RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS
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INDIGENOUS AWARENESS
THE HIDDEN SECRET OF CANADA'S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS BY: ANUSHA AND DIVYA NATARAJAN
What are Residential Schools?"
government to leave their families and attend these schools. These schools were
As we celebrate Indigenous cultures and
built in the 1831 to help make Indigenous
communities, we also acknowledge the
people “more civilized.”
oppression and discrimination Indigenous peoples have experienced for centuries. Canada cannot move forward if Indigenous peoples continue to be held back." As Prime Minister Trudeau explained in his 2018 speech for National Indigenous Peoples Day, Canada has had a complex history with the Indigenous populations. Indigenous Peoples in Canada usually consist of the First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Aboriginal. Residential schools are one example of the complex history of Canada. Children were forced by the Canadian
Similar types of schools were also established around the world, especially with countries with an Indigenous population, such as Australia, Sweden, and the United States. The first school was opened in Brantford, Ontario. It was a dual partnership between the churches and government to convert the Native population into Christianity and teach them how to be more Western, such as speaking English and wearing more Western clothing. There were no schools present in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick.
