Indian Residential Schools Research Paper

Skeletons in the Closet for Canada
The Indian Residential School System

Essay By Holly Graham
Student # 2404291
For Arthur Renwick
The Story of Us: Aboriginal Peoples of the Americas
Course Code: ABVC 2B01

There is a common saying that everyone has skeletons in their closet and deep dark secrets that they do not wish to be shared. The truth is that this is no exception of our country Canada. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, Canadian government felt responsible to educate the aboriginal peoples and thus created the Indian Residential Schools. In the beginning, the government thought that they were doing what was best for the aboriginal children, however many things…show more content…
As well as the living and food conditions being substandard, that was also the case for the education. It was not the high-class or even regular standard education level that the European children received, so once the aboriginal children were out of school it was very challenging for them to live in the mainstream European society. Being that the children were are the school for ten months of the year they also lacked a sense of family and community living. The children were always separated by gender and so if you had a sibling of the opposite gender you rarely got the chance to talk to them. The lack of family living skills can also be blamed on the fact that the schools taught the children to only speak in English, so when they went home they were unable to communicate with their family as they lost their native language.

Easily one of the biggest failures of the Indian Residential Schools was the abuse that went on behind the school doors. Whether it be emotional, mental, physical, verbal, and even sexual abuse, it all happened, and it was all very wrong. The authority figures at the schools like the nuns, priests, and teachers all kept very strict rules for the children to follow. The rules were at a point that they were…show more content…
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