How Intolerance has Been an Issue in Canada Since 1914
Intolerance: unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, behavior, or other physical differences from one’s self. Intolerance is an issue that has grown throughout history and effects every part of the world. Canada specifically has had a dark past when it comes to intolerance. Sydney J. Harris, a famous American journalist once said “Intolerance is the most socially acceptable form of egotism, for it permits us to assume superiority without personal boasting.” This is a very accurate description of intolerance in Canada because of the horrible conditions non-Canadians had to undergo. Canada has been intolerant to both immigrants and Aboriginals since 1914 and it continues to be an issue
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Aboriginal people because of their skin colour were not considered people until 1929. Not being considered a person meant that you had no rights, could not vote and often had to carry an identity card and report to people whenever leaving a reserve. Aboriginals were also prohibited to be a part of the Canadian forces. Although it is not one of the best jobs it was unfair to deny aboriginal Canadians the option to pursue a military career and fight for their country if they so please. Not only did we deprive aboriginals of basic rights and privileges but we also attempted to force them into our customs with residential schools. Residential schools separated all aboriginals from white people and attempted to stripe them of their culter. Upon arrival aboriginals would be banned to talk their aboriginal language and would have to deal with poor conditions such as being forced to eat rotten food, over crowded areas and often sexual abuse. 17,000 students were enrolled in residential schools across Canada with an average death rate of 42% of students. If we were able to treat our own people with such cruelty and disgrace how are we expected to treat others
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Show MoreThis again shows the traumatic effects of residential schools and of cultural, psychological, and emotional upheaval caused by the intolerance and mistreatment of Aboriginals in Canada. Settlers not only displaced Aboriginal people from their land and their homes, but they also experienced emotional trauma and cultural displacement.
The most harmful to the Indigenous society was the residential schools because the young Aboriginal children were taken from their homes, told their language and customs were not allowed, unacceptable and there would be consequences if they did. The Indigenous were separated from their families to assimilate the Indigenous into the so called “white culture.” There was a residential school called the Mohawk Institute Residential School in the area of Branford run by the government. It started as a day school for boys on the Six Nations reserve, then accepted female children later. Former students of the schools described suffering sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. There was low quality food, and they cut some Indigenous peoples hair off. This subject always changed the way I saw these schools because they were the most harmful the Indigenous underwent and I could never understand what it felt like or what happened
First Nations children suffered many forms of abuse at the hands of the Canadian Government (Oh, Canada!) under the guise of residential schools. The purposes of the residential schools were to remove First Nations children from the influence of their families and cultures, and to intergrade them into the dominant culture (The Residential School System). This was done under the assumption that First Nations culture was lesser, “to kill the Indian in the child” as it was commonly said. The children were forcibly separated from their families to live in year-round schools where they were taught “white man” curriculum, with a two-month vacation time, completely separated from their Aboriginal heritage and forbidden from speaking their own languages (The Residential School System). If these rules, along with many others, were broken the punishments were severe (Oh, Canada!). Residential school survivors spoke of their horrible abuse during their time at the schools, including: sexual, physical and psychological (The Psychological and Intergenerational Impacts of the Indian Residential School System). The students received an inferior education, usually only taught up to grade five, training them for manual labor jobs (The Residential School System). The residential school system undermined First Nations culture and disrupted families for generations, leaving severe psychological damage in not only the survivors but also their families and the following generations (The Psychological and Intergenerational Impacts of the Indian Residential School System). Many students grew up without experiencing a family life, never gaining the experience and knowledge necessary to raise a family of their own. The effects of the schools were far reac...
Aboriginal people in Canada are the native peoples in North America within the boundaries of present-day Canada. In the 1880’s there was a start of residential schools which took Aboriginal kids from their family to schools to learn the Roman Catholics way of culture and not their own. In residential schools Aboriginal languages were forbidden in most operations of the school, Aboriginal ways were abolished and the Euro-Canadian manner was held out as superior. Aboriginal’s residential schools are careless, there were mental and physical abuse, Aboriginals losing their culture and the after effects of residential schools.
