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121-641: The Malahat Nation inhabits land rich in natural resources and have throughout history and modern day made efforts to restore depleted species. Aside from their spiritual backgrounds supporting the respect of nature, many of their goals for their community involve strengthening their resources after years of overfishing, and being settled in the 18th through 20th centuries. They also participate in activism surrounding such environmental issues, as well as social issues. As with other Indigenous Canadian peoples and Nations, residential schools have been surging in new information and new initiatives to better understand and combat

242-462: A concept of land ownership based on the discovery doctrine . As explained in the executive summary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 's (TRC) final report: "Underlying these arguments was the belief that the colonizers were bringing civilization to savage people who could never civilize themselves ... a belief of racial and cultural superiority." Assimilation efforts began as early as

363-555: A day school on the reserve was the result of pressure from missionary representatives. Reliant on student enrolment quotas to secure funding, they were struggling to attract new students due to increasingly poor school conditions. The introduction of the Family Allowance Act in 1945 stipulated that school-aged children had to be enrolled in school for families to qualify for the " baby bonus ", further coercing Indigenous parents into having their children attend. Students in

484-572: A health crisis within the schools and a financial crisis within the missionary groups. In 1911, in an attempt to alleviate the health crisis, the federal government increased per capita grant funding. However, the funding did not adjust for inflation. In the 1930s, throughout the Great Depression and World War II , it was repeatedly reduced, and by 1937, the per capita grant averaged just $ 180 per student per year. For perspective, per-capita costs for comparable institutions included: Manitoba School for

605-665: A larger report entitled Statistics Respecting Indian Schools . The Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869 formed the foundations for this system prior to Confederation. These acts assumed the inherent superiority of French and British ways, and the need for Indigenous peoples to become French or English speakers, Christians, and farmers. At the time, many Indigenous leaders argued to have these acts overturned. The Gradual Civilization Act awarded 50 acres (200,000 m ) of land to any Indigenous male deemed "sufficiently advanced in

726-504: A legal settlement. These gains were achieved through the persistent organizing and advocacy by Indigenous communities to draw attention to the residential school system's legacy of abuse, including their participation in hearings of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples . The Truth and Reconciliation Commission list three reasons behind the federal government's decision to establish residential schools. In addition to these three

847-437: A life different from their parents and cause them to forget the customs, habits & language of their ancestors." In 1883 Parliament approved $ 43,000 for three industrial schools and the first, Battleford Industrial School , opened on December 1 of that year. By 1900, there were 61 schools in operation. The government began purchasing church-run boarding schools in the 1920s. During this period capital costs associated with

968-458: A maze "consisting of a series of parallel walls partly uncovering each other, around which the visitor had to pass." The maze ended in a dark area that housed the fire pit. One explanation for this configuration was as a defense against intruders. Alternately, because the lack of doors and the cedar mat room dividers did little to keep the wind and rain out, the mats may have served as windbreaks. Anthropologist Ronald Leroy Olson, whose subjects were

1089-460: A passable standard of health" and "[a]ll but four were infected with tuberculosis". In one classroom, he found 16 ill children, many near death, who were being forced to sit through lessons. In 2011, reflecting on the TRC's research, Justice Sinclair told The Toronto Star : "Missing children – that is the big surprise for me ... That such large numbers of children died at the schools. That

1210-403: A prominent member's social status among the group. These large events would also include a large meal and serve as a way to settle disagreements or internal feuds with competition, rather than violence. Malahat is a First Nation which means that they were either the original people, or those who were present during the first European contact. The First Nation people are not Inuit or Métis , and

1331-404: A rectangular house that has a hearth or fire pit. One type consists of gabled, paired ridgepoles, vertical walls, and roof planks with an interior pit that was reached via steps. James Cook described the shed roof structures on Vancouver Island and around Puget Sound. His description is that of a cruder type of building that may have been in the adaptive stages of the house type possibly brought to

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1452-427: A relationship with their personal guides. Indigenous people have inhabited Vancouver Island for thousands of years, and particularly chose these sites because of the availability of resources. Early Coast Salish people relied heavily on hunting fish and mammals, and it is theorized that people living in internal British Columbia moved closer to the coast as it again provided ample food. Coast Salish people tended to live

1573-436: A role in the decision to halt the education programs. An increase in orphaned and foundling colonial children limited church resources, and colonists benefited from favourable relations with Indigenous peoples in both the fur trade and military pursuits. Educational programs were not widely attempted again by religious officials until the 1820s, prior to the introduction of state-sanctioned operations. Included among them

1694-761: A short time, efforts persisted. The Mohawk Institute Residential School , the oldest continuously operated residential school in Canada, opened in 1834 on Six Nations of the Grand River near Brantford , Ontario. Administered by the Anglican Church, the facility opened as the Mechanics' Institute, a day school for boys, in 1828 and became a boarding school four years later when it accepted its first boarders and began admitting female students. It remained in operation until June 30, 1970. The renewed interest in residential schools in

1815-571: A small village, in the cases of permanent winter lodgings. As part of the Coast Salish group, the Malahat Nation would have made contact with Europeans in the 1700s. Through contact with settlers, Indigenous people across British Columbia were pushed out and off their traditional lands and lost great numbers to smallpox in the 1700s and the 1800s. Treaties were also a key component of post-contact interactions with European and English settlers. In

