diet and more. The First Nations children in these were not used to seeing what a normal family is like as they were in school for most of their life and their parents were not allowed to visit them or speak to them directly. As a result of the detachment from their parents and siblings, the children began to lose a sense of home and where they belonged so when students returned to their reserves, they did not find that they belonged with their kind. Because they were taught the complete opposite in the residential school they didn't have the skills to help their parents, and most of them were stripped from their identity as mentioned in the report in matters like not being allowed to speak their own language at school, practice their tradition etc. The report speaks the truth about the detrimental impact the schools had on the kids because of many reasons mainly rape, not being allowed to speak their mother tongue, always being hungry, terrible health services, brutal discipline and more.
Another addition to the sources is the study of health related issues that First Nations have had to face,The study demonstrate how terrible health conditions are both in Aboriginal non-residential and residential school survivors. In early 1900s most of the First Nations would die of causes like whooping cough and tuberculosis but also a number of them would die of suicide matters. The high alcohol consumption was and is prevalent in these groups as they have found it a way of escape from pain that they have endured and continue to endure to this day mostly because of residential schools. The author also talks about the “Residential school syndrome” which has similar effects to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which is very terrifying and hard to cope with as these people get recurring flashbacks and nightmares from their experiences. This affects them as a whole from their ability to perform tasks, go on about their day and trying to cope with the past ultimately declining their mental health. An article published by Global News Canada shows the very disturbing poll that was taken in one of the high schools regarding “positive effects” that the residential schools has on Aboriginals. This is something that shows the incompetence of some school systems that believe there are positive effects that came out of the suffering and brutal mistreatments of First Nations. Instead of moving forward and properly educating Canadians on these matters, this particular school has chosen to put forward this insensitive and inappropriate content who was later apologized for by the principal.