The Systematic Destruction of a (First) Nation
Through Residential Schools
The history of America was not built on freedom, but on the genocide of the Native Americans. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed by then President, Andrew Jackson. After the government was unsuccessful on committing actual genocide, the secondary plan was cultural genocide; therefore, a policy of forced removal of all Native children was implemented as a way to assimilate the Natives into civilized society. In the 19th century, the early government’s plan to civilize the Natives was through government-funded, church-run, industrial schools. These poorly funded, boarding schools became a haven for institutionalized sexual, physical, mental and emotional abuse. According to the Governments own statistics, just over 50,000, almost half of all the children sent, died and disappeared.
For some of us, our time in school can be testing and have it’s rough patches, but for the survivors, nearly every school day was traumatizing. “Nobody went through the residential schools without getting damaged, even the stool pigeons. The whole point of the schools was to destroy us; at least, the ones who couldn’t be changed or bought off” Hazel Joseph- Port Alberni (Vancouver Island, British Columbia) School survivor. There are countless stories of survivors being beaten, raped, molested, and tortured, but another factor obsolete from the history books, is that many diseases were intentionally administered and sterilization was implemented by government-funded programs.
Residential schools are notoriously known for the inhumane treatment of Native American children, but one mission, The Catholic Education Resource center, is speaking out against allegations of abuse; claiming to have had “considerable sensitivity displayed toward the children and their native culture, with many missionaries resisting the government’s policy of assimilation.” The church also states that tuberculosis, one of the diseases intentionally exposed, was merely effects from “uncare and neglect in slum conditions.” (J. Fraser Field-Editor of The Catholic Education Resource Center)
On June 11, 2008 Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologized to the First Nations for the abuse and extreme treatment of the children of residential school, calling it “a sad chapter of our history”. While many survivors and their families doubt the sincerity of the apology, most agree that that it is long overdue. Canada’s apology comes with a $4 billion compensation and healing package for the victims of residential school abuse.
The victims of the Residential Schools are not just the individuals that were institutionalized, as the fateful cycles pass onto generations today. There is a long road of healing for all of these victims and their families and the first steps have already begun.
Through Residential Schools
The history of America was not built on freedom, but on the genocide of the Native Americans. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed by then President, Andrew Jackson. After the government was unsuccessful on committing actual genocide, the secondary plan was cultural genocide; therefore, a policy of forced removal of all Native children was implemented as a way to assimilate the Natives into civilized society. In the 19th century, the early government’s plan to civilize the Natives was through government-funded, church-run, industrial schools. These poorly funded, boarding schools became a haven for institutionalized sexual, physical, mental and emotional abuse. According to the Governments own statistics, just over 50,000, almost half of all the children sent, died and disappeared.
For some of us, our time in school can be testing and have it’s rough patches, but for the survivors, nearly every school day was traumatizing. “Nobody went through the residential schools without getting damaged, even the stool pigeons. The whole point of the schools was to destroy us; at least, the ones who couldn’t be changed or bought off” Hazel Joseph- Port Alberni (Vancouver Island, British Columbia) School survivor. There are countless stories of survivors being beaten, raped, molested, and tortured, but another factor obsolete from the history books, is that many diseases were intentionally administered and sterilization was implemented by government-funded programs.
Residential schools are notoriously known for the inhumane treatment of Native American children, but one mission, The Catholic Education Resource center, is speaking out against allegations of abuse; claiming to have had “considerable sensitivity displayed toward the children and their native culture, with many missionaries resisting the government’s policy of assimilation.” The church also states that tuberculosis, one of the diseases intentionally exposed, was merely effects from “uncare and neglect in slum conditions.” (J. Fraser Field-Editor of The Catholic Education Resource Center)
On June 11, 2008 Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologized to the First Nations for the abuse and extreme treatment of the children of residential school, calling it “a sad chapter of our history”. While many survivors and their families doubt the sincerity of the apology, most agree that that it is long overdue. Canada’s apology comes with a $4 billion compensation and healing package for the victims of residential school abuse.
The victims of the Residential Schools are not just the individuals that were institutionalized, as the fateful cycles pass onto generations today. There is a long road of healing for all of these victims and their families and the first steps have already begun.
Indian Residential Schoolshttp://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/16/f-faqs-residential-schools.html
The “Otherside” Catholic Education J. Fraser Field is Managing Editor of The Catholic Education Resource Center.http://catholiceducation.org/articles/history/canada/ch0001.html
Indian Removal Act-Web Guides
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Indian.html
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Indian.html
Hidden From History -The Canadian Holocaust http://www.whale.to/a/annett.html
Canada's Prime Minister
1 comment:
Quick note: I'm worried that your blog is not up to date. That worry translates into a dwindling grade for you. Just because you turn in a portfolio does not guarantee a passing grade for the course.
The title is okay, but you need something creative to combine with it.
The attention getter is what exactly? The opening line is slightly "in your face" and could turn some readers off. How might you take this tough topic and make it more reader friendly? Again, that doesn't mean that you make the subject silly or take away from its power -- but how do you make it palatable for a reader who may not want to think about tough subjects?
"us" and "our" -- don't refer directly to the reader. You can't speak for our experiences, so speak for your own or for the experiences of the source material you found.
Source inclusion here is clunky. Revisit the sections of THEY SAY, I SAY that deal with templates for introducing sources.
There doesn't seem to be a clear argument here -- unclear thesis, lack of controlling topic sentences, and sources cluttering up the topic sentences all make this a bit of a hodge podge.
Your citations are not in the correct format.
NP
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