POL101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Aboriginal Title, John A. Macdonald, Treaty 1
Document Summary
Before confederation: aboriginal and non-aboriginal both mutually independent. Treaty 1: her majesty agrees to maintain a school on each reserve . Aboriginal people believed their children would become equal members of canadian society. Sir john a macdonald: believed aboriginals were savages, wanted to rid them of their culture by training them to do labor jobs. Residential schools(the reality): multi-generational approach, remove kids from home. Government thought aboriginals wouldn"t go to war against them if they had their children. Starvation policy: stay on reserve or starve. Siblings separated, punished if caught speaking native language or engaging in native traditions. Some parents did not believe their children. Local churches told children not to slander the schools. No school curriculum or standards(in the beginning) Children required to do physical labor to raise money for the school. Food experiments: once proven effective, experimented supplements were taken out of native food and given to non-aboriginal canadians while natives starved.
