jan 1, 1867 - The Indian Act and Residential Schools
Description:
The Indian residential school system was a system of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The Indian residential school system was sponsored by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs. It was also managed by Christian churches. This system was made for the purpose of taking away children from the influence of their own culture and incorporating them into the dominant Canadian culture. More than a hundred-year existence, approximately 30%, or around 150,000, of Indigenous children were positioned in residential schools nationally. At least 6,000 of these students have passed away while being residents.The system had its laws enacted before Confederation, but was mainly active from the passage of the Indian Act in 1876. A minor change to the Indian Act in 1884 made presence at day schools, industrial schools, or residential schools compulsory for First Nations children. Due to the remote nature of many communities, school locations was meant for some families, residential schools were the only way to respect. The schools were purposely located at considerable distances from Indigenous communities to reduce contact between families and their sons and daughters. The last federally operated residential school was finished in 1996. The system harmed Indigenous children significantly by, denying them of their ancestral languages, taking them away from their families, revealing most of them to physical and sexual abuse, and forcibly enfranchising them. Disconnected from their families and culture, they were forced to speak English or French. The children who attended the residential school system often graduated not able to fit into either their communities or Canadian society. It eventually proved successful in upsetting the communication of Indigenous practices and beliefs across generations. The legacy of the system has been connected to an increased currency of post-traumatic stress, alcoholism, substance abuse, and suicide, which continue within Indigenous communities.
