Looks at the colonization and assimilation of Aboriginal peoples in the education system; and discusses the problems, prospects, and future direction of Aboriginal learning in Canada.
Discusses the early years of Russian occupation and education on Kodiak Island, and the suppression of language and culture by the American education system.
RightsEd: Human Rights Education Resources for Teachers
Documents & Presentations
Author/Creator
Australian Human Rights Commission
Description
Educator's resource for the report Bringing Them Home: National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families. Most activities suitable for grade 9 and up.
Expands on a previously published research brief.
Outlines three areas in which the interests and goals of government and Aboriginals may differ: scope of injustices, government's attempt to draw a line through the past and legitimate current policies, and government's use of the process as an attempt to assert authority.
International Criminal Law Review, vol. 10, no. 1, 2010, pp. 111-135
Description
Discusses the Indigenous Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada, formed to gather proof of genocide which could result in criminal cases against personnel responsible and compensation.
[Intersections 2010]: Encounters: Situating "Relation" in Communication and Culture
Documents & Presentations
Author/Creator
Jason Stabler
Description
Looks at how the social construction of Canadian identity may present a barrier in achieving a meaningful reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
Paper presented at "Encounters: Situating 'Relation' in Communication and Culture" Intersections 2010
9th Annual Graduate Student Conference hosted hosted by the students in the Joint Program in Communication and Culture, York and Ryerson Universities.
E Law: Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law, vol. 16, no. 2, 2009, pp. 38-71
Description
Discusses the historic compensation package agreed to by the Canadian federal government and the lack of any similar actions by the governments of the other two countries.
Anglican Journal, vol. 135, no. 2, February 2009, p. 1,3
Description
Overview of a creative discussion guide, prepared by writers from Anglican, United and Presbyterian churches, that can be used to explore the issue of forced assimilation of First Nations through residential schools.
Comments on the importance of maintaining traditional values, cultures and languages in the effort to close the academic achievement gap that can be found between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
Rural Social Work & Community Practice, vol. 14, no. 2, December 2009, pp. 6-11
Description
Author equates the loss of language through assimilation with loss of a "moral compass" because it disrupts the ability to transmit teachings to children.
Teacher's resource for the documentary The Experimental Eskimos directed by Barry Greenwald. Tells the stories of Peter Ittinuar, Zebedee Nungak, and Eric Tagoona, three Inuit men who were sent to Ottawa as 12-year-olds for a "white" education. The men eventually became leaders in the Inuit community and helped to advance the interests of their people.
Healing Traditions: The Mental Health of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada
E-Books » Chapters
Author/Creator
Georges Henry Erasmus
Description
Introduces the subject of the book.
Foreword from Healing Traditions: The Mental Health of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada edited by Laurence J. Kirmayer, Gail Guthrie Valaskakis.
To locate article, scroll to page xi.
World Indigenous Nations High Education Consortium Journal, [Indigenous Voices, Indigenous Research], 2010, pp. 11-25
Description
Overview of Indigenous ways of knowing, education assimilation policy, first Nations control of education and post-secondary Indigenous Studies programs.
Entire issue on one pdf. To read article scroll to p. 11.
Saskatchewan History, vol. 62, no. 1, Spring, 2010, pp. 22-35
Description
Examines the history, structure, and practice of the missionary schools (and the later public schools) and their role in providing colonial education to Métis and settler students with the intent to civilized them, and by extension their families.
Entire Issue on one .pdf, scroll to page 22.
Native Social Work Journal, vol. 7, Promising Practices in Mental Health: Emerging Paradigms for Aboriginal Social Work Practices, November 2010, pp. 11-31
Description
Looks at the key findings of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and its relevance to residential school experience.
First Peoples Child & Family Review, vol. 5, no. 1, 2010, pp. 126-136
Description
Outlines various responses to trauma and race-based traumatic stress suffered by Indigenous peoples as a result of government policies geared towards assimilation, and discusses how self-governed nations with connection to culture and spirituality can result in better outcomes for Indigenous peoples.
Journal of Academic Librarianship, vol. 36, no. 5, September 2010, pp. 420-426
Description
Looks at how the Tommaney Library at Haskell Indian Nations University has existed for more than 100 years as a reflection of the struggle to assimilate Indians in America.
Finding Home: Policy Options for Addressing Homelessness in Canada
E-Books » Chapters
Author/Creator
Peter Menzies
Description
Study sample consisted of 16 men ranging from 26 to 55 years who used the services of the Na‐Me‐Res emergency hostel in downtown Toronto.
Chapter 6.2 from: Finding Home: Policy Options for Addressing Homelessness in Canada edited by J. David Hulchanski, Phillippa Campsie, Shirley B.Y. Chau, Stephen H. Hwang, Emily Paradis
Children's Geographies, vol. 7, no. 2, May 2009, pp. 123-140
Description
Focuses on the centrality of Indigenous children and related concepts of childhood to colonial projects in Canada and, more specifically, in the province of British Columbia.
INALCO 2009, Proceedings of the 15th Inuit Studies Conference, Orality (Paris, 2006)
Orality in the 21st Century: Inuit Discourse and Practices. Proceedings of the 15th Inuit Studies Conference
Documents & Presentations
Author/Creator
Jack Anawak
Description
Describes life as a student at a residential school starting in 1959 and a reunion of students twenty-five years later.
Paper from Orality in the 21st Century: Inuit Discourse and Practices. Proceedings of the 15th Inuit Studies Conference edited by B. Collingnon and M. Therrien.
Looks at suits filed by residential school survivors against the Canadian government for loss of culture, spirituality and physical and sexual abuse.
Duration: 7:13.
Profiles past boarding school policies world-wide, discusses children's experiences, evaluates schools' success, and discusses current practises and ideologies.
Paedagogica Historica, vol. 45, no. 6, December 2009, pp. 757-772
Description
Discusses some contrasting educational policies and contexts across the Canada–USA border and shows some strategies Coast Salish people have used for resisting assimilation and returning to their own understandings of place and identity.
The Journey Ahead: Report on Progress Since the Government of Canada's Apology to Former Students of Indian Residential Schools: Report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs
Documents & Presentations
Author/Creator
Gerry St. Germain
Lillian Eva Dyck
Description
Discusses the report on the progress made on the Government of Canada’s commitments since the apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools, and the challenges that still lie ahead.