|
|
楼主 |
发表于 2015-3-11 08:32:21
|
显示全部楼层
本帖最后由 本司胡同 于 2015-3-11 08:37 编辑
Canadian government gained control over Aboriginal land and peoples, disrupted
Aboriginal governments and economies, and sought to repress Aboriginal cultures
and spiritual practices. The government, often in partnership with the country’s
major religious bodies sought to “civilize”and Christianize, and, ultimately, assimilate
Aboriginal people into the Canadian society. The deputy minister of Indian Affairs predicted
in 1920 that in a century, thanks to the work of these schools, Aboriginal people would cease to exist as an identifiable cultural group in Canada.
Education was seen as a central element in this project. For their part Aboriginal people saw the value in schooling: it was at their insistence, for example, that many treaties required government to provide teachers and establish reserve schools. The decision to invest in residential schools was based on a belief that the cultural and spiritual transformation that
the government and churches sought to bring about in Aboriginal people could be most effectively accomplished in schools that broke the bonds between parent and child.
When Canada was created in 1867 the churches were already operating a small number of boarding schools for Aboriginal people of Ontario. In the coming years, Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries established missions and small boarding schools throughout the west.
The relationship between the government and the churches was institutionalized in 1883 when the federal government decided to establish three large residential schools in Western Canada.
Missionaries established missions and small boarding schools throughout the west. The relationship between the government and the churches was institutionalized in 1883
when the federal government decided to establish three large residential schools in
Western Canada. By the 1930s, there were over 70 residential schools in operation in all parts
of the country. By then approximately one-third of school-aged Aboriginal children were attending residential schools. Eventually more than 150,000 students would pass through the system. Over the century that the system was in operation more than 130 residential schools received government support.
The assault on an Aboriginal identity often began the moment the child took the first step across the school’s threshold. Braided hair (which often had spiritual connotations) was cut, home-made clothing exchanged for a school uniform, Aboriginal names replaced with a Euro-Canadian ones (and a number), and the unrestricted freedom of life in Aboriginal community foregone for the regimen of an institution in which every activity from morning to evening was scheduled. Males and females, brothers and sisters were separated and, with some exceptions, parental visits were discouraged and controlled.
Hastily and cheaply built schools were often found to have poor or non-existent sanitation and ventilation systems. With few infirmaries in which students with contagious diseases could be isolated, epidemics could quickly spread through a school with deadly results. Because schools were funded on a per capita basis, administrators often violated health guidelines and admitted children who were infected with such deadly and contagious diseases as tuberculosis. Parents were also often not informed if their children became sick, died, or ran way.
For the first half of the twentieth century,
the schools were on what was termed the
half-day system, under which half a day was
spent in the classroom and the other half in
vocational training. For the boys this was
largely restricted to farming and the crafts
that a farmer might have need of while the
girls were trained in the domestic sciences.
In reality, this was not so much training as
child labour, undertaken to subsidize the
ongoing operation of the schools.
The government mandated that English
be the language of instruction. And while
some missionaries had learned Aboriginal
languages and provided religious instruction
in those languages, in many schools students
were punished for speaking an Aboriginal
language. For most of the system’s history
the federal government had no clear policy
on discipline. Students were not only
strapped and humiliated, in some schools,
they were handcuffed, manacled, beaten,
locked in cellars and other makeshift jails,
or displayed in stocks. Overcrowding and
a high student-staff ratio meant that even
those children who were not subject to
physical discipline grew up in an atmosphere
of emotional neglect.
From the beginning, many Aboriginal
people were resistant to the residential
school system. Missionaries found it difficult
to convince parents to send their children to
residential schools, and children ran away,
often at great personal risk and with tragic
outcome.
While the issue of sexual abuse was largely
unreported during the years in which the
schools were in operation, over the past
25 years it has become clear that this was
a serious problem in some schools. While
a number of high-profile court cases have
led to the conviction of school officials and
employees, the extent of such abuse—and its
legacy—requires further research.
For most of their history, residential
school wages were far below those offered
to other teachers, making the recruitment
and retention of teachers an ongoing issue.
While many remarkable people devoted
their lives to these institutions, the churches
did not require the same level of training as
was expected by the Canadian public school
system. It was not until after the 1950s that
the schools, for example, began to provide
high school education.
Many students have positive memories of
their experiences of residential schools and
speak positively of the skills they acquired,
the recreational and sporting activities, and
the friendships they made. Some students
went on to further their studies and develop
distinguished careers. But for most students
academic success was elusive and they left as
soon as they could. On return to their home
communities, they often felt isolated from
their families and their culture. They had
lost their language and not been provided
with the skills to follow traditional economic
pursuit. Many found that they had not been
provided with the skills needed to succeed
in the Euro-Canadian economy. Nor did
they have any experience of family life or
parenting.
trc.ca
Indian Residential Schools
An Overview
On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper issued an apology to
the former students of Canada’s Indian
residential school system, calling it a “sad
chapter in our history.” That chapter is
part of a broader story: one in which the
Canadian government gained control over
Aboriginal land and peoples, disrupted
Aboriginal governments and economies,
and sought to repress Aboriginal cultures
and spiritual practices. The government,
often in partnership with the country’s
major religious bodies sought to “civilize”
and Christianize, and, ultimately, assimilate
Aboriginal people
into the Canadian
society. The deputy
minister of Indian
Affairs predicted
in 1920 that in a
century, thanks to
the work of these
schools, Aboriginal
people would
cease to exist as an
identifiable cultural
group in Canada.
Education was seen as a central element
in this project. For their part Aboriginal
people saw the value in schooling: it was
at their insistence, for example, that many
treaties required government to provide
teachers and establish reserve schools.
