215 Bodies found in unmarked graves

At a  Kamloops Residential school ground radar found 215 unmarked graves. The Catholic Church who ran the school had stated earlier that 50 children had died at the school. 

"There may be reasons why they wouldn't record the deaths properly and that they weren't treated with dignity and respect because that was the whole purpose of the residential school ... to take total control of Indian children, to remove their culture, identity and connection to their family,"

From our studies on Residential schools earlier, we know that many children died and that some were buried in unmarked graves. Still, 215 is shocking

-Are their mass grave of undocumented deaths at other schools? 4,100 students are know to have died, but Alberta alone thinks there is another 800 'missing' children from their province. 

-What does this say about the Church and Government that were in charge of the schools?

-Bishop Grandin is a major street in Winnipeg named after a Catholic Bishop who advocated for Metis rights but also advocated for and was a big supporter of Residential schools. Many other things, such as a part of our city, is also named after him. Should we keep honouring his name or should we rename these things?

Residential Schools

 

Residential Schools

To be fair, schools are not always the most pleasant places, and common school practices from 20, 50, and 100 years ago would shock us today. Residential schools though, were particularly cruel. Even worse than the school practices, was the intent of the schools and the devastation it caused to the Indigenous communities of Canada. We will be talking about cultural genocide as we study this issue.

Answer the following questions. 

Link here

1. For many, was attendance voluntary? 

2. Give an educated guess why the death rate was high in the Residential Schools

3. Why were many of the dead children not given a marked grave, or their death documented, or the parents notified?

4. Knowing that schools were often built far away from the community, that parents were not allowed to visit, and that a student's culture, religion and language was not respected. What besides education was a goal for the schools, perhaps an even bigger goal than education? 

5. If children are separated from their families and taught a different language, religion and customs, how would that impact family life and communities for generations to follow?

6. Do schools today try and do more than educate students? Defend your answer. 

When done, explore the pictures/text at this link here or replay the movie below. 

Residential Schools-Tomorrow is Orange Shirt Day

After the movie we watched and discussed in class, read the following article.
Residential Schools

1. What does assimilation mean? How does this word describe what was being attempted with the First Nation's People?
2. How many First Nation children in total attended a Residential School?
3. It wasn't just Residential schools that tried to shape students to fit what they think a good citizen should be. How do schools today try and produce what the schools think are good citizens?
4. What can of respect did Canada give to the Indigenous people of this land. Use examples in your answer. 

Residential Schools and Orange Shirt Day

History of Orange Shirt Day

Information about school

More information about the school

 Picture of school 1

Picture of school 2

Picture of school 3

First Day of School

NCTR information

Residential School Name: Pine Creek (Camperville)

Location of school:

Years the school operated:

How many students died at school:

Who operated the school:

One other fact about the school:

Blog your facts below