In late May, searchers found 215 remains of children buried at a British Columbia residential school, located near the city of Kamloops. This reopened the debate on residential schools, and especially their usefulness. Residential schools represented tools in North America to assimilate the populations, yet the success rate from them was very limited and caused a lot of damage to indigenous communities. Since the closure of the last school in 1996, indigenous communities have asked for justice, especially the recognition of wrongdoing as well as researching for potential remains on sites as a number of children have never been found.
What were residential schools?
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, residential schools began to open as soon as 1880, following the establishment of the Indian Act in 1876. The Canadian government and various religious institutions participated in the attempt of converting indigenous youth into members of the Canadian society. The Indian Act promoted the desired assimilation of indigenous communities throughout Canada. Residential schools therefore became mandatory for indigenous children, which required them to be taken away from their families and forget their own traditions and native languages. Indigenous youth had no choice to take part in residential schools and would be stripped from their own identity by being given a ‘whiter’ name and a new haircut. Every part of the process required children to forget and despise their own culture, by accepting english and christianism. The Indian Act sought to divide indigenous communities within them by describing what is considered ‘Indian’ and what is not.
The documentary Duncan Campbell Scott: The Poet and the Indians (1995), focuses on Duncan Campbell Scott who served as a superintendent for the Department of Indian Affairs. Scott considered the white man to be superior over any other races and therefore considered Indians as ‘savages’ which had to be controlled through the residential schools. The documentary highlights the various problems of these schools. Most children would not return home after entering the institutions as tuberculosis, amongst other illnesses, would kill students or would die due to the unhealthy conditions they had to live under. Even though discussions happened in order to fight against tuberculosis in schools, they quickly faced a dead-end as solutions were to be costly and Scott, amongst others, were not willing to spend more money to save indigenous children. This led to a genocide that became institutionalized during the 20th century as the Indian Act bureaucratized the entire process. This documentary proves how problematic the organization of residential schools was, with a clear sign of white superiority.
I watched this documentary during one of my university history classes about Canada. It was my first approach to residential schools and many points struck me. The way Scott talked about Indigenous communities and treated them, as well as the way children were dismissed and bullied made me realize how dangerous these spaces were. Mentioning it here felt important to me as Scott kept his position within the department of Indian Affairs from 1879 to 1939, which consists of an important amount of time. By spending so much time in this governmental branch, Scott embodied what the Canadian government envisioned for indigenous people and therefore contributed largely to the genocide that took place. Scott pushed for mandatory participation of young children in residential school, believing it represented the best way to get rid of the ‘Indian problem’ and have a unified Canadian society.
Today’s situation
CBC explains that the Kamloops residential school operated between 1890 to 1969, and the finding of remains confirm the various testimonies of survivors of the same school who claimed children had died there and never returned home nor were returned to the families. These victims also appear to be undocumented, therefore proving the lack of records about these institutions. National Post identifies the reaction by Canadians as a lack of knowledge on the subject, as indigenous communities have demanded for years to search schools and find bodies of missing children, being clear some had been buried and hidden from records. Around 150,000 indigenous students participated in residential schools and about 6,000 lost their lives in these institutions, even though this is far from being a final number as records are incomplete or have been destroyed.
The discovery of the remains emphasized the necessity of addressing Canada’s past and behaviors towards Indigenous communities, instead of ignoring it or downplaying facts. The tragedy linked to these institutions is ongoing and affecting communities. With evidence gathered throughout the year of wrongdoing and cultural erasure, it is now time to move towards reconciliation.
“215 at one school is many more and we have been asking for reconciliation for so long, in so many different ways but we are constantly silenced.” Confessed Ocean, an undergraduate student at McGill University. “My view of Canada as an entity is that what they have done is illegal, violates human rights, is a genocide. It represents a transgenerational trauma and our souls are bruised as indigenous people. Until the white people, the settlers, start listening to these hard truths, our souls cannot fully be healed as we are still considered inferior, when we are not.”
In early June, GlobalNews covered the 104 graves that are going to be examined in Brandon, Manitoba, located in a former residential school. Searchers are now trying to identify the remains of more than a 100 children found, in hopes to head towards reconciliation. This new discovery hints that what survivors claimed is true and should no longer be disregarded.
A phone line has been set up in order to help anyone in a situation of distress, those that have attended residential schools or have been impacted by them. They are reachable 24 hours: 1-866 925-4419.
Sources used:
→ Cover picture taken from CTV News' article, "At least 3,000 deaths linked to Indian residential schools: new research" (https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/at-least-3-000-deaths-linked-to-indian-residential-schools-new-research-1.1161081)
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