In our readings this week, we focused on the experiences of Aboriginal children, specifically with regards to their experiences in underfunded and poorly-structured residential schools, which separated them from children of European descent and resulted in devastating inequalities. As Jean Barman discusses in her article, “Schooled for Inequality: The Education of British Columbia Aboriginal Children,” while British Columbia entered into Confederation in 1871 and Aboriginal children were generally well-received by many public schools throughout the 1970s and 1980s [1], the reception of these children and, consequently, their attendance began to deteriorate at the start of the 1890s. Barman recounts the experiences of Aboriginal children in 1891, writing, “Responses from individual teachers and boards of trustees almost all supported Aboriginal children’s continued presence [in public schools].” [2] However, she continues, “Two years later, in the fall of 1893, the Superintendent ruled that, ‘if a single parent objects to the attendance of Indian pupils, they cannot be permitted to attend,’” [3] and as the European population increased, “Aboriginal pupils were no longer essential to most schools’ survival.” [4] As a result, the residential school system came to be, isolating thousands of Aboriginal children from their families and their communities. In addition to being removed from their families, Aboriginal children were forced to abandon their native tongue and to learn English in order to be properly assimilated into the colonized nation. [5] The significance of this rule is further documented in Marie Battiste’s article, “Enabling the Autumn Seed: Toward a Decolonized Approach to Aboriginal Knowledge, Language, and Education,” where she writes, “[Aboriginal langues] provide the deep and lasting cognitive bonds that affect all aspects of Aboriginal life;” [6] however, as demonstrated in Barman’s article, these bonds were severed upon entrance in the residential schools. Although the residential school system inexcusably robbed thousands of Aboriginal children from the experiences of an appropriate childhood and educational experience, which continued to be granted to their former peers of European descent, steps were taken by some individuals in the industry to ensure that the students were given somewhat of a chance to have a positive educational experience. An example of this is demonstrated in Paige Raibmon’s article, “A New Understanding of Things Indian: George Raley’s Negotiation of the Residential School Experience,” where George Raley served as “principal of Coqualeetza Residential School at Sardis in the Fraser Valley,” [7] but instead of removing the children from “their family, community, and culture,” [8] he stressed “policies of Christianization and civilization.” As demonstrated in these articles, residential schools separated many Aboriginal children from their families and their culture, in an attempt to assimilate them to Euro-Canadian culture. As a result of the Eurocentric ideologies of the individuals who ran the residential schools, the children and their families suffered immensely.
[1] Jean Barman, “Schooled for Inequality: The Education of British Columbia Aboriginal Children,” in Schooling in Transition: Readings in the Canadian History of Education, ed. Sara Burke and Patrice Milewski (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012), 258.
[2] Ibid., 259.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid., 260.
[6] Marie Battiste, “Enabling the Autumn Seed: Toward a Decolonized Approach to Aboriginal Knowledge, Language, and Education,” in Schooling in Transition: Readings in the Canadian History of Education, ed. Sara Burke and Patrice Milewski (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012), 278.
[7] Paige Raibmon, “‘A New Understanding of Things Indian’: George Raley’s Negotiation of the Residential School Experience,” BC Studies 110 (1996): 71.
[8] Ibid.