Serah Bibin

B.C. Times Block H

Socials 9

200 YEARS OF CANADA!

As Canada celebrates this milestone, we reflect on its history, celebrate its
achievements, and look forward to a bright future. However, this reflection must
include our nation’s dark past, particularly the treatment of Indigenous peoples.
For many years, the government enforced policies like the Indian Act, which was
created to assimilate Indigenous people and destruct their culture and rights.
Residential schools were a tragic part of this enforcement, where thousands of
Indigenous children were taken from their families and had to deal with harsh
conditions, abuse, and were banned from embracing their languages and
traditions. These schools left a tragic stain on Indigenous communities, affecting
generations even today. Canada acknowledges these injustices and is working
towards reconciliation. As we Canadians celebrate 200 years of Canada, we
continue to learn from the past and reflect on our country’s history.

A DARK CHAPTER IN CANADIAN HISTORY:

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS
The creation of residential schools left a
tragic stain on the Indigenous
communities of Canada, and has
caused intergenerational trauma in
Indigenous families till today. The
utmost goal was to erase all Indigenous
culture and tradition from their
communities. The schools were funded
by the Canadian government, and run
by the Church - schools were
administered and controlled by priests,
nuns, monks, etc. Residential schools
were established in almost every
Canadian province; a total of 130 treated horribly, and they were required to follow harsh rules: speaking their
schools were operating between 1831 language was forbidden, they had to perform daily, tiring chores, their hair
and 1996. Indigenous children were was forcibly cut short, etc. Students were mentally, and physically abused
forcibly removed from their homes, regularly, and many were sexually assaulted, and raped. Living conditions
and occasionally, sent to farther were atrocious- there were food shortages, bad hygienic control, and students
locations from their homes so they were had to sleep crammed extremely close to one another, which was the ultimate
unable to escape, let alone receive any cause of many illnesses and disease to spread within the student body. These
support from their family. These unhealthy living conditions killed nearly 50% of the students in several
dreadful schools were justified by the schools - that’s an estimate of 6,000 students. Families of the students soon
Indian Act, and the public was lied to started to protest, but efforts were in vain, because nothing ever changed until
about the treatment of the children. the government finally intervened and removed the church’s power in 1969.
Majority of the children were aged 7 - The last residential school closed in 1996, finally ending the tragic sufferings
15, and the horrors they had to endure of students, even though the trauma still haunts Indigenous communities and
are unacceptable. Students were residential school survivors to this day.
treate
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TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
On June 11th , 2008, Stephen Harper - former Canadian
prime minister - issued an official apology to the Indigenous
communities of Canada. The government formed the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to spread awareness
and educate people on the tragic impact residential schools
had on the Indigenous peoples. Canada still has a long way
to go until redemption, and decades later, the government is
still working to tie up loose ends, and address issues that are
associated with residential schools to this day.

THE INDIAN ACT : SPECIAL EDITION

THE ACT OF INDIGENOUS WORDSEARCH
CULTURE ASSIMILATION
RECONCILIATION
FUTURE
INDIGENOUS
INDIAN ACT
GENERATIONS
CANADA
GOVERNMENT
PAST
ASSIMILATION
HOPE
The Indian Act was introduced by the Canadian
RESIDENTIAL
government in 1876. The act made assimilation of
Indigenous people legal, more so, it encouraged it. It was
stated in the act, that all Indigenous communities had to
live on reserves, and they had to register with the
government if they were to be considered ‘status’
Indigenous. It was mandatory for Indigenous children to
attend residential schools, because the government
believed that children were the key to Indigenous culture
assimilation. The Indian Act banned Indigenous
traditions and cultural ceremonies; this disrupted the
lifestyles of Indigenous communities drastically. Soon,
Indigenous communities were all in agreement with one
thing; their disappointment in the Canadian
government. The Indian Act affected the lives of many
Indigenous people, and generations to come. It was a
highly controversial act, but it transformed the lives of
Indigenous peoples for the worse.

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MÉTIS FLEEING WESTWARD - INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A JOURNEY OF RESILIENCE
The Métis communities in Red River, Manitoba
thought the militia living amongst them were
intimidating and made their lives harder.
Frustrated Métis peoples were setting their land -
for as low as $30 - $40 - and moving westward, or
to the north. By mid 1870’s, most of the Métis had
left Manitoba and were settled in the Northwest
Territories. Soon after the Métis communities had
relocated, large numbers of buffalo/bison had
started to disappear. Indigenous peoples use of
buffalo were very sustainable, and important to
their tradition customs. In 1873, when the loss of
buffalo was getting very hard to cope with, the
Métis of St. Laurent established the Laws of St.
Laurent. These laws ensured protection, and
governed over most of the community’s
necessities. Lawrence Clarke, the magistrate of the
Northwest Territories, used his power against the
Métis communities - he enforced lower salaries,
hunting rules, etc - just to make their lives harder. THE BOXER REBELLIONS OF 1900
Added onto that, the winter of 1874 -1875 was
extremely rough for the Métis community of St. The Boxer Rebellions were a peasant run uprising that
Laurent, and hunting before Clarke’s officially occurred in 1900. The rebellions targeted Western
sanctioned hunt could result in getting fined - or missionaries and Chinese-Christians. The Uprising
arrested. The hunting of bison was the Canadian was led by the “Boxers”, a secret Chinese society club
government’s cruel plan to force Indigenous that was known for practicing boxing and other
communities to move onto reserves by destroying exercise related rituals. The group wanted to destruct
their primary food source, and means of survival - the privilege foreigners held in China, and drive all
along with threatening the existence of buffalo. foreigners out of China. The major rebellions were in
northern China, and around 100,000 people were
estimated to have died due to the rebellions - majority
of it being Chinese-Christians citizens, and the rest
being foreigners. As the Boxers began gaining more
fame and power in China, the government was soon in
support of the group. By the late 19th century, the
Boxers were openly attacking foreigners and Chinese-
Christians. Although the fighting, and violence
decreased greatly a few months after the uprising
began, it didn’t officially end until 1901. On September
7th, 1901, the Boxer Protocol was signed by China,
and 11 other countries - Russia, Germany, France,
United States, Japan, Austria-Hungary, Italy, United
Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands - to
cease the rebellions, and finally end the violence.

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Image Sources:
Flag of Canada
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Canada
Canadian Red Ensign
https://shop.flagshop.com/index.php/canadian-red-ensign.html
'Heartbroken': Politicians react to gravesite where remains of 215 children
found
https://www.nsnews.com/highlights/city-of-kamloops-premier-heartbroken-after-
remains-of-more-than-200-children-found-3819374
Residential school apology translated into 7 Indigenous languages | CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/residential-schools-apology-translation-1.4700976
The Residential School System
https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_residential_school_system/
How reintroducing bison is helping the Métis Nation restore culture
https://adventure.com/bison-indigenous-culture-alberta/
Foreigners Were Target in China's Bloody Boxer Rebellion of 1900
https://www.thoughtco.com/1900-boxer-rebellion-1779184

Article Sources:
Boxer Rebellion
https://www.britannica.com/event/Boxer-Rebellion

Other:
Word Search Maker
https://thewordsearch.com/maker/