1936-434: A straight grain with very few knots and have good weather resistance. The straight grain enables the separation of planks of wood from the tree. Craftspeople would insert a wedge to create a section of wood through the tree's height and remove it with an adze at both ends. This harvest method was sustainable and enabled the people to use the wood and to have a supply of planks to rebuild in another location. The people's patience

2057-506: A time in which Coast Salish people believed that sharing and being generous were positive attributes. As a culture within that, it was common for Saanich people to have good relations with other groups in the area when it came to accessing resources and the movement across territories. In modern day, the rules of these treaties and others have impacted both how those who signed the treaties interact with each other as well as their non-Indigenous neighbors. Residential schools are also important to

2178-495: A trade or being otherwise educated. Such employment he can get at home." Both academic research and the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee relay evidence that students were included in several scientific research experiments without their knowledge, their consent or the consent of their parents. These experiments include nutrition experiments which involved intentional malnourishment of children, vaccine trials for

2299-470: Is 7–36% of what other Canadian child-welfare institutions were paying ($ 3,300 and $ 9,855) and 5–25% of what U.S. residential care was paying ($ 4,500 and $ 14,059.) Government officials believed that since many staff members belonged to religious orders with vows of poverty or missionary organizations, pay was relatively unimportant. Thus, almost all staff were poorly paid, and schools had trouble recruiting and retaining staff. In 1948, C.H. Birdsall, chair of

2420-494: Is a push to provide both sanitary products and information. This project will transform the forest treetops into a tourist destination measuring 650 metres long. Guests will be able to walk through nature and then ascend to a spiral lookout of the Malahat lands. Canadian Indian residential school system The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples . The network

2541-410: Is also a better environment for agriculture. While the Malahat people favor developing their land for future generations, there are also conversations happening currently about fracking development. Due to the complex nature of drilling there is careful consideration when it comes to the impacts about their local environment, such as carbon pollution and an abundant uptick in the use of fresh water. In

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2662-482: Is an umbrella term that groups together many people who identify as Indigenous to Canada, but might have more specific titles and names for their own community. First Nations are primarily under the Indian Act , rather than having self-governance which some Indigenous people have in Canada. This act has been in place since 1876, and grants some autonomy to have their own laws, but still limits their power in conjunction with

2783-472: Is evident in the practice of leaving the wedge in place to continue the pressure that would enable another wedge placement further up, creating longer planks. Canadian anthropologist Wilson Duff quotes Simon Fraser , who (upon observation of the Coast Salish homes on the banks of the now-named Fraser River ) wrote in his 1800 journal; "as an excellent house 46 × 32 and constructed like American frame houses;

2904-634: Is located in Kitselas Canyon at the Paul Mason Site in western British Columbia, Canada . This village is estimated to be 3,000 years old. At the Maurer site in British Columbia the remains of a rectangular building have been excavated, providing artifacts which date the site to between 1920 and 2830 BCE . Due to the nature of this building material, the anthropological documentation for these people

3025-486: Is made up of five Nations within the Coastal Salish group including, the Malahat, Snaw-aw-as , Songhees , T'sou-ke , and Scia'new . The Malahat Nation is also under a Chief system, or leadership, as currently it is led by Chief George Harry. In the Malahat community, much like other Indigenous communities, there can be contention over how traditional lands are being used. This can pertain to both lands in possession by

3146-557: Is not widespread. The manner of wood harvest and continued use of that harvest was purposeful and sustainable. Native people of the Pacific Northwest maintained a distinct respect for red cedar and the value it had held for many generations. Cedar logs compose the primary support system of the plank houses of the Pacific Northwest Indians and are clad with thick cedar planks harvested from living trees. Cedar trees have

3267-467: Is one of the main goals of many communities. Another aspect of this partnership includes the attempt to get human remains returned. This is important to Indigenous communities because reburying the remains of their ancestors means completing ceremonies and life or death journeys that were cut short through being dug up and removed from Indigenous homelands. The Coast Salish nations are known for their nature inspired art and overall cosmologies that took root in

3388-722: The Indian Act by what was then the federal Department of the Interior . Adopted in 1876 as An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians , it consolidated all previous laws placing Indigenous communities, land and finances under federal control. As explained by the TRC, the act "made Indians wards of the state, unable to vote in provincial or federal elections or enter the professions if they did not surrender their status, and severely limited their freedom to participate in spiritual and cultural practices." The report commissioned by Governor General Charles Bagot , titled Report on

3509-574: The BCG vaccine , as well as studies on extrasensory perception, vitamin D diet supplements, amebicides , isoniazid , hemoglobin , bedwetting, and dermatoglyphics . Residential school deaths were common and have been linked to poorly constructed and maintained facilities. The actual number of deaths remains unknown due to inconsistent reporting by school officials and the destruction of medical and administrative records in compliance with retention and disposition policies for government records. Research by

3630-712: The Huu-ay-aht First Nations land. This effort will hopefully impact the reduced numbers of salmon and benefit all local Indigenous peoples. The Malahat Nation comes from the Saanich people, who in turn are a smaller piece of Coast Salish peoples. While there are many variations of beliefs and histories of the Salish people, they often have common threads or underlying traits between them. In their cosmology, ties between humans and nature serve as their origin story and reasoning for why they are linked to their ancestral lands. Many of

