The Pass System Essay

671 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of the residential school system on Canada's Indigenous peoples

In 1885, the Canadian Government under the leadership by Sir John A Macdonald brought on a new way to achieve their goal in society of assimilating the First Nations people. They introduced the Pass System, which created numerous problem for the First Nations people. Thus, the Pass System was introduced it constituted numerous problems for the First Nations people, including visiting their children at residential schools and even leaving the reserve.

The Pass System created numerous problems for the First Nations people and the paramount problem would be that they were unable to gain permission to leave the reserve to visit their children in residential schools. Not being able to see their children was a distressing and burdensome time for …show more content…

It took the children away from their families by force and scarcely authorized them to visit their children unless the child was exceedingly close to death. I personally feel that no one should be able to control all aspect of a person’s life such as when they leave, when they return, and what they can do. Conversely, the Pass System had a goal of assimilating the First Nation’s culture and in my opinion they achieved this goal. The Canadian Government achieved this goal due to the children who went to residential schools lost the knowledge and spiritual aspect of their culture. On multiple accounts, the children came back for the summer from the residential schools and were disengaged in the ways of life of their culture.

In ending, the Pass System was an atrocious, but successful attempt to assimilate the First Nations people in Canada. In my opinion, the Pass System was not honorable and only concluded with negative contributions in the Canadian society and the First Nation’s society. I conclude that there could have been vastly different ways to work through these problems. Considering if the Canadian Government had implemented different ideas other than the Pass System I presume that there would be less confrontation and hostility between the two societies which would have resulted with living in

Show More
Related

  • The Impacts of the Sixties Scoop on First Nations People

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    Across North America, the scattering of Aboriginal children contributed to damaged identifications with traditional First Nations culture (Alston-O’Connor 2010). Consequently, the Sixties Scoop caused irreversible psychological, emotional and spiritual damage to not only the individual, but to the families and the community too. In the 1950s and 1960s, the government began abolishing the compulsory residential school education among Aboriginal people. The government believed that Aboriginal children could receive a better education if they were integrated into the public school system (Hanson). However, residential schools were later deemed inappropriate because not only were the children taken away from their culture, their families and their people, but the majority of students were abused and neglected....

    Read More

  • Historical Globalization Analysis

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    Residential schools had a negative impact on Aboriginal people, many children suffered greatly. The government had thought Aboriginal people’s history and culture were not worth preserving.This resulted to loss of culture and assimilation, because they were stripped out of their traditional ways, and taken away from their families.Stephen Harper apologized to the former students enrolled in Indian Residential schools on behalf of the government of Canada. What

    Read More

  • The Sociological Effects of Residential Schools

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to conservative conflict theory, society is a struggle for dominance among competing social groups defined by class, race, and gender. Conflict occurs when groups compete over power and resources. (Tepperman, Albanese & Curtis 2012. pg. 167) The dominant group will exploit the minority by creating rules for success in their society, while denying the minority opportunities for such success, thereby ensuring that they continue to monopolize power and privilege. (Crossman.n.d) This paradigm was well presented throughout the film. The European settlers in Canada viewed the natives as obstacles in their quest of expansion by conquering resources and land. They feared that the aboriginal practices and beliefs will disrupt the cohesion of their own society. The Canadian government adopted the method of residential schools for aboriginal children for in an attempt to assimilate the future generations. The children were stripped of their native culture,...

    Read More

  • Aboriginal Self Government and the Canadian Justice System

    2238 Words  | 5 Pages

    Systems: The canadian Future in light of the American Past.” Ontario native Council on Justice. Toronto, Ontario.

    Read More

  • Assimilation In Canada

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Indian Residential schools and the assimilating of First Nations people are more than a dark spot in Canada’s history. It was a time of racist leaders, bigoted white men who saw no point in working towards a lasting relationship with ingenious people. Recognition of these past mistakes, denunciation, and prevention steps must be taking intensively. They must be held to the same standard that we hold our current government to today. Without that standard, there is no moving forward. There is no bright future for Canada if we allow these injustices to be swept aside, leaving room for similar mistakes to be made again. We must apply our standards whatever century it was, is, or will be to rebuild trust between peoples, to never allow the abuse to be repeated, and to become the great nation we dream ourselves to be,

    Read More

  • How The Aboriginal Assimilation

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    “To kill the Indian in the child,” was the prime objective of residential schools (“About the Commission”). With the establishment of residential schools in the 1880s, attending these educational facilities used to be an option (Miller, “Residential Schools”). However, it was not until the government’s time consuming attempts of annihilating the Aboriginal Canadians that, in 1920, residential schools became the new solution to the “Indian problem.” (PMC) From 1920 to 1996, around one hundred fifty thousand Aboriginal Canadians were forcibly removed from their homes to attend residential schools (CBC News). Aboriginal children were isolated from their parents and their communities to rid them of any cultural influence (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Parents who refrained from sending their children to these educational facilities faced the consequence of being arrested (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Upon the Aboriginal children’s arrival into the residential schools, they were stripped of their culture in the government’s attempt to assimilate these children into the predominately white religion, Christianity, and to transition them into the moderating society (Miller, “Residential Schools”). With the closing of residential schools in 1996, these educational facilities left Aboriginal Canadians with lasting negative intergenerational impacts (Miller, “Residential Schools”). The Aboriginals lost their identity, are affected economically, and suffer socially from their experiences.

