Tid Bits

Tidbits are interesting and lesser known facts in three categories here; The Métis people, Residential Schools and Aboriginal Language.

Residential Schools

• The last residential school closed in the late 1980s.

• The legacy or residential schools endures to present day. Many children who attended these schools have gone on to have their own families who have escaped the devastating policies or practices of the residential school era.

• Formal classroom education replaced the traditional education practices of First Nations people.

• Many residential schools did not provide Aboriginal children with an education instead they focused on domestic and religious indoctrination.

• Residential schools were generally for younger children while industrial schools were developed for older children.

• Residential schools were developed in every province and territory except Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland.

• Aboriginal children who attended residential schools were expected to provide the school with the daily upkeep it needed to operate. Some chores included sweeping the dormitories, tending the furnace, coal-shovelling, and cleaning the barn.

• It has been reported that residential schools never did teach Aboriginal children anything of academic value. Many were illiterate even after years spent at the school.

• Residential schools never received the same level of funding as regular public schools therefore reinforcing the argument that the schools provided inadequate education.

• It is estimated that approximately 100,000 Aboriginal children attended residential schools across Canada.

• The four major churches involved in running and operating residential schools were the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, and United.

• Since 1990, the Anglican Church of Canada has been actively involved in responding to residential schools issues and contributing to reconciliation and healing efforts across Canada.

• The government is in the process of financially compensating some of the victims of residential school abuse.

• The National Day of Healing and Reconciliation is May 26 each year.

• Many of the churches also ran day schools in Aboriginal communities.

• Many Aboriginal children attended residential schools that were very far from their homes, families, and communities. Isolation and loneliness often resulted as they were only home for a couple of months out of the year.