Residential Schools
Solving the “Indian Problem”: The Legacy of the Residential Schooling System in Canada
“My family faces racist attitudes everyday. I believe that if we educate people
of different races, they will gain a better understanding of our differences, as
well as the many things we have in common…..I used to have a hard time
with derogatory remarks aimed towards my race, my family and me. Sometimes I would go into a corner and hide…Today I have a better understanding of why my peers or even strangers say racist things. They do not know what is truth and what is fiction. They only know what their parents, outdated books and society has taught them. This is why adults must join with children to learn how to separate the stereotypes, fabricated stories, and Hollywood images from the truth about Native people in this country. Only then they will understand (Beyond Words, 7)
These are the heart-breaking words of a sixteen year old First Nations senior high school student from Calgary Alberta. Her statements are born out of her experience with racist attitudes directed towards her people and herself. It’s not an isolated experience but one that characterizes the essence of mainstream society’s perspectives and their treatment of Aboriginal people in general. For years, First Nations people have dealt with racial slurs and stereotypical attitudes. Messages of hatred and inequality manifest themselves in terms such as “redskin”, “squaw”, and “chug”, carrying with them negative meanings and unqualified attitudes, outright misinformation and unethical assumptions. Stereotypical views about Aboriginal people are rampant in our culture; to this day, they characterize their relationship with a European paternalistic culture, while at the same time, they impede their progress. Since the arrival of Europeans, First Nations people have experienced the woes of domination, discrimination, debasement, as well as the imposition of unfamiliar...
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