3751-451: The Indian Act made attendance at a day school, if there was a day school on the reserve on which the child resided, compulsory for status Indian children between 7 and 16 years of age. The changes included a series of exemptions regarding school location, the health of the children and their prior completion of school examinations. It was changed to children between 6 and 15 years of age in 1908. The introduction of mandatory attendance at

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3872-667: The Quinault , Tlingit and Kwakiutl tribes, defines the coasts of the Pacific Northwest as the place for rectangular plank houses, from the coastal region of British Columbia to the mouth of the Copper River in Alaska, with one exception: the Athabascan Tseutsaut of the head of Portland Canal, who used temporary brush and bark lodges. The Alaskan people are more likely to use spruce wood, which has characteristics similar to cedar, due to

3993-484: The United Church of Canada , and 2 were operated by Presbyterians . The approach of using established school facilities set up by missionaries was employed by the federal government for economic expedience: the government provided facilities and maintenance, while the churches provided teachers and their own lesson-planning. As a result, the number of schools per denomination was less a reflection of their presence in

4114-511: The vocational training and social skills required to obtain employment and integrate into Canadian society after graduation. In actuality, these goals were poorly and inconsistently achieved. Many graduates were unable to land a job due to poor educational training. Returning home was equally challenging due to an unfamiliarity with their culture and, in some cases, an inability to communicate with family members using their traditional language. Instead of intellectual achievement and advancement, it

4235-504: The 17th century with the arrival of French missionaries in New France . They were resisted by Indigenous communities who were unwilling to leave their children for extended periods. The establishment of day and boarding schools by groups including the Recollets , Jesuits and Ursulines was largely abandoned by the 1690s. The political instability and realities of colonial life also played

4356-465: The 1930s, about 30 percent of Indigenous children were attending residential schools. The number of school-related deaths remains unknown due to incomplete records. Estimates range from 3,200 to over 30,000, mostly from disease. The system had its origins in laws enacted before Confederation , but it was primarily active from the passage of the Indian Act in 1876, under Prime Minister Alexander MacKenzie . Under Prime Minister John A. Macdonald ,

4477-558: The Canadian government as well as those maintained by First Nations and other Indigenous peoples. Working in conjunction with environmental groups, people in the Southwest of British Columbia have been proactive and vocal about pipelines and industrial construction on their homelands. As well as pipelines, the overuse of lumber generated protests from Indigenous peoples, including the Malahat in 2021. The protests surrounded Fairy Creek and concerned

4598-633: The Canadian government. Some of the significant treaties that have been passed in British Columbia and Canada are the Te'mexw Treaty Association Agreement-in-Principle (2015), the Malahat Nation Incremental Treaty Agreement (2013), and the Douglas Treaties of 1850 and 1854. As of 2022, there is a new treaty that has reached stage 5 out of 6 between the Te'mexw Treaty Association and the Canadian government. The Te'mexw Treaty Association

4719-611: The Commission stated a national security element and quoted Andsell Macrae, a commissioner with Indian Affairs: "it is unlikely that any Tribe or Tribes would give trouble of a serious nature to the Government whose members had children completely under Government control." The federal government sought to cut costs by adopting the residential industrial school system of the United States. Indian Commissioner Edgar Dewdney aspired to have

4840-495: The Deaf: $ 642, Manitoba School for Boys: $ 550, U.S. Chilocco Indian Agricultural School : $ 350. The Child Welfare League of America stated per capita costs for "well-run institutions" ranged between $ 313 and $ 541; Canada was paying 57.5% of the minimum figure. Changes in per capita costs did not occur until the 1950s and were seen as insignificant. In 1966, Saskatchewan residential schools per capita costs ranged from $ 694 and $ 1,193, which

4961-523: The Malahat Nation acquired a portion of their traditional homelands through a loan from the First Nations Finance Authority. This land purchase encompassed locations such as Bamberton and Oliphant Lake, while also tripling the amount of territory they own in total. Past Chief, Michael Harry has suggested that buying the land outright was much more efficient than being tied up in the courts for years over rightful ownership. This investment in

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5082-431: The Malahat Nation organized an event to both protest past treatment and to honor the lives of those lost to residential schools. During this event, a march took place consisting of the Malahat Nation, neighboring nations, and non-Indigenous allies. As a result, the Malahat Nation are hopeful for unity against past treatment, and are currently commissioning totem poles to recognize the legacy of those who died at and survived

5203-531: The Northwest Coast , calculates the volume of wood in this house to exceed half a million board feet (1,200 m ). A multi-family house found in Nanaimo, on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island , Canada, is documented as being made of split cedar planks that were "held in place by withes (cedar rope) that come from the long lower branches of Cedar trees that grow in open spaces." (Fraser) The cedar ropes that secured

5324-547: The TRC concluded with the establishment of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and released a report that concluded that the school system amounted to cultural genocide . Ongoing efforts since 2021 have identified thousands of possible unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools, though no human remains have been exhumed. During a penitential pilgrimage to Canada in July 2022, Pope Francis reiterated

