The importance of the new residential schools curriculum in NWT and Nunavut.

By: Chris Rider, BYTE Executive Director

 

Since moving to Whitehorse to take on the role of Executive Director at BYTE, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been given a number of unique learning opportunities. These opportunities have included meetings with Elders from different Yukon First Nations. At almost every meeting, one of the main topics the Elders have wanted to discuss is residential schools. It’s a topic that seems so huge and important, with far-reaching impacts, but I’ve noticed it’s also something many Canadians have never had the opportunity to learn about.

 

It’s hard to try and sum up such a difficult part of history, but I will try to do it some justice. The first government-sponsored residential schools opened in the early 20th century and operated until the 1960s, with the last school closing as recently as 1996. For anyone who doesn’t know the history of residential schools in Canada, they were part of a program that aimed to assimilate First Nations children into Canadian society. In short, First Nation children and youth were forcibly taken from their families and communities to live in residential schools, where they were stripped of their language and culture. The schools were overcrowded with poor sanitation, which resulted in an extremely high number of deaths among the First Nation residents. Sadly, while attending residential schools, many of the children and youth were physically abused and/or sexually assaulted by the people running the schools. The fact that the residential school system operated on such a systematic basis and for so many years meant that entire generations of First Nations people were profoundly impacted.

 

 

These terrible experiences meant that many survivors of the system turned to alcohol and drugs to mask the trauma from which they continued to suffer. This substance abuse in turn led to higher rates of violence. Thus began a cycle, whereby the parents’ damage was passed on to their children, and so on. Until recently this problem was swept under the carpet, and no support was given to help break the cycle.

 

Now things are slowly starting to change. A month ago, I was lucky enough to have been invited to watch young Tlingit children dance in their traditional button blankets. Their fierce pride in their culture and people was apparent to all who attended. I’m only a recent immigrant to Canada, but from everything I’ve been told, it feels wonderful to see such a profound change in the young generation. But there is still a long way to go before we are even close to things being “put right”.

 

One thing I’ve noticed is the number of young people of non-First Nation ancestry who have only a limited understanding of what created the problems that we are still seeing today. I’ve been surprised to realise that many Canadians have a poorer knowledge of the problem than I do – and I’m a foreigner who was only really exposed to First Nations culture and history for the first time less than one year ago.

 

One of the reasons for this lack of information, I’ve realised, is that most Canadians have been given virtually no education on this sad episode in Canada’s history while at school. That’s why I was very pleased yesterday morning when I saw that the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have created a mandatory curriculum for high school students on the topic of residential schools. The focus of the courses is on the residential school system and the legacy it left behind. I truly hope that all other territories and provinces will take note of this new curriculum and take action to implement it within their own jurisdictions.

 

 

Educating the Canadian population about one of the darkest parts of its history is an important way to begin healing the damage done to First Nations communities and individuals, and to ensure that nothing similar ever happens again. I echo the words of Eva Aariak, the premier of Nuavut, who said: “Nunavut and Northwest Territories are pioneering this…and I truly hope that it will expand to the rest of our nation”.

 

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For more information on the Residential Schools System, I recommend starting with the following resource:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2008/05/16/f-faqs-residential-schools.html

 

I used the following CBC article as a source for information regarding the new curriculum in NWT:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2012/10/02/north-residential-school-curriculum-launch.html

 

And if you ever get an opportunity, I recommend that you see the play: Where the Blood Mixes. It is one of the most moving plays I have seen. A small preview is here: