Sept. 30th National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Honouring the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
“When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with his parents who are savages; he is surrounded by savages, and though he may learn to read and write, his habits and training and mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who can read and write.”
Prime Minister Sir John A Macdonald
Canadians bettering their understanding of the true history and impact of residential schools is essential.
Take this quick quiz and learn more! Hover over each card below and it will flip to give you the answer and some related facts.
The Gradual Civilization Act to assimilate Indigenous people passed in?
1896
1912
1857
ANSWER - 1857
The Indian Act came to be developed over time through separate pieces of colonial legislation regarding Aboriginal peoples across Canada such as the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857. In 1876, these acts were consolidated as the Indian Act.
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What year did it become mandatory for every Indigenous child to attend a residential school?
1920
1889
1880
Answer 1920 Under the Indian Act
1920, under the Indian Act, it became mandatory for every Indigenous child to attend a residential school and illegal for them to attend any other educational institution
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How many First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded schools?
85,000
500,000
150,000
ANSWER 150,000
More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded schools
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Federal Indian Day Schools came in to being..
Before Residential Schools, After Residential Schools
ANSWER Before Residential Schools
Federal Indian Day Schools existed before residential schools. It’s estimated that there were over 700 day schools across Canada.
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Who was the architect of the residential school system?
John A. Macdonald,
Duncan Campbell Scott,
The Catholic Church
ANSWER John A. Macdonald
Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald was the architect of the residential school system. It was the government’s effort to settle what is now Western Canada, along with signed treaties and policies that aimed at removing Indigenous people from their land and opening up western territories to non-Indigenous settlers
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Some of the largest residential schools had how many children in attendance?
200
500
300
Answer 500 (or more)
The expansion of these schools to the West created significant growth with some of the largest residential schools having over 500 children in attendance
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Residential schools operated in Canada for more than how many years?
100
80
160
ANSWER 160
Residential schools operated in Canada for more than 160 years, with upwards of 150,000 children passing through their doors
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The last federally-funded residential school closed in what year?
1996
1988
2006
Which Prime Minister made the first Statement of Apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools?
Stephen Harper, Justin Trudeau, Brian Mulroney
ANSWER Stephen Harper
On Wednesday, June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a Statement of Apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools, on behalf of the Government of Canada
Source
Who decided where schools would be placed?
Federal Government, Church Organizations, Provincial Governemnt
ANSWER Churches
Catholic and Protestant churches provided much of the original direction on where schools would be placed and how the school system would grow.
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True or False - The trauma of the school’s colonization tactics has often led to suicide
True or False
ANSWER True
The trauma of the school’s colonization tactics has often led to self-abuse in an attempt to cope. According to the University of British Columbia, “Among First Nations people aged 10 to 44, suicide and self-inflicted injury is the number one cause of death, responsible for almost 40 percent of mortalities.
Source
In 1907, government medical inspector P.H. Bryce reported that percent of previously healthy Indigenous children across Canada were dying in residential schools.
2% 24% 12%
ANSWER 24%
In 1907, government medical inspector P.H. Bryce reported that 24 percent of previously healthy Indigenous children across Canada were dying in residential schools. This figure does not include children who died at home, where they were frequently sent when critically ill. Bryce reported that anywhere from 47 percent (on the Peigan Reserve in Alberta) to 75 percent (from File Hills Boarding School in Saskatchewan) of students discharged from residential schools died shortly after returning home.
Source
What percent of children between 7 and 15 years old were attending or had attended Indian Residential Schools.
25%, 45%, 75%
ANSWER 75%
At one point, 75% of children between 7 and 15 years old were attending or had attended Indian Residential Schools. These children faced terrible conditions due to underfunding and physical, sexual and psychological abuse.
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True or False - Residential schools impacted survivors parenting ability
True or False
ANSWER True
Residential schools included parenting models based on punishment, abuse, coercion and control. With little experience of nurturing family environments from which to draw, generations of residential school Survivors struggle with residual trauma. As adults, many are ill-prepared to nurture their own children. The effects of these chaotic family systems can be seen in the high rates of family violence and domestic partner abuse
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MORE ALIGN INDIGENOUS INITIATIVES
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