5445-495: The TRC revealed that at least 3,201 students had died, mostly from disease. TRC chair Justice Murray Sinclair has suggested that the number of deaths may exceed 6,000. The vast majority of deaths occurred before the 1950s. The 1906 Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs, submitted by chief medical officer Peter Bryce , highlighted that the "Indian population of Canada has a mortality rate of more than double that of

5566-424: The TRC's final report, dedicated to missing children and unmarked burials, was developed after the original TRC members realized, in 2007, that the issue required its own working group. In 2009, the TRC requested $ 1.5   million in extra funding from the federal government to complete this work, but was denied. The researchers concluded, after searching land near schools using satellite imagery and maps, that, "for

5687-540: The United Church committee responsible for the Edmonton school, in regard to the lack of funding for salaries, accommodations, and equipment, stated that it was "doubtful the present work with Indian Children could properly be called education." In 1948, Sechelt school staff were paying full-time staff a salary of $ 1800. In the 1960s, Christie school staff were paid $ 50 a month. The per capita grant system severely decreased

5808-608: The United States. While the Indian and Northern Affairs estimates that 11,132 children were adopted between 1960 and 1990, the actual number may be as high as 20,000. In 1969, after years of sharing power with churches, the DIA took sole control of the residential school system. The last federally-funded residential school, Kivalliq Hall in Rankin Inlet , closed in 1997. Residential schools operated in every Canadian province and territory with

5929-494: The acquirement of Indigenous objects and artifacts. In British Columbia, the government decided to allocate two million dollars toward repatriation via the Royal B.C. Museum. This effort will not only include repatriation of cultural objects but also the hiring of Indigenous professionals who will participate and guide the process. While the extent of these returns has yet to be determined, creating access to ancestral objects and heritage

6050-701: The affairs of the Indians in Canada and referred to as the Bagot Report, is seen as the foundational document for the federal residential school system. It was supported by James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin , who had been impressed by industrial schools in the West Indies , and Egerton Ryerson , who was then the Chief Superintendent of Education in Upper Canada . This letter was published in 1898 as an appendix to

6171-516: The apologies of the Catholic Church for its role, also acknowledging the system as genocide. In October 2022, the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion calling on the federal Canadian government to recognize the residential school system as genocide. Attempts to assimilate Indigenous peoples were rooted in imperial colonialism centred around European worldviews and cultural practices, and

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6292-509: The approvals required to undertake expensive renovations and repairs. By the 1930s, government officials recognized that the residential school system was financially unsustainable and failing to meet the intended goal of training and assimilating Indigenous children into European-Canadian society. Robert Hoey , Superintendent of Welfare and Training in the Indian Affairs Branch of the federal Department of Mines and Resources, opposed

6413-711: The assimilation pursued by President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant . Davin's report relied heavily on findings he acquired through consultations with government officials and representatives of the Five Civilized Tribes in Washington, DC , and church officials in Winnipeg , Manitoba. He visited only one industrial day school, in Minnesota , before submitting his findings. In his report Davin concluded that

6534-495: The best way to assimilate Indigenous peoples was to start with children in a residential setting, away from their families. Davin's findings were supported by Vital-Justin Grandin , who felt that while the likelihood of civilizing adults was low, there was hope when it came to Indigenous children. He explained in a letter to Public Works Minister Hector-Louis Langevin that the best course of action would be to make children "lead

6655-423: The coast by the Salish people, who modified it as needed with the location change. These shed-roof houses are the largest constructed anywhere in this region. The articles that have been written by anthropologists describe the shed roofs as being shed types that are not consistent in the description of the roof pitch. One informant will state that the roof was slanted to the back of the house, and another will say it

6776-412: The control sample. Details of the mistreatment of students were published numerous times throughout the 20th century by government officials reporting on school conditions, and in the proceedings of civil cases brought forward by survivors seeking compensation for the abuse they endured. The conditions and impact of residential schools were also brought to light in popular culture as early as 1967, with

6897-627: The early 1800s can be linked to the decline in military hostility faced by the settlers, particularly after the War of 1812 . With the threat of invasion by American forces minimized, Indigenous communities were no longer viewed as allies but as barriers to permanent settlement. This change was also associated with the transfer of responsibility for interactions with Indigenous communities from military officials, familiar with and sympathetic to their customs and way of life, to civilian representatives concerned only with permanent colonial settlement. Beginning in

7018-400: The education quality. British Columbia Indian Superintendent Arthur Wellesley Vowell in response to one of his agents recommending they only approve qualified teaching staff stated that that would require more funding and that Indian Affairs did not "entertain requests for increased grants to Indian boarding and industrial schools." The pay was so low relative to provincial schools that many of

7139-434: The effects. This particular community has also been hit hard during COVID-19 , but have responded with health initiatives as well as economic driven solutions to the issues caused by COVID-19. The Malahat live on Vancouver Island, off the coast of British Columbia. West of the Canadian coast, the environment of their homelands are defined by mountains, forests, rivers, waterfalls and an abundance of natural resources. In 2015,

