Transcript
What was the aftermath of residential schools?
Culturally: The cultural damage caused by residential schools has permanently erased many aspects from aboriginal culture and heritage. As aboriginals were not allowed to speak their own language in school the consequence of that was a general loss of language. Also aboriginals were not taught about their heritage and culture to achieve the residential school objective “to kill the Indian in a child”. I can relate to that because when I was 6 years old I had no knowledge regarding my culture, heritage, and religion and I felt that I really was not Sikh. Although the residential schools did not fully achieve their goals they did partially as the residential school generation of aboriginals did not follow the way the aboriginals used to live (e.g. hunting). Aboriginals also had no knowledge of how care for a family a skill that was highly valued in the aboriginal social structure which led to many problems for aboriginal parents.
Socially :The residential schools impacted aboriginals the most socially as aboriginals lived a very stressful life at school, which caused many aboriginals to grow up to become criminals, drug addicts or alcoholics which had a bad effect on their health. At school aboriginals were separated from their opposite gender siblings and I can only imagine how I would feel if my brother was a girl and I was separated from him. Aboriginals disciplined their kids the way the residential school teachers did by physically abusing them which caused their kids to be upset then the parents would be upset, and they would start drugs, alcohol and the children would follow. Many aboriginals who attended residential schools had symptoms of residential school syndrome similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. The syndrome causes scary nightmares, horrific flash backs, sleep difficulties, anger management issues, lack of focus and no interest in aboriginal activities. The healing process can take months, even years. Aboriginals can be taken to healing centers funded as drug and alcohol treatment centers, or aboriginals can travel to their village regularly to gain trust from it.
Economically: Another objective of residential schools was to educate aboriginals. Aboriginals were educated until 5th grade and then trained to become wood workers, laundry workers and sewers.
Politically: Residential schools had a big effect on the federal government as many aboriginal leaders stood up to the federal government. Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologized on June 11 2008. A part of his apology was “Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country”. In 1990, Phil Fontaine, leader of the Association of Manitoba Chiefs, called for the churches involved to recognize the physical, and emotional abuse endured by students at the schools. A year later, the government assembled a Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Many people told the commission about their residential school experiences, and the commission's 1996 report recommended a separate public inquiry into residential schools. That recommendation was never followed. Over the years, the government worked with the Anglican, Catholic, United and Presbyterian churches, which ran residential schools, to design a plan to compensate the former students. In 2007, two years after it was first announced, the federal government finalized a $1.9-billion compensation package for those who were forced to attend residential schools.
