Indian Residential Schools Research Paper

Indian Residential Schools
INTRO
How many of you guys have heard about Indian residential schools? Probably not a lot of you. This is a topic you probably haven’t discussed before, but it’s a topic I believe everyone should be educated about and informed on.
For about 100 years, the government removed Aboriginal children from their homes and placed them in residential schools in an attempt to make them "Canadian." In very strict and often violent environments, children were denied regular contact with their families, were given poor educations and few life skills.
They were unprepared for both life outside of the schools and life inside their Native communities. Communities and families, robbed of their natural structure and roles, began
Recently, Aboriginal communities have begun to deal actively with the effects on all generations of the residential schools. They have started talking in healing circles, addictions and violence treatment programs that make the connection to the residential schools, and parenting and cultural programs that try to reclaim what was lost.

BODY 1-WHAT ARE INDIAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS? * 1957 Gradual Civilization Act was established by 5th parliament by the province of Canada to assimilate Indians
80 schools were established within Canada
Adapt them to the English language and Christianity Children from the ages of 7-15 were forced to go to the residential schools and were taken from their families by priests, Indian agents and police officers
80 schools were established within Canada

Given poor educations and few life skills, taught that Canadian people were dirty, lazy and stupid. Grew up ignorant of the languages and customs of their own parents

BODY2- WHO SUFFERS? * Young adults that have attended these schools suffer the trauma many had low self-esteem, and were confused and ashamed by their identities.
Impact on health overall, and sexual health particular

* Now a days there are high :
High alcoholism rates
High suicide
* Legal action was taken.
Charges were laid against former employees.
Priests were also charged for sexual abuse

* Compensations were constructed for the Aboriginal people that suffer from trauma.
Many victims of the residential schools got to share their stories and they were heard and actions were taken.
-Aboriginal healing fund was established march 31, 1998

* The Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement reached in November 2005
Common Experience Payment from the federal government in recognition of the general harms they experienced in the schools. -$10,000 for the first year -$3,000 for each additional year of attendance at a school.

“The government will now immediately consider the settlement agreement and the interim payments and the timing of those payments,” Jim Prentice

CONCLUSION

Delia Opekokew, a member of the Canoe Lake First Nation, attended the Beauval Indian Residential School for her elementary grades, and the Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School at Lebret for high school. After obtaining a Bachelor of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in 1977, she was called to the Bar of the Province of Ontario in 1979 and to the Bar of the Province of Saskatchewan in 1983. She was the first Aboriginal to be admitted to those law