7260-522: The elementary branches of education" and would automatically enfranchise him, removing any tribal affiliation or treaty rights. With this legislation, and through the creation of residential schools, the government believed Indigenous peoples could eventually become assimilated into the general population. Individual allotments of farmland would require changes in the communal reserve system, something fiercely opposed by First Nations governments. In January 1879, John A. Macdonald , Prime Minister of what

7381-422: The establishment of the residential school. On June 24, 2021, Chief Cadmus Delorme of Cowessess First Nation held a virtual press conference. From June 2 to 23 they found an estimated 751 unmarked graves. Delorme went on to state: Plank house A plank house is a type of house constructed by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest , typically using cedar planks. The oldest plank house village found

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7502-771: The exception of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island . The residential school system harmed Indigenous children significantly by removing them from their families , depriving them of their ancestral languages , and exposing many of them to physical and sexual abuse . Conditions in the schools led to student malnutrition, starvation, and disease. Students were also subjected to forced enfranchisement as "assimilated" citizens that removed their legal identity as Indians. Disconnected from their families and culture and forced to speak English or French, students often graduated being unable to fit into their communities but remaining subject to racist attitudes in mainstream Canadian society. The system ultimately proved successful in disrupting

7623-649: The exception of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island . It is estimated that the number of residential schools reached its peak in the early 1930s with 80 schools and more than 17,000 enrolled students. About 150,000 children are believed to have attended a residential school over the course of the system's existence. Some parents and families of Indigenous children resisted the residential school system throughout its existence. Children were kept from schools and, in some cases, hidden from government officials tasked with rounding up children on reserves. Parents regularly advocated for increased funding for schools, including

7744-452: The expansion of new schools, noting in 1936 that "to build educational institutions, particularly residential schools, while the money at our disposal is insufficient to keep the schools already erected in a proper state of repair, is, to me, very unsound and a practice difficult to justify." He proposed the expansion of day schools, an approach to educating Indigenous children that he would continue to pursue after being promoted to director of

7865-553: The general population, but rather their legacy of missionary work. Although the British North America Act , 1867 made education in Canada the jurisdiction of the provincial governments, the Indigenous peoples and their treaties fell under the jurisdiction of the federal government. As a condition of several treaties, the federal government agreed to provide for Indigenous education. Residential schools were funded under

7986-475: The government adopted the residential industrial school system of the United States, a partnership between the government and various church organizations. An amendment to the Indian Act in 1894, under Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell , made attendance at day schools , industrial schools , or residential schools compulsory for First Nations children. Due to the remote nature of many communities, school locations meant that for some families, residential schools were

8107-592: The impact of the illness. Streptomycin , the first effective treatment, was not introduced until 1943. In 1920 and 1922, Regina physician F.   A. Corbett was commissioned to visit the schools in the west of the country, and found similar results to those reported by Bryce. At the Ermineskin school in Hobbema , Alberta, he found that 50 percent of the children had tuberculosis. At Sarcee Boarding School near Calgary , he noted that all 33 students were "much below even

8228-436: The increase of centrally located day schools to improve access to their children, and made repeated requests for improvements to the quality of education, food, and clothing being provided at the schools. Demands for answers in regards to claims of abuse were often dismissed as a ploy by parents seeking to keep their children at home, with government and school officials positioned as those who knew best. In 1894, amendments to

8349-431: The information of their deaths was not communicated back to their families." The Truth and Reconciliation Commission wrote that the policy of Indian Affairs was to refuse to return the bodies of children home due to the associated expense, and to instead require the schools to bear the cost of burials. The TRC concluded that it may be impossible to ever identify the number of deaths or missing children, in part because of

8470-401: The land will provide intergenerational wealth via housing, job opportunities, and as a potential tourist location. These resources included sea-life, hunting, timber, and semi-precious metals/sedimentary rocks that could be mined. Materials from the forests have been used in the past by both colonial people and First Nations people. The western side of Vancouver, particularly in the south, there

8591-548: The last decade, salmon has been an important topic both in regards to being a staple in Indigenous resources, but also in environmental disasters and preservation. In 2011, a large amount of gasoline and diesel fuel spilled on the Malahat Highway which led to a leak into the Goldstream River . This resulted in thousands of fish dying and a response to clean up the surrounding area and dispose of contaminated fish. The gasoline

8712-446: The late 1800s, the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) officially encouraged the growth of the residential school system as a valuable component in a wider policy of integrating Indigenous people into European Canadian society. The TRC found that the schools, and the removal of children from their families, amounted to cultural genocide , a conclusion that echoed the words of historian John S. Milloy, who argued that

8833-405: The legal responsibility of the school. Overcrowding, poor sanitation, inadequate heating, and a lack of medical care led to high rates of influenza and tuberculosis ; in one school, the death rate reached 69 percent. Federal policies that tied funding to enrollment numbers led to sick children being enrolled to boost numbers, thus introducing and spreading disease. The problem of unhealthy children

8954-475: The mid 19th century, the Hudson Bay Company set out to establish their presence on Vancouver Island, which was named for George Vancouver . This was done by sending James Douglas onto Indigenous territories to set up treaties and acquire land. Treaties have greatly affected the inter-relations of Indigenous people and modern day nations recognized through western governments. The Douglas Treaties came at

