The Indian Act, and the subsequent construction of residential schools continue to affect Indigenous Knowledge Systems, cultures, and ways of knowing and being, in cascading ways. The Indian Act, which is still in order today, was created in 1876 with the intention and aim to control and assimilate Indigenous communities by imposing restrictions on land ownership, cultural practices, and governance. Under the Act, residential schools were established, forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families and communities to erase their cultural identities and assimilate them into settler society.
The residential school experience was marked by trauma, abuse, and the suppression of Indigenous languages and traditions. Children endured physical and emotional mistreatment while being deprived of their cultural heritage, leading to a profound sense of cultural loss and disconnection from their communities.
It is also important to remember that the Indian Act provided the legal framework for the administration and funding of these schools, perpetuating a system of colonial control that has had devastating consequences for Indigenous Peoples. The impact of these policies continues to reverberate through generations, resulting in intergenerational trauma and socio-economic challenges within Indigenous communities.
Understanding the long-term context and consequences of the Indian Act and residential schools is crucial for acknowledging the injustices that Indigenous Peoples have, and continue to, face(d) and working towards true reconciliation. Truth-telling, healing, and building respectful relationships are essential steps in addressing the legacy of these policies and striving for a more equitable and just future.
Understanding that we are all in different spots in our collective learning journey. This location is a place for documents we believe will be useful further down the road or in your personal and professional development. The information shared in this space is to help you grow – it is not a part of the module requirements.
Asch, Michael. On Being Here to Stay: Treaties and Aboriginal Rights in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014.
From: University of Toronto Press
Borrows, John and Michael Coyle, eds. The Right Relationship: Reimagining the Implementation of Historical Treaties. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017
From: University of Toronto Press
Poetzer, Greg and Ken S. Coates. From Treaty Peoples to Treaty Nation: A Road Map for All Canadians. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2016
From: University of Toronto Press
From: The Anishinabek Nation
Tennant, Zoe. (2021). The dark history of Canada's Food Guide: How experiments on Indigenous children shaped nutrition policy. Unreserved (CBC). Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/how-food-in-canada-is-tied-to-land-language-community-and-colonization-1.5989764/the-dark-history-of-canada-s-food-guide-how-experiments-on-indigenous-children-shaped-nutrition-policy-1.5989785