RESEARCH NOTES
Recovering from the Legacy:
History of abuse suffered in Canada's Indian residential school system, and the work of healing and reconciliation
2005 Volume 6 Pages 133-145
Details
2005 Volume 6 Pages 133-145
The Indian residential school system was part of the Canadian national policy to forced "assimilation" and "aggressive civilization" on Aboriginal peoples. This system began officially in 1892 by order of the Government and continued for over 100 years.
In the 1990s, an investigation by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples first revealed reports of physical and sexual abuse at residential schools. As a result, the then Minister of Indian Affairs presented a statement of reconciliation to all Aboriginal peoples for those abuses.
As a consequence of the Commission's report, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation(AHF)was established in 1998. AHF is an Aboriginal-run organization with the mission to encourage and support Aboriginal people to help themselves through healing programmes and legal-social assistance that address the legacy of physical and sexual abuse at residential schools.
AHF takes the position that physical and sexual abuse in the residential school system has caused unsolved post-traumatic stress disorders. In addition, the Legacy affects not only former students (survivors of residential schools), but has been passed on to Aboriginal people today in the form of intergenerational impact.
In this paper, I focus on the work and roles of AHF as well as a brief history of school education for Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Then I take up contemporary conflicts between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, and the prospect of Canada's Aboriginal peoples contributing to Aboriginal issues on a worldwide scale.
