Essay On Residential School System

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About 150,000 First Nations children went through Canadian residential schools which ran from around the 1830’s to the 1990’s. Many people consider the residential school system a human rights violation since a countless number of First Nation children, especially status Indians and also many Inuit, Métis, and non-status Indians were taken from their homes. The experiences and stories of residential schools have stayed a secret for a long time, but not anymore. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which was established in June 1, 2008, ran for five years, and its goal was to document the stories of residential school survivors. Their stories and hardships should be known. The Canadian residential school system cost the Aboriginals of Canada a loss of culture, poor care giving to their children and a loss of identity. The residential school system caused a heavy loss of culture for Aboriginals. People regarded it as a cultural genocide. Many children were stolen away from their parents, who were then not able to pass on and teach their culture to the next generation of children. This occurred for many generations, which caused a great deal of the population to forget about their culture and heritage. Stories were lost and traditions were forgotten. Children were not exposed to their own culture in the residential schools. For instance, they were forbidden to speak their native languages or practice their culture in school, and if they were ever found doing so, they were beaten and punished so they would never make that mistake again and many of them learned not to. To further disconnect the children, the staff cut off their hair, and gave everyone the same pair of clothes, socks, and other necessities to live wit... ... middle of paper ... ...g, alcoholism, and suicidal behaviors. This also could have been caused by the way they thought people were or would be treating them if they knew they are Aboriginal, which would cause them to hide their identity, and less Aboriginals would want to be known as who they really were. The Canadian residential school system caused many Aboriginal communities to lose their culture, demonstrate poor care giving to their children, and lose their cultural identity. It is not a proud chapter in Aboriginal history, but despite that, it is not something that can be forgotten. Many organizations like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada are doing their best to let people hear the stories of Aboriginals and not let them be buried. It is now embedded in their lives. How different would Aboriginal cultures be today if the residential school system had not existed?

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