The decision to invest in residential
schools was based on a belief that the
cultural and spiritual transformation that
the government and churches sought to
bring about in Aboriginal people could be
most effectively accomplished in schools that
broke the bonds between parent and child.
When Canada was created in 1867
the churches were already operating a
small number of boarding schools for
Aboriginal people of Ontario. In the coming
years, Roman Catholic and Protestant
missionaries established missions and small
boarding schools throughout the west. The
relationship between the government and
the churches was institutionalized in 1883
when the federal government decided to
establish three large residential schools in
Western Canada.
By the 1930s, there were over 70
residential schools in operation in all parts
of the country. By then approximately
one-third of school-aged Aboriginal
children were attending residential schools.
Eventually more than 150,000 students
would pass through the system. Over the
century that the system was in operation
more than 130 residential schools received
government support.
The assault on an Aboriginal identity often
began the moment the child took the first
step across the school’s threshold. Braided
hair (which often had spiritual connotations)
was cut, home-made clothing exchanged
for a school uniform, Aboriginal names
replaced with a Euro-Canadian ones (and
a number), and the unrestricted freedom
of life in Aboriginal community foregone
for the regimen of an institution in which
every activity from morning to evening
was scheduled. Males and females, brothers
and sisters were separated and, with some
exceptions, parental visits were discouraged
and controlled.
Hastily and cheaply built schools were
often found to have poor or non-existent
sanitation and ventilation systems. With
few infirmaries in which students with
contagious diseases could be isolated,
epidemics could quickly spread through
a school with deadly results. Because
schools were funded on a per capita
basis, administrators often violated health
guidelines and admitted children who were
infected with such deadly and contagious
diseases as tuberculosis. Parents were also
often not informed if their children became
sick, died, or ran way.
For the first half of the twentieth century,
the schools were on what was termed the
half-day system, under which half a day was
spent in the classroom and the other half in
vocational training. For the boys this was
largely restricted to farming and the crafts
that a farmer might have need of while the
girls were trained in the domestic sciences.
In reality, this was not so much training as
child labour, undertaken to subsidize the
ongoing operation of the schools.
The government mandated that English
be the language of instruction. And while
some missionaries had learned Aboriginal
languages and provided religious instruction
in those languages, in many schools students
were punished for speaking an Aboriginal
language. For most of the system’s history
the federal government had no clear policy
on discipline. Students were not only
strapped and humiliated, in some schools,
they were handcuffed, manacled, beaten,
locked in cellars and other makeshift jails,
or displayed in stocks. Overcrowding and
a high student-staff ratio meant that even
those children who were not subject to
physical discipline grew up in an atmosphere
of emotional neglect.
From the beginning, many Aboriginal
people were resistant to the residential
school system. Missionaries found it difficult
to convince parents to send their children to
residential schools, and children ran away,
often at great personal risk and with tragic
outcome.
While the issue of sexual abuse was largely
unreported during the years in which the
schools were in operation, over the past
25 years it has become clear that this was
a serious problem in some schools. While
a number of high-profile court cases have
led to the conviction of school officials and
employees, the extent of such abuse—and its
legacy—requires further research.
For most of their history, residential
school wages were far below those offered
to other teachers, making the recruitment
and retention of teachers an ongoing issue.
While many remarkable people devoted
their lives to these institutions, the churches
did not require the same level of training as
was expected by the Canadian public school
system. It was not until after the 1950s that
the schools, for example, began to provide
high school education.
Many students have positive memories of
their experiences of residential schools and
speak positively of the skills they acquired,
the recreational and sporting activities, and
the friendships they made. Some students
went on to further their studies and develop
distinguished careers. But for most students
academic success was elusive and they left as
soon as they could. On return to their home
communities, they often felt isolated from
their families and their culture. They had
lost their language and not been provided
with the skills to follow traditional economic
pursuit. Many found that they had not been
provided with the skills needed to succeed
in the Euro-Canadian economy. Nor did
they have any experience of family life or
parenting.
By the 1940s federal officials had
concluded that the system was both
expensive and ineffective. As a result, the
federal government began to substantially
increase the number of on-reserve day
schools and, in the 1950s, to enter into
agreements with provincial governments
and local school boards to have Aboriginal
students educated in public schools.
This policy of slowly winding down the
residential school system was coupled with
an expansion of the system in the Canadian
north from 1955 onwards. Once again
children were separated from families for
lengthy periods, taught by people who
had no understanding of their language
or culture, and housed in crowded and
makeshift facilities.
The partnership with the churches
remained in place until 1969 and, while
most of the schools had closed by the 1980s,
the last federally supported residential
schools remained in operation until 1996.
Quick Facts on Residential Schools
Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their homes by RCMP. 1
150,000 Aboriginal children were taken from their families. 3
90 to 100% suffered severe physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. 1
There was a 40 – 60% mortality rate in Indian residential schools. 1
Residential schools date back to the 1870s. 3
Over 130 residential schools were located across Canada, and the last school closed as recently as 1996. 3
Two-thirds of Canadians believe (and four in ten strongly believe) that Canadians with no experience in Indian residential schools have a role to play in reconciliation between Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians. 2
1. Dr. Bryce Report 1907, Medical Inspector, Department of Indian Affairs
2. 2008 National Benchmark Survey, Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada
3. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
幸福的孩子可以练练英文。
此简介摘自Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
加拿大真相与谅解委员会
此委员会收国会所托，撰写此调查报告。
轩辕可以让百里读一读，然后转述。 |
|
楼主: 本司胡同
IP卡
狗仔卡
发表于 2015-3-9 11:45:47
显身卡
发表于 2015-3-10 23:39:30
