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Growing 'Apples:' Abuse at church-run
native residential schools in Canada

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Quotations:

	Martin O'Malley: "It is part of the fabric of Canada, a brave federation of differences: multiculturalism, official bilingualism, minority rights, cultural and geographic diversity, ancient grievances. Managing these differences is a constant juggling act, a high stakes poker game, an act of faith." 1
	The "profile of mental disorders among Aboriginal people is primarily a by-product of our colonial past with its layered assaults on Aboriginal cultures and personal identities." Royal Commission on Aboriginal People 2
	William Commanda of the Mamiwinini First Nation, Canada, (1991): "Traditional people of Indian nations have interpreted the two roads that face the light-skinned race as the road to technology and the road to spirituality. We feel that the road to technology.... has led modern society to a damaged and seared earth. Could it be that the road to technology represents a rush to destruction, and that the road to spirituality represents the slower path that the traditional native people have traveled and are now seeking again? The earth is not scorched on this trail. The grass is still growing there."  3

Government programs towards Native peoples:

The arrival of Europeans to North and South America at the end of the 15th century CE marked a major change in Native society. Millions died due to sicknesses imported from Europe, programs of slavery, and extermination. ₄ Europeans and their Christian missionaries generally looked upon Native Spirituality as worthless superstition inspired by the Christian devil, Satan.

During the late 19th century and much of the 20^th century, the Canadian and American governments goal for their Native populations was assimilation. Sometimes this is referred to contemptuously as "Making apples" -- changing the culture and religion of Native peoples so that they become "white" on the inside, even as their skin remained red. The goal was to force Natives to disappear within the larger, predominately white, society. A key component of this policy were the residential schools, which were operated for over a century, from 1879 -- shortly after Confederation -- to 1986. About 160,000 Native students passed through the school system. About 91,000 claim that they were physically and/or sexually abused. ₅ 

Topics covered in this section:

	Overview. About residential schools
	Church apologies: From 1947 to 1991 From 1992 to mid-1994 From 1994-NOV to 2002
	Federal government apologies  Excerpts from Prime Minister Harper's speech
	Legal aspects
	Government apology & compensation
	Recent developments: 1998 to the present time

Books on residential schools:

	Constance Deiter, "From Our Mothers' Arms."  Out of print but may be available through public libraries.
	Suzanne Fournier and Ernie Grey, "Stolen From Our Embrace: The abduction of First Nations children and the restoration of aboriginal communities," Out of print, but a used copy can often be ordered
	Agnes Grant, "No End of Grief: Indian Residential Schools in Canada," Pemmican Publications, (1996). Read reviews / order this book.
	Jim Miller, "Shingwauk's Vision," University of Toronto Press, (1996). Read reviews / order this book safely from Amazon.com online bookstore.
	John Molloy, "A National Crime: Canadian Government and the Residential School System, 1879-1986," Can be ordered from http://www.chapters.ca
	Ruth Teichroeb, "Flowers on my grave : how an Ojibwa boy's death helped break the silence on child abuse," HarperCollins,  Read reviews / order this book. This book describes the brief life of Lester Desjarlais, (1974-1988).
	Books by the Williams Lake, B.C. Cariboo Tribal Council: "A conspiracy of silence: The care of the Native students at St. Joseph's residential school," (1991). "Victims of benevolence: discipline & death at the Williams Lake Indian residential school, 1891-1920," ISBN 0969663900.

And one article:

Grant, Peter R. "Settling residential schools claims: litigation or mediation" in Aboriginal Writes, Canadian Bar Association National Aboriginal Law Section, 1998-JAN.

Related essays on this web site:

	Sexual abuse at Roman Catholic church-run schools in Canada
	Native American Spirituality
	Suicide among Canada's Native people The extermination of Canada's Innu people
	Canadian Charter of rights and Freedoms

References used:

1. Martin O'Malley, "Canada's Oldest Nations," Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, at: "http://cbc.ca/news/indepth/aboriginals/ 
2. "Choosing Life: Special Report On Suicide Among Aboriginal People," Royal Commission on Aboriginal People., Ottawa: Canada Communication Group Publishing, 1995. 
3. "Quotes from our Native Past," at: http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/quotes.html 
4. Ward Churchill, "A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas, 1492 to the Present," City Lights Books, (1998). Read reviews and/or order this book
5. "Judge throws out lawsuits against Anglican Church seeking redress for abuse," The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, 2002-OCT-25, Page A15.

Copyright © 2000 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2001-JUN-03
Latest update: 2008-JUL-04
Author: B.A. Robinson

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