Last week in Ottawa the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) completed its seven-year inquiry into residential schools for aboriginal children. After documenting the abuses which took place in these schools, the committee called for healing and released a number of recommendations to make life better for the First Nations in the future.
Background
When European settlers arrived in North America a few centuries ago, they discovered that these lands were already populated by aboriginal people, whom they referred to as “Indians” (as several early explorers incorrectly identified the land they had discovered as India). As Europe was more technologically advanced than North America at this time many Europeans believed they were within their rights to take control of these new lands—even if aboriginals had been living there for centuries—and to incorporate them into “civilization.” As many aboriginal groups were nomadic, this was justified by claiming that a person with no permanent home could not possibly have ownership over a plot of land. Treaties were signed forcing aboriginals to retire to Indian Reserves, and their children were forced to be educated—by which was meant education by Europeans, with the goal of converting aboriginal societies into ‘civilized’ agricultural societies.
Residential Schools
In 19th-century Canada the government began funding a number of boarding schools for aboriginals called residential schools. These schools were run by various Christian groups (the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church). In the 1960s, the churches turned over responsibility for running the schools to the Canadian government, which in turn delegated some of the schools to be run by aboriginals themselves. All residential schools, both government-run and aboriginal-run, were closed by 1998.
Sir John A. Macdonald, first prime minister of Canada, thought that by doing so “Indian children will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men.” Once they graduated, it was intended that they would assimilate into European-Canadian culture, and within a few generations, there would be no aboriginals left. No more reserves, no more treaties. Problem solved.
Conditions in the residential schools were harsh. Buildings were often poorly maintained, and the food supplied to the students was frequently not healthy or not sufficient. Perhaps if the quality of the education was actually high, students would still have gotten something for their trials, but due to a lack of funding, this usually wasn’t the case. Students were discouraged—sometimes even prohibited—from speaking their native languages, and aboriginal spiritual practices were banned in favour of Christian practices. Due to lax oversight, many students were even subject to physical or sexual abuse from the staff. There was a very real risk of death—the TRC estimates that some four thousand students died while attending a residential school.
Over the last few decades, many graduates of residential schools (hereafter referred to as the “survivors”) have come forward to report being victimized, and teachers and clerics (“staff”) have issued apologies. In 2008, the Canadian government issued an apology for its involvement with residential schools, and representatives from the responsible churches also apologized. The same year, the TRC was set up to hear from both sides, and document their stories, so that healing and reconciliation might be achieved. (The name is borrowed from South Africa, whose post-apartheid hearings were also run by a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission”.)
Stories of the Survivors
Survivors, needless to say, do not look fondly on their time in the residential schools. Their parents were frequently forced, on pain of prosecution, to give their children to be educated far from home. Once there, male and female students were separated (the residential schools were single-gender). Uniforms were provided to the new students. Many survivors were traumatized at being separated from their family permanently and, to make matters worse, brothers and sisters were separated from each other. Several survivors report that upon being provided with school clothes they were forced to surrender the home-made clothes they had come wearing, and the latter were prompted thrown into the trash.
Due to prejudices, students were often not asked to learn difficult material. Instead of teaching concepts, they would be asked to memorize things without having it explained to them why it was important to memorize these things. Some survivors report being flat-out told that they were never going to enter a professional occupation, so there was no point even trying to get a decent education.
Due to the lack of funding, students were usually required to work to pay for their own education (or lack thereof). There were no work safety regulations whatsoever; sometimes, children would be asked to operate tractors or furnaces. Fingers were commonly lost during clothes-wringing. Despite all this, many schools did not take any responsibility for the injuries.
Nutritious food was out of the question; some students even resorted to eating their own vomit because they was nothing else to eat. Diseases, especially tuberculosis, were common; it didn’t help that students slept in overcrowded dorms and any medical equipment available was of hopelessly poor quality.
Corporal punishment was the norm. Survivors reported being lashed for being in the dorms of the other gender, speaking an aboriginal language, or even just failing to understand an instruction spoken in English. Worse yet, sexual abuse from the staff was rampant. Church officials and the Department of Indian Affairs were reluctant to punish abusers; often, they would simply be asked to quit, or transfer to a different school, with no further penalty.
Many students formed “gangs”, in the hopes of mutual protection. But this also led to tragedy—at some schools, older students bullied younger ones, and gang-affiliated children bullied those who were alone. Abuse was seldom reported due to fear of being stigmatized or reprisals.
Despite all the horrors, some students managed to rise above their circumstances. One residential school in Saskatchewan became known for producing hockey players, another school in BC for producing boxers, and others for producing artists. Several students went full circle and joined the clergy or became a residential school teacher.
Many survivors expressed appreciation that in recent years, they have at last been able to hear apologies from those responsible. But they are looking not only for words, but for actions to demonstrate that Canada is sincerely interested in their well-being.
Stories from the Other Side
Although one might be tempted to demonize the staff, they were not always placed in a great position either. There was an appalling lack of regulation and funding. One principal at a residential school wrote to the government asking what duties a principal had under Canadian law; the reply was that he did not have any. Salaries for teachers were very low, which meant that the best teachers would never even entertain coming to a residential school. Governments and churches often had to resort to hiring staff with little experience or competency in teaching to keep costs down.
There were definitely teachers who were sincerely interested in educating their students—one teacher in BC even taught his students arguments in favour of aboriginal land title. Some teachers were diagnosed with depression, and others quit after a year or two because they couldn’t stomach the conditions anymore.
On many occasions, staff at residential schools asked the government for more funding, but adequate funding was usually not forthcoming. Residential schools were simply at the bottom of the priority list for many politicians and clerics.
What Can Be Done?
The TRC released a series of 94 recommendations last week, to help the cause of healing and reconciliation. Some of the more notable ones included:
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Child welfare organizations should ensure aboriginal children are not separated from their families, and recognize the impact that residential schools have had on the aboriginal community
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The Canadian government and aboriginal groups should cooperate to establish an education system which is “culturally appropriate” and adequately funded, with the goal of making aboriginals just as educated and employable as other Canadians
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Professionals such as doctors, nurses, lawyers, and cops should be taught about residential schools so that they will be more sensitive to aboriginal needs and prevent future abuses
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Canada should adopt the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
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Churches should recognize their responsibility for residential schools and refrain from impeding the religious freedom of aboriginals
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Museums, archives, and libraries across Canada should strive to make people more aware of the injustices suffered by aboriginals
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The Canadian government should launch inquiries into the deaths of aboriginal women and children; over 1000 aboriginal women have been killed in Canada in the last thirty years—a disproportionate number—and many of these crimes remain unsolved
Some of the recommendations are more workable than others, and there will surely be debate about how Canada should respond to its history of residential schools. In my interpretation, the general theme the TRC is getting at is: ‘bad things happened in the residential schools. Those bad things have consequences, and are at least partially to blame for the state of aboriginal people and culture today. Therefore, Canada has a moral duty to go the extra mile to help its aboriginal people.’
Now many of us will be thinking, “We weren’t around when all this happened. What does this have to do with us?” But even if we weren’t part of the problem, we have an opportunity to be part of the solution. If nothing else, at least be aware of the horrors many aboriginals have went through in the past, and the dire conditions in which many still live today. Seek a better future in which inequalities in living standards are gone. Yes, we can’t change yesterday, but surely we can change tomorrow!
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