    Read More

  • 8th Fire: Indigenous in the City Analysis: One Step Forward, One Step Back

    1576 Words  | 4 Pages

    Though the film mentioned the impact that residential schools had and still has on the aboriginal people, I felt that this issue needed to be stressed further because the legacy of the schools is still extremely prominent in aboriginal communities today. The film refers to the fact that residential schools harmed the aboriginal people because they were not able to learn their culture, which has resulted in the formation of internalized oppression within in the group. “The...

    Read More

  • Residential Schools In Canada

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    The creation of the Residential Schools is now looked upon to be a regretful part of Canada’s past. The objective: to assimilate and to isolate First Nations and Aboriginal children so that they could be educated and integrated into Canadian society. However, under the image of morality, present day society views this assimilation as a deliberate form of cultural genocide. From the first school built in 1830 to the last one closed in 1996, Residential Schools were mandatory for First Nations or Aboriginal children and it was illegal for such children to attend any other educational institution. If there was any disobedience on the part of the parents, there would be monetary fines or in the worst case scenario, trouble with Indian Affairs.

    Read More

  • We Were Children Film Analysis

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    The government’s goal of the Residential School System was to remove and isolate the children from their families and their culture in order to assimilate the Indigenous race to the dominant new Canadian culture. What the citizens did not know about was the

    Read More

  • Equality and Justice for All in Canada

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    To conclude, social conflict has helped Canada mature as a nation during the last century. This is proven by women gaining the right to vote and being able to run for political roles in the government. Also, women gained more respect from society and with hard work and determination, are now legally known as "persons." Finally, the sympathy and compensation shown from the Canadian government to the Aboriginal people who were affected by the residential schools proves that conflict has helped Canada grow from an immature nation to a mature nation as a whole over the last century.

    Read More

  • The Indian Act In Canada

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ulted in widely ranged political and legal protests, including petitions to the Government and the Crown, legal challenges in defense of Aboriginal resource rights and land, and careful enforcing of the Indian Act’s regulations. The federal government often responded with harsh legislative measures to the Indian Act, such as outlawing the Potlatch (and subsequently, arresting those who publically continued to engage in cultural practices), and disallowing of hiring lawyers to pursue Aboriginal rights through court. The passage of such laws, however, did not stop Indigenous groups, and they continued to meet, organize, maintain cultural traditions, and retain respect for hereditary leaders. But, since they lived in such an oppressive society, the Canadian Government continued to have reign over their lives and their opportunities to participate in a broader society.

    Read More

  • Residential School Abuse in Canada

    2828 Words  | 6 Pages

    Residential schools were first established in the 1880's to solve Canada's “Indian Problem”. Settlers in Canada thought of the First Nations people as savages, and the goal of the residential schools was to civilize them and integrate them in to white Canadian society. The first operators of residential schools thought of their forced integration as a benefit to native peoples. One of the overseers of residential schools wrote to the Sisters in charge of St. Joseph's Mission at Williams Lake that “It now remains for ...

    Read More

  • Essay On Indian Act

    472 Words  | 1 Pages

    There were constant emotional and psychological abuse as some survivors recall being strapped and beaten, others were shackled to their beds and some had needles shoved in their tongues for speaking their native language. The Indian Act developed over time through separate pieces of colonial legislations. The Act put an end for the First Nations to govern themselves and gave the government of Canada to legislate the matters concerning Aboriginal people and their land. The legislation against Aboriginal people did not stop them from practicing their traditions but made them find new ways to continue practicing them without facing persecution. Under the Indian Act, the government would also manage Indian lands, money, resources and also promote “civilization”. Its responsibility was to care and protect the interests of the First nations and they would act as a guardian until the First Nations could fully integrate into the Canadian society. Most of the First Nation people did not have the right to vote. In 1880, only Aboriginal people with a university degree would be allowed to

    Read More

  • Discourses Of Livy

    1715 Words  | 4 Pages

    By enforcing this idea upon Canadian citizens, and convincing them that they were doing their humanitarian duty by converting them to the proper, Christian lifestyle, the government was able to put the Aboriginals in deplorable reservations and commit cultural genocide in the name of good. Many terrible acts of violence, including physical, sexual and emotional abuse, were inflicted upon the children that were ripped away from their families and forced to assimilate into a world which they had no experience in. The effects of those actions still resonate in our society today, although our government is hesitant to take responsibility for

    Read More

  • Essay On Residential School Attendance In Canada

    677 Words  | 2 Pages

    the overall goals of the Canadian government (p.55). In 1894, attendance at residential schools for Indigenous children became mandatory, and the police enforced this attendance. Nevertheless, while attendance was mandated, and there were no other regulations governing the schools or the education that was provided in these schools (p. 60-63).

    Read More

More about The Pass System Essay

Open Document