The dark side of residential school life has now come to light. Most Canadians see the schools as synonymous with abuse. Sociologists link them to social challenges that persist today. Teachers undermined the self-confidence of students, sought to turn them away from their own languages and cultural ancestry, and failed to provide them the same level of education as their non-indigenous counterparts.
But despite these terrible conditions, Ray writes that “the schools probably had the opposite effect from what the government intended. Instead of stamping out Aboriginal culture, they created a new group of determined Native leaders by bringing children together from disparate cultural areas, by forcing them to help one another to survive, and by teaching them the ways of their oppressors” (Ray, p.239).
Students and survivors of residential schools were not, and are not, helpless victims. Instead, they are creative individuals who actively resisted the impositions and abuses of the residential school system. Throughout those years, they persisted in practicing their own cultures and languages in many ways. Against great odds, their efforts reflect ongoing processes of renewal.
Celia Haig-Brown’s book, Resistance and Renewal: Surviving the Indian Residential School tells some stories of these activities. Haig-Brown's father attended the Alberni Indian Residential School for four years in the 1920s, during which he endured physical abuse. When he spoke his language, Tsehaht, his teachers pushed sewing needles through his tongue.
The book is a study of former students of the Residential School in Kamloops, B.C. Based on interviews with 13 people, the book balances male and female perspectives, and positive and negative views of the schools. Indigenous peoples also participated in the analysis and interpretation of the information she used when writing the book. In her conclusion, Haig-Brown writes that:
“The most outstanding notion which emerges from these stories of Native people attending the Kamloops Indian Residential School is the extent and complexity of their resistance. The students in their wisdom recognized the injustice of the system which attempted to control them and to transform them. In innumerable ways, they fought for some control in an impersonalized system…This strength has led to today’s work in education by Native people throughout British Columbia” (Haig-Brown, p.126).
But despite these terrible conditions, Ray writes that “the schools probably had the opposite effect from what the government intended. Instead of stamping out Aboriginal culture, they created a new group of determined Native leaders by bringing children together from disparate cultural areas, by forcing them to help one another to survive, and by teaching them the ways of their oppressors” (Ray, p.239).
Students and survivors of residential schools were not, and are not, helpless victims. Instead, they are creative individuals who actively resisted the impositions and abuses of the residential school system. Throughout those years, they persisted in practicing their own cultures and languages in many ways. Against great odds, their efforts reflect ongoing processes of renewal.
Celia Haig-Brown’s book, Resistance and Renewal: Surviving the Indian Residential School tells some stories of these activities. Haig-Brown's father attended the Alberni Indian Residential School for four years in the 1920s, during which he endured physical abuse. When he spoke his language, Tsehaht, his teachers pushed sewing needles through his tongue.
The book is a study of former students of the Residential School in Kamloops, B.C. Based on interviews with 13 people, the book balances male and female perspectives, and positive and negative views of the schools. Indigenous peoples also participated in the analysis and interpretation of the information she used when writing the book. In her conclusion, Haig-Brown writes that:
“The most outstanding notion which emerges from these stories of Native people attending the Kamloops Indian Residential School is the extent and complexity of their resistance. The students in their wisdom recognized the injustice of the system which attempted to control them and to transform them. In innumerable ways, they fought for some control in an impersonalized system…This strength has led to today’s work in education by Native people throughout British Columbia” (Haig-Brown, p.126).
Last modified: Friday, 17 January 2014, 04:06 PM