9075-402: The monitoring of child welfare . With no requirement for specialized training regarding the traditions or lifestyles of the communities they entered, provincial officials assessed the welfare of Indigenous children based on Euro-Canadian values that, for example, deemed traditional diets of game, fish and berries insufficient and grounds for taking children into custody. This period resulted in

9196-635: The most part, the cemeteries that the Commission documented are abandoned, disused, and vulnerable to accidental disturbance". In May 2021, a possible burial site was found in the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia , on the lands of the Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc First Nation . The site was located with the assistance of a ground-penetrating radar specialist and Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Chief Rosanne Casimir wrote that

9317-430: The number of times the schools were rebuilt due to arson. Under new initiatives from the Canadian government, there is more willingness to discuss the sexual abuse, physical punishments, and politics behind these schools designed to re-educate and end Indigenous values in children. A large part of Indigenous cultures are their material objects or essentially their material culture. One of the effects of colonialism has been

9438-617: The only way to comply. The schools were intentionally located at substantial distances from Indigenous communities to minimize contact between families and their children. Indian Commissioner Hayter Reed argued for schools at greater distances to reduce family visits, which he thought counteracted efforts to assimilate Indigenous children. Parental visits were further restricted by the use of a pass system designed to confine Indigenous peoples to reserves . The last federally-funded residential school, Kivalliq Hall in Rankin Inlet , closed in 1997. Schools operated in every province and territory with

9559-658: The pass system restricted and closely monitored the movement of Indigenous peoples off reserves. Launched in 1885 as a response to the North-West Rebellion , and later replaced by permits, the system was designed to prevent Indigenous people from leaving reserves without a pass issued by a local Indian agent. Instruction provided to students was rooted in an institutional and European approach to education. It differed dramatically from child rearing in traditional knowledge systems based on 'look, listen, and learn' models. Corporal punishment and loss of privileges characterized

9680-491: The planks are three to 4 inches thick, each plank overlapping the adjoining one a couple of inches; the post, which is very strong and crudely carved, received across beams; the walls are 11 feet high and covered with a slanting roof. On the opposite side of the river, there is a considerable village with houses similar to the one on the side." Kenneth Ames, a contributor to Life in the Big House; Household Labor and Dwelling Size on

9801-543: The planks to the uprights and beams allowed the people to deconstruct their homes and bring their planks with them to the next location. These planks were neither small nor easily obtained, but they were valuable assets and, as such, they were transported with household goods during the seasonal migrations. The house frames were left intact until the next season when the people returned and reattached their traveling planks and reconstructed their homes. There were two distinct roof types found in this region. Both types are placed on

9922-453: The post-contact relationship between colonialism and Indigenous values. Vancouver Island had five residential schools, the earliest starting in 1890 and the latest closing in 1983. The lowest numbers of how many children died at these schools are 202, these numbers being reported in 2021. The history of these schools show how attempts to assimilate Indigenous children were met with resistance throughout their entire existence. This can be seen in

10043-503: The practice of burying students in unmarked graves. The work is further complicated by a pattern of poor record keeping by school and government officials, who neglected to keep reliable numbers about the number of children who died or where they were buried. While most schools had cemeteries on site, their location and extent remain difficult to determine as cemeteries that were originally marked were found to have been later razed, intentionally hidden or built over. The fourth volume of

10164-513: The procedures enforced in the prison system. In some cases schools denied parents access to their children altogether. Others required families to meet with them in the presence of school officials and speak only in English; parents who could not speak in English were unable to talk to their children. The obstacles families faced to visit their children were further exacerbated by the pass system . Introduced by Reed, without legislative authority to do so,

10285-508: The publication of "The Lonely Death of Chanie Wenjack " by Ian Adams in Maclean's and the Indians of Canada Pavilion at Expo 67 . In the 1990s, investigations and memoirs by former students revealed that many students at residential schools were subjected to severe physical, psychological , and sexual abuse by school staff members and by older students. Among the former students to come forward

10406-437: The rampant disrepair present in the buildings resulted in their having no economic value. Schools continued to be maintained by churches in instances where they failed to reach an agreement with government officials with the understanding that the government would provide support for capital costs. The understanding ultimately proved complicated due to the lack of written agreements outlining the extent and nature of that support or

10527-445: The removal of thousands of years old trees. The main issues at hand were the desire to save the trees and to allow for First Nation leaders to come up with plans on how to navigate and negotiate with the logging companies. While pointing at larger issues, this fight against climate change and rights surrounding traditional forests resulted in the arrest of 800 people. In 2021, with the recent discoveries of mass residential school graves,

10648-477: The residential school system were faced with a multitude of abuses by teachers and administrators, including sexual and physical assault. They suffered from malnourishment and harsh discipline that would not have been tolerated in any other Canadian school system. Corporal punishment was often justified by a belief that it was the only way to save souls or punish and deter runaways – whose injuries or death sustained in their efforts to return home would become

10769-400: The residential school system, while traditional Indigenous approaches to education favour positive guidance toward desired behaviour through game-based play, story-telling, and formal ritualized ceremonies. While at school, many children had no contact with their families for up to 10 months at a time, and in some cases had no contact for years. The impact of the disconnect from their families

10890-454: The residential school system. Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered a public apology on his behalf and that of the other federal political party leaders. On June 1, 2008, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was established to uncover the truth about the schools. The commission gathered about 7,000 statements from residential school survivors through various local, regional and national events across Canada. In 2015,

