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Residential Schools in Canada

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Residential Schools in Canada
From the late 1800s to the 1980s, more than 100,000 First Nations children in Canada attended residential schools To attend these schools, children were taken away from their families and communities. At the schools, the children suffered from emotional, physical, sexual and spiritual abuse. The worst abuses were often used as punishment for speaking their indigenous languages. The imposition of residential schools on First Nations children has led to significant loss of indigenous languages, and this language loss has led to further cultural losses for traditional First Nations cultures in Canada.
One far-reaching result of the residential school system is the loss of indigenous languages in Canada. A major cause of this loss was the removal of children from their families and language communities. reports that, having been removed from their families at an early age, children lost the opportunity to continue to develop their mother tongues. At the schools, only English or French were used. Furthermore, children were punished and abused for using their indigenous languages. Survivors of residential schools report priests and nuns punching, slapping, verbally abusing, and sticking pins in the tongues of very young children for speaking their mother tongues. In the face of this abuse, many children quickly lost the ability to speak their indigenous languages. A long-term result of residential schools is a significant reduction in the numbers of speakers of indigenous languages. According to the 2001 Canada Census, only 24% of people who identified themselves as aboriginal said they could communicate in an aboriginal language In addition, over the past 100 years, at least ten indigenous languages have become extinct . Although residential schools were not the sole cause of this loss of language, they played a significant role in the decline.
This loss of indigenous languages caused by residential schools affected traditional family and community relationships.


References: Couture, J. E. (1996). The role of native elders: Emergent issues. In D. A. Long and O.P. Dickason (Eds.), Visions of the heart: Canadian aboriginal issues (pp. 4-56). Toronto: Harcourt Brace. Fitzpatrick, M. & Nguyen, L. (2008, June 11). Harper apologizes to residential school survivors. CanWest News. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstand database. Knockwood, I. (1992). Out of the depths: The experiences of Mi 'kmaw children at the Indian Residential School at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Lockeport, NS: Roseway. Llewellyn, J. (2002). Dealing with the legacy of Native residential school abuse in Canada: Litigation, ADR, and restorative justice. University of Toronto Law Journal, 52(3), 253. doi: 10.2307/825996 Native women’s leader reacts to Canada’s apology Norris, M. J. (2007). Aboriginal languages in Canada: Emerging trends and perspectives on second language acquisition. Canadian Social Trends, (83), 20-28. Retrieved from CBCA Complete database. Petten, C. (2007, July). Knowledge of aboriginal languages in decline. Windspeaker, 25(4), p. 22. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database. Rajotte, F. (1998). First Nations faith and ecology. London: Cassell. Steckley, J. L. & Cummins, B. (2001). Full circle: Canada’s first nations. Toronto: Pearson. [ 2 ]. Steckley, J. L. & Cummins, B. (2001). Full circle: Canada’s first nations. Toronto: Pearson. [ 3 ]. Knockwood, I. (1992). Out of the depths: The experiences of Mi 'kmaw children at the Indian Residential School at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Lockeport, NS: Roseway. [ 4 ]. Norris, M. J. (2007). Aboriginal languages in Canada: Emerging trends and perspectives on second language acquisition. Canadian Social Trends, (83), 20-28. Retrieved from CBCA Complete database. [ 5 ]. Couture, J. E. (1996). The role of native elders: Emergent issues. In D. A. Long and O.P. Dickason (Eds.), Visions of the heart: Canadian aboriginal issues (pp. 4-56). Toronto: Harcourt Brace. [ 6 ]. Rajotte, F. (1998). First Nations faith and ecology. London: Cassell. [ 8 ]. 7 Fitzpatrick, M. & Nguyen, L. (2008, June 11). Harper apologizes to residential school survivors. CanWest News. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstand database. [ 9 ]. Native women’s leader reacts to Canada’s apology. (2008, June 12) [Transcript of interview Canada AM – CTV Television]. Retrieved from ProQuest database.
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