Residential Schools Essay

373 Words2 Pages
1 Introduction A) Main point: The Residential Schools had a negative effect on First Nation people. B) Thesis: The First Nations children suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse. They also lost the knowledge of Indigenous language. They suffered needlessly because of the Residential Schools, they were forced to attend by the Canadian Government. 2 Body A) they were punished for speaking their native heritage. 1) forced to reject their community faith, while having an alien religion forced on them. ( Bezau 2007). 2) They were ridiculed and neglected, when they spoke their language. ( Bezau 2007). B) First Nation children suffered physical and emotional abuse. 1) I was torn away from my family and herded away to be 'scalped' by nuns, and powered with DDT, then showered in severely hot water. ( Acoose 1995). 2) The nuns' threats of eternal damnation, of haunting visits from Satan himself or the desperate souls of purgatory intensified my fears. ( Acoose 1995). C) First Nation children suffered from sexual abuse. 1) for the most part, this consisted of anal rape of boys and vaginal rape of girls, although there was some coerced oral sex. ( Brasfield, MD, PHD, FRCPC). 2) The children selected were preadolescent and not themselves sexually active. They were instructed in techniques of masturbation and oral sex. ( Brasfield, MD, PHD, FRCPC). 3) Conclusion Statement: The Residential Schools where set up to give FIrst Nation children a 'better way of life'. The staff running those schools were forced to work in them. The children were not receptive to them, which led to a hostile environment. Leading to the many forms of abuse that happened. Comment: First Nation people will suffer
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