“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.
Examining the residential school system in Canada between the 1870s and 1996 exposes numerous human rights and civil liberties violations of individuals by the government. This case study involves both de jure discrimination and de facto discrimination experienced by Aboriginals based on their culture. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms specifically protects Aboriginal rights under section 25 and section 15 declares that, “Every individual is equal before and under the law” (Sharpe & Roach, 2009, p. 307). Human rights and civil liberties of Aboriginal children and parents were ignored and violated by residential schools which were fuelled by government policy, agendas of church organizations, and a public desire to assimilate the native population into Canadian society.
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
Why did we the Canadian Government have so much hatred towards Aboriginals? Before opening residential schools, the Canadian government believed they were responsible to help teach aboriginal children in Canada English and really bring them away from the aboriginal culture. Also there was so much discrimination against Aboriginals; many times Canadians would say the phrase “Kill the Indians” which showed how much hatred was shown to Aboriginals. The Canadian government funded all the expenses for residential schools, which wasn’t a whole lot of money becaus...
The over-representation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian Child Welfare system is a growing and multifaceted issue rooted in a pervasive history of racism and colonization in Canada. Residential schools were established with the intent to force assimilation of Aboriginal people in Canada into European-Canadian society (Reimer, 2010, p. 22). Many Aboriginal children’s lives have been changed adversely by the development of residential schools, even for those who did not attend them. It is estimated that Aboriginal children “are 6-8 times more likely to be placed in foster care than non-Aboriginal children (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, 2010, p. 2).” Reports have also indicated that First Nations registered Indian children make up the largest proportion of Aboriginal children entering child welfare care across Canada (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, p. 2). Consequently, this has negatively impacted Aboriginal communities experience of and relationship with child welfare services across the country. It is visible that the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system in Canada lies in the impact of the Canadian policy for Indian residential schools, which will be described throughout this paper.
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.
The differences and similarities within Canadian society fuels points of conversation in our day to day interactions. In these conversations, whether it be in distinct communities or ones that are ethnically uniform, agreements and tensions can exist both subliminally and visibly. The evolution of these perceptions exist in today’s society and have gradually progressed to become more inclusive. Such agreements are evident in Canada when groups of people with similar ideas form strong agreements and like opinions; this occurs both in communities with varying compositions. On the other hand, points of tension arise when there are disagreements about certain aspects of running a country, resulting
Intolerance is the ‘unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behaviour that differ from one's own,’ America was known as the large melting pot, many historians argued that many faults existed within the republic as it retained a lot of intolerance and prejudice. The 20’s in USA is known as the age of the emergence of Hollywood, economic triumph and personal freedom. Despite this significant progress, it is almost undeniable that the bigotry existed in America in the 1920’s. The more difficult question is why prejudice existed and its origin. I will explore how a nation established by immigrants was able to consist of racism, antisemitism, anti-Communism and xenophobia by analysing the evidence given in the sources.
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 ...
Through history American society has struggled with a conflict of bigotry. It has come to be a cultural norm to dislike a person due to simplistic superficial differences. Whether it be color, ideals, or origin, discrimination tramples through everything leaving behind only hate and intolerance. With this people have used stereotypes to group one another only to make it easier to understand the world 's diverse population. It begs the question, is the easier route the right one? In today 's society social media and cultural norms have devalued the impacts of bigotry, leading the population to ignore or laugh at the many discriminatory applications used within society. Truthfully, a majority of people overlook or simply do not care of their actions and behaviors toward individuals who are different from
Tolerance occurs in someone's everyday life. This could occur anytime and at any place, but what does tolerance mean? Tolerance means accepting people for who they are, having patience, and being open-minded. Observe closely at life and see how many situations require tolerance. At times, tolerance levels may be low or high, but this varies on the person’s mood along with their personality. This might be a family member, a friend, or a stranger. No matter who the person may be, they have tolerance. Depending on how much tolerance they might have, this could affect themselves in a positive or a negative way.