11011-417: The residential schools, through forced labour , be financially independent a few years after opening. The government believed through the industrial system and cheap labour costs of missionary staff it could "operate a residential school system on a nearly cost-free basis." Students "were expected to raise or grow and prepare most of the food they ate, to make and repair much of their clothing, and to maintain

11132-628: The residential schools. COVID-19 has led to significant changes and impacts on Indigenous communities over the course of a few years. The Malahat Nation is adapting to these new circumstances by focusing on community projects that enrich their economy. They have been working on the Malahat Skywalk, which has been under construction over the COVID-19 pandemic after it was assessed to be safe to continue and health precautions will be followed. While many Indigenous communities have struggled over COVID-19, there

11253-402: The schools were assumed by the government, leaving administrative and instructional duties to church officials. The hope was that minimizing facility expenditures would allow church administrators to provide higher quality instruction and support to the students in their care. Although the government was willing to, and did, purchase schools from the churches, many were acquired for free given that

11374-500: The schools." Most schools did this through a system where students studied for half the day and did "vocational training" for the other half. This system failed and the schools never became self-supporting. By 1891, the government cut already low salaries, stopped covering operating costs, and implemented a fixed amount of funding per student. This policy drove competition and encouraged the admission of students that were deemed "too young or too sick." The chronic underfunding developed

11495-438: The shift in policy from educational assimilation to integration, the removal of Indigenous children from their families by state officials continued through much of the 1960s and 70s. The removals were the result of the 1951 addition of section 88 of the Indian Act , which allowed for the application of provincial laws to Indigenous peoples living on reserves in instances where federal laws were not in place. The change included

11616-567: The site was undocumented and that work was underway to determine if related records were held at the Royal British Columbia Museum . As of May 2024, no remains have been excavated. On June 23, 2021, ground-penetrating radar suggested the presence of an estimated 751 unmarked graves on the site of Marieval Indian Residential School in Marieval, Saskatchewan , on the lands of Cowessess First Nation . Some of these graves predated

11737-524: The stories have been passed down through oral history, and keeps the languages preserved through an effort to maintain a connection to their cosmology. For example, they have creation stories about mountains, deer, blue jays, as well as what happens when humans forget their obligations to nature. Spiritual or religious rituals that the early Salish people performed were coming of age rites that focus on boys, but were not exclusionary towards girls. These rituals, such as vision quests , would help young people forge

11858-447: The summer season in semi-nomadic conditions to take advantage of their abundant resources. In the winter they resided in plank houses which were permanent fixtures of their lives. The social structure of Coast Salish people was based on households and each area was divided by these homes. In each home there could be not only immediate family but also those more distantly related. They would all live in one home and these homes would make up

11979-416: The system's aim was to "kill the Indian in the child." Over the course of the system's more than hundred-year existence, around 150,000 children were placed in residential schools nationally. As the system was designed as an immersion program, Indigenous children were in many schools prohibited from, and sometimes punished for, speaking their own languages or practising their own faiths. The primary goal

12100-577: The teachers lacked any teaching qualifications. Federal cuts to funding during the Great Depression resulted in students paying the price. By 1937, at the Kamloops Indian Residential School , milk production among the schools dairy herds was reduced by 50%. The federal government refused to fund construction for an additional barn to increase milk production and isolate the sick animals. Even among other schools dairy herds, funding

12221-446: The transmission of Indigenous practices and beliefs across generations. The legacy of the system has been linked to an increased prevalence of post-traumatic stress , alcoholism , substance abuse , suicide , and intergenerational trauma which persist within Indigenous communities today. Starting in the late 2000s, Canadian politicians and religious communities have begun to recognize, and issue apologies for, their respective roles in

12342-417: The trip that Indian Commissioner Hayter Reed argued that the schools should be moved farther from the reserves to make visiting more difficult. He also objected to allowing children to return home during school breaks and holidays because he believed the trips interrupted their assimilation. Visitation, for those who could make the journey, was strictly controlled by school officials in a manner similar to

12463-482: The welfare and training branch in 1945. The proposal was resisted by the United Church, the Anglican Church, and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate , who believed that the solution to the system's failure was not restructuring but intensification. Between 1945 and 1955, the number of First Nations students in day schools run by Indian Affairs expanded from 9,532 to 17,947. This growth in student population

12584-414: The whole population, and in some provinces more than three times". Among the list of causes he noted the infectious disease of tuberculosis and the role residential schools played in spreading the disease by way of poor ventilation and medical screening. In 1907, Bryce reported on the conditions of Manitoba and North-West residential schools: "we have created a situation so dangerous to health that I

12705-635: The widespread removal of Indigenous children from their traditional communities, first termed the Sixties Scoop by Patrick Johnston, the author of the 1983 report Native Children and the Child Welfare System . Often taken without the consent of their parents or community elders, some children were placed in state-run child welfare facilities, increasingly operated in former residential schools, while others were fostered or placed up for adoption by predominantly non-Indigenous families throughout Canada and

