Research
What is historical evidence?
Historical evidence is found in sources of
information from the past and the present.
Sources of information can be categorized as
primary or secondary sources.
A broad term used to describe people who have lived in Canada since before settlers arrived.
Indigenous people
Some of Canada’s assimilation policies targeted adults. But the government believed that assimilation would work faster if it focused on...
Children.
The government believed that children would have had less time to learn their cultures from their families.
How many years was the TRC's investigation into the residential school system in Canada?
It was a six-year investigation of the residential school system for Aboriginal youth and the legacy of these schools.
Many Indigenous people advocated to have Aboriginal and treaty rights included in the __________. Because of this advocacy, the government invited First Nations, Métis, and Inuit leaders to several meetings. After the meetings, the government decided to include Aboriginal and treaty rights in the ___________.
Constitution
What are primary sources?
PRIMARY SOURCES provide a first-hand account of an event or time period.
They represent original thinking, reports on events, or information about people.
These sources are usually created at the time an event occurred.
The Canadian Government divides Indigenous people into three categories...
First Nations, Inuit & Métis
What were the intentions behind the residential school system?
The residential school system was designed to teach Indigenous children to be “Canadian.”
The government wanted to eliminate Indigenous children’s connection to their cultures and take away their identity.
____________, the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history, began to be implemented in 2007.
The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
What are Aboriginal and treaty rights?
“Aboriginal rights” and “treaty rights” are two legal terms used by the Canadian government. They refer to the unique rights that Indigenous Peoples have.
What are secondary sources?
SECONDARY SOURCES are sources created after an event. For example, a primary source may be a photo taken by a person at a protest, and a secondary source might be a documentary’s interpretation of that protest.
Primary and secondary sources can cover the same topic, but secondary sources often add a layer of analysis.
Settlers did not respect Indigenous people’s relationship to the...
Land.
Settlers believed that land should be owned by individuals. They did not believe that Indigenous people had the right to own their territories.
Settlers often used treaties to get control of Indigenous people’s land.
The pain caused by residential schools continued to affect Indigenous families.
For example, some survivors who were abused later abused their own children.
Intergenerational trauma
One of the elements of Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was the establishment of the TRC of Canada to facilitate reconciliation among...
former students, their families, their communities and all Canadians.
All Indigenous people have Aboriginal rights. They have these rights because they have lived in what is now North America since _____ __________.
time immemorial
What kinds of things can be used as sources?
Sources may be texts such as government papers, letters, newspaper articles, and diaries. Other types of sources are poetry, music, stories, and visuals such as art, museum artifacts, and photographs. Sources may also be oral stories. Across Canada, Indigenous Peoples, African Canadians, and other communities have recorded their histories as oral stories for hundreds of years.
The Mi'kmaq signed ________ & _________ treaties with the british in the 1700s.
Peace and Friendship Treaties (1725–1779)
Many survivors lost their knowledge of their traditional foods. Residential schools did not give students enough food to eat. This often led to malnutrition during childhood and adulthood.
What has been many community response to this?
Community response:
Many communities have reconnected to their traditional foods by gathering and sharing traditional recipes.
The TRC hosted 7 national events across Canada to engage the Canadian public and educate people about the history and legacy of the...
residential school system.
They also took time at these events to share and honour the experiences of former students and their families.
_______ & ________ _________ has offered opportunities for Indigenous Peoples and settlers to work together to advocate for a better future.
Truth & Reconciliation Commission
What is an inquiry?
An inquiry is an exploration into a particular problem or subject. Good inquiry is based on research, evidence, and critical thinking.
All Indigenous Peoples have their own...
Peoples have their own languages, cultures, and traditions.
Every Indigenous group also has its own unique name.
The Canadian government began closing residential schools in the 1960s. But the government continued to target Indigenous children. In the 1960s, it launched a program now known as the...
Sixties Scoop.
Social workers were sent to monitor Indigenous families. These social workers were not trained in working with Indigenous families. They believed Indigenous families could not properly care for their children.
From 1960 to 1990, about 20 000 Indigenous children were taken from their families. They were then adopted by non-Indigenous families, removing them from their families, communities, and cultures.
What did the Truth and Reconciliation Commission conclude?
The TRC concluded that the removal of children from the influence of their own culture with the intent of assimilating them into the dominant Canadian culture amounted to cultural genocide.
In Canada, Aboriginal rights include the following 4 points. What one is missing?
- The right of Indigenous people to have title to, or ownership of, their lands.
- The right to practise cultural and political traditions.
- The right of Indigenous people to govern themselves.
- The right of Indigenous people to live on their traditional territories.