by Heidi Kuran

To open the training session, Arlene Vrtar on Residential Schools
and Abuse. She is a LPN and RSW and has extensive experience
with alcoholism, drug abuse, overeating and smoking cessation.
Arlene began by observing a moment of silence for all those who
had suffered from the legacy of abuse from residential schools.

Arlene began by asking the question, "Why does the issue of
residential abuse - something that happened so long ago
- still affect First Nations people today?". The answer is a
complex one; the complexity of the answer lies in the history
and cycle of abuse that continues over generations. Arlene
shared a chronological history of residential school development
from 1845 to the present.

Here are some of the main points
from the chronology:

1845	- government report to the legislative assembly of Upper Canada recommends that Indian boarding schools be set up
1847	- it is suggested that the schools be set up as a partnership with government and church and education be of a religious nature
1892	- Federal Government and churches enter into a formal partnership to run a school system for Indian children
1920	- under the direction of Duncan Campbell Scott, it becomes mandatory for Indian children between the ages of 7-15 to attend school
1945	- 9,149 students are enrolled in residential school, with only about 100 students enrolled over grade eight with no record of any student beyond grade nine
1950	- over 40% of the teaching staff in residential schools have no professional training
1969	- partnership between government and churches is formally ended and federal government taking full control of the schools. Total enrollment is 7,704 with 60% of Indian children enrolled in the public school system
1979	- 12 schools still remain in operation enrollment is 1,189
1983	- the last residential school closes in Tofino, BC
1992-93	- a research study is conducted in BC to examine the effects of residential schools. A range of physical, sexual and psychological abuses are identified.
1994	- a Native Residential School Task Force is created by the RCMP as a result of the research findings. Their mandate is to examine all residential schools in operation from 1890-1984.
1994	- The AFN releases its report on residential schools "Breaking the Silence".
1995	- Arthur Henry Plint former supervisor of the Alberta Indian residential school 1948-1953 and 1963-1968 pleads guilty to 16 counts of indecent assault and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
1996	- The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples final report is released containing a call for a public inquiry into the effects of residential schools upon the generations of First Nations people. It also recommends a national repository of records related to residential schools be set up.
1997	- John Watson, the highest ranking Indian Affairs official in BC is the first Government of Canada representative to admit the residential schools were part of an assimilation policy of the Canadian government.
1997	- National Chief Phil Fontaine outlines the elements the AFN would seek as part of a healing strategy on residential schools. This includes a full apology, endowment fund, language revival program, counseling for survivors and community healing.
January 7th, 1998	- Jane Stewart, Minister of Indian Affairs, makes a statement of reconciliation in which she apologizes to those individuals that experienced the tragedy of sexual and physical abuse at residential schools.
	A Healing Fund of $350,000,000 is announced for healing to address the legacy of physical and sexual abuse related to residential school.

The intention of the residential school system was "to kill the Indian in the
child" and to transform Aboriginal children from "savages" into civilized
members of the Canadian society. The Department aimed at severing
the ties of culture that ran between generations sustaining family and
community.

The curriculum in the residential schools was not at all like what we
would expect now or indeed what other Canadian children were
learning in school at the time.

An example of a day
at residential school:

-6:00am wash, dress and clean up the dorms
-6:30am to the chapel for Latin mass then morning chores
-Class time consisted of religious training (1 hr), reading, writing and
mathematics (2 hrs). Non-native schools had 5 hrs of instruction
-After lunch, native children would begin their "civilization" training: farming,
gardening, cooking, sewing and cleaning.
-They would have one hour of study time in the evening, supper, clean-up,
supervised recreation, prayer and bedtime.

The curriculum was hardly adequate. Native children in residential schools
were taken away from their culture, language and teachers and did not go
through their proper rites of passage. If the stages of development preceding
Elderhood are not adequately met, or if during childhood a young person is
abused during their development, it is easy to see how so many unhealthy
native people came out of the residential school system.

When the residential school children became adults and Elders,
they often passed on the abuse or emotional damage they endured
in residential schools to their own children and families, beginning
a cycle of abuse. Arlene relayed her own poignant story about
residential school abuse that has affected her family in a profound way.

She emphasized the need to face the issue within families and to work together
as a family or with counseling to help heal the wounds of residential school abuse.

Arlene advised CHRs to take advantage of the Healing Fund if they have
access to it in their communities to help break down the barriers to healing
the spirit of First Nations people. Arlene's final comment was hopeful:
"Our past does not have to equal the present".

Copyright NIICHRO 2000