12826-419: The world around them. Historically, potlatch es were used by Coast Salish people, among others, to display and give away wealth. These events also served as a way to bring people together to discuss current issues or politics, determine rank, and display material culture. Typically a potlatch would include giving away as many goods as possible which by distributing wealth and behaving generously, would solidify

12947-556: Was Phil Fontaine , then Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs , who in October 1990 publicly discussed the abuse he and others suffered while attending Fort Alexander Indian Residential School. After the government closed most of the schools in the 1960s, the work of Indigenous activists and historians led to greater awareness by the public of the damage the schools had caused, as well as to official government and church apologies, and

13068-536: Was a school established by John West , an Anglican missionary, at the Red River Colony in what is today Manitoba . Protestant missionaries also opened residential schools in what is now the province of Ontario , spreading Christianity and working to encourage Indigenous peoples to adopt subsistence agriculture as a way to ensure they would not return to their original, nomadic ways of life upon graduation. Although many of these early schools were open for only

13189-440: Was accompanied by an amendment to the Indian Act in 1951 that allowed federal officials to establish agreements with provincial and territorial governments and school boards regarding the education of Indigenous students in the public school system. These changes marked the government's shift in policy from assimilation-driven education at residential schools to the integration of Indigenous students into public schools. Despite

13310-437: Was arduous, and severely compromised the academic and social development of the students. School books and textbooks were drawn mainly from the curricula of the provincially funded public schools for non-Indigenous students, and teachers at the residential schools were often poorly trained or prepared. During this period, Canadian government scientists performed nutritional tests on students and kept some students undernourished as

13431-575: Was expected to degrade naturally and quickly, along with the concentrated efforts to protect the area. Years later, 2018, there were also plans to restore chinook salmon on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. These are the biggest species of salmon on the Pacific Coast, and in some areas are listed as endangered. While originally intended to be a deal between the Malahat Nation and Steelhead LNG, and built on Indigenous land, it has since been moved nearby on

13552-508: Was funded by the Canadian government 's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches . The school system was created to isolate Indigenous children from the influence of their own culture and religion in order to assimilate them into the dominant Euro-Canadian culture. Over the course of the system's more than hundred-year existence, around 150,000 children were placed in residential schools nationally. By

13673-440: Was further exacerbated by the conditions of the schools themselves – overcrowding and poor ventilation, water quality and sewage systems. Until the late 1950s, when the federal government shifted to a day school integration model, residential schools were severely underfunded and often relied on the forced labour of their students to maintain their facilities, although it was presented as training for artisanal skills. The work

13794-425: Was furthered by students being discouraged or prohibited from speaking Indigenous languages , even among themselves and outside the classroom, so that English or French would be learned and their own languages forgotten. In some schools, they were subject to physical violence for speaking their own languages or for practicing non-Christian faiths. Most schools operated with the stated goal of providing students with

13915-473: Was no longer working for the government, published The Story of a National Crime: Being a Record of the Health Conditions of the Indians of Canada from 1904 to 1921. In particular, he alleged that the high mortality rates could have been avoided if healthy children had not been exposed to children with tuberculosis. At the time, no antibiotic had been identified to treat the disease, and this exacerbated

14036-595: Was often physical appearance and dress, like that of middle class , urban teenagers, or the promotion of a Christian ethic, that was used as a sign of successful assimilation. There was no indication that school attendees achieved greater financial success than those who did not go to school. As the father of a pupil who attended Battleford Industrial School, in Saskatchewan, for five years explained: "he cannot read, speak or write English, nearly all his time having been devoted to herding and caring for cattle instead of learning

14157-441: Was often surprised that the results were not even worse than they have been shown statistically to be." In 1909, Bryce reported that, between 1894 and 1908, mortality rates at some residential schools in western Canada ranged from 30 to 60 per cent over five years (that is, five years after entry, 30 to 60 per cent of students had died, or 6 to 12 per cent per annum). These statistics did not become public until 1922, when Bryce, who

14278-406: Was pitched to the front or the side of the house. The roof pitch was adjusted according to the direction from which the rain came down. Regionally, the rain comes from the south. In 1778, during his third mapping voyage , James Cook described the homes he saw at Nootka Sound as not having a door. He described irregular openings through which the Indians passed in and out. The " Old Man House " had

14399-523: Was so low that milk was separated with "skimmed milk served to the children" and the fat turned to dairy products sold to fund the schools. In 1939, the Presbyterian school in Kenora began charging students 10 cents a loaf until their Indian agent ordered the school to stop. Parents and family members regularly travelled to the schools, often camping outside to be closer to their children. So many parents made

14520-520: Was then post-Confederation Canada , commissioned politician Nicholas Flood Davin to write a report regarding the industrial boarding-school system in the United States. Now known as the Davin Report, the Report on Industrial Schools for Indians and Half-Breeds was submitted to Ottawa on March 14, 1879, and made the case for a cooperative approach between the Canadian government and the church to implement

14641-509: Was to convert Indigenous children to Christianity and acculturate them. Many of the government-funded residential schools were run by churches of various denominations. Between 1867 and 1939, the number of schools operating at one time peaked at 80 in 1931. Of those schools, 44 were operated by 16 Catholic dioceses and about three dozen Catholic communities; 21 were operated by the Church of England / Anglican Church of Canada ; 13 were operated by

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