Religious violence and informationMenu: Growing 'Apples:' Abuse at church-run
native residential schools in Canada
About the reference to "apple:"Apples are typically white on the inside and have a red skin. That
was one of the goals of the residential schools for native children:
to convert their insides to correspond with white folks while
leaving their skin red.
Quotations:
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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
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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
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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
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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 outright 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 20th century, the
Canadian government's 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 1857 -- a decade before Confederation -- to 1995 when the last school closed. A total of about
150,000 Native students passed through the school system. All or essentially all were subjected to physical, sexual, spiritual, and/or cultural abuse. 5 About 6,000 are now known to have died as students, largely due to the Spanish Flu after World War I, and tuberculosis. This number is expected to rise as additional archives are examined.
Topics covered in this section:
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Books on residential schools: |
 "Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada,Volume One: Summary: Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future," (2015) Read
reviews / order this book.
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 Constance Deiter, "From Our Mothers' Arms: The Integenerational Impact of Residential Schools in Saskatchewan." Read
reviews / order this book.
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 Suzanne Fournier and Ernie Grey, "Stolen From Our Embrace: The abduction of First Nations children and the restoration of aboriginal
communities," Read
reviews / order this book.
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 Elizabeth Furniss, "Victims of Benevolence: The Dark Legacy of the Williams Lake Residential School," Read
reviews / order this book.
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 Agnes Grant, "No End of Grief: Indian Residential Schools in Canada," Pemmican Publications,(1996). Read reviews / order this book.
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 Jim Miller, "Shingwauk's Vision: A history of Native Residential Schools," University of Toronto
Press, (1996). Read
reviews / order this book safely from Amazon.com online bookstore.
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 John Milloy, "A National Crime: Canadian Government and the
Residential School System, 1879-1986," Read
reviews / order this book safely from Amazon.com online bookstore.
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 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).
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Books by the Williams Lake, B.C.
Cariboo Tribal Council:
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"A conspiracy of silence: The care of the Native students at St.
Joseph's residential school," (1991).
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"Victims of benevolence: discipline & death at the Williams
Lake Indian residential school, 1891-1920," ISBN 0969663900.
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And an article:
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Grant, Peter R. "Settling residential schools claims: litigation
or mediation" in Aboriginal Writes, Canadian Bar
Association, National Aboriginal Law Section, 1998-JAN.
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Related essays on this web site:
References used:
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Martin O'Malley, "Canada's Oldest Nations," Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation, at: "http://cbc.ca/news/
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"Choosing Life: Special Report On Suicide Among Aboriginal People," Royal
Commission on Aboriginal People., Ottawa: Canada Communication Group Publishing, 1995.
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"Quotes from our Native Past," at: http://www.ilhawaii.net/
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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
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"Judge throws out lawsuits against Anglican Church seeking redress for
abuse," The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, 2002-OCT-25, Page A15.
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Colin Perkel, "Residential school deaths number at least 3,000, new research finds," Canadian Press, 2013-FEB-19, at: http://www.thestar.com/
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Copyright © 2000 to 2017 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2001-JUN-03
Latest update: 2017-JUN-06
Author: B.A. Robinson
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