The Shame of Canada: Residential Schools.
This article in the National Post made my blood boil - actually, if that happened, I would probably be dead. It just made me really really angry.
Here is my response to Rodney Clifton:
Rodney Clifton's article is one of the worst editorials I have ever read. Clifton seems blinded to the overall tragedy of the residential school system, namely, the cultural genocide of entire people groups.
The major intent of the schools may have been benevolent, but was seriously misguided. There appeared to be no attempt to understand and interact with the existing aboriginal cultures. Instead, children were taken from their homes and straight-jacketed into a white “Christian” culture.
Clifton states that the children “learned reading, writing, calculating and the principles of democracy which would help them participate more fully in Canadian society.” Clifton fails to add that the children were taught to read and write in ENGLISH. Mr. Clifton, there are other languages in the world in which people read and write in, and some of them are First Nation languages. I’m sure First Nations were communicating in written form in their native tongues long before Europeans discovered the West.
The teaching of democratic principles with the hopes of helping them participate more fully in Canadian (that is, White European Christian) society is simply pure cultural genocide: the eradication of an existing culture and the enforcement into another, alien culture.
He further states that “Most of these people wanted to fulfill their evangelistic calling of committed Christians: to help the poor, tend to the weak and treat the sick”. What arrogance! As if, ALL Aboriginal people in the early part of the 20th C. were poor, weak and sick! Clifton displays an antiquated missiological perspective of the great white missionary coming in to civilize the poor, uneducated savage. Thankfully, most modern missionaries carry out their calling with greater respect and sensitivity to the cultures they come in contact with. Clifton should realize the Bible is available in more languages, then just English.
If these missionaries were really following Christ, they would have communicated their message using culturally appropriate symbols and images, and within the language of the host culture. Not forcing the host culture to conform to the culture of the missionary.
Mr. Clifton, needs to face reality. I’m sure there were many teachers and missionaries who felt they were doing a good thing, but the entire system was flawed. Amends and reconciliation is more then just a government checque: it includes a full and honest admission of the mistakes that were made. Apologies need to be extended and forgiveness needs to be received before Canada can turn her back on this ugly episode in our history.
Here is my response to Rodney Clifton:
Rodney Clifton's article is one of the worst editorials I have ever read. Clifton seems blinded to the overall tragedy of the residential school system, namely, the cultural genocide of entire people groups.
The major intent of the schools may have been benevolent, but was seriously misguided. There appeared to be no attempt to understand and interact with the existing aboriginal cultures. Instead, children were taken from their homes and straight-jacketed into a white “Christian” culture.
Clifton states that the children “learned reading, writing, calculating and the principles of democracy which would help them participate more fully in Canadian society.” Clifton fails to add that the children were taught to read and write in ENGLISH. Mr. Clifton, there are other languages in the world in which people read and write in, and some of them are First Nation languages. I’m sure First Nations were communicating in written form in their native tongues long before Europeans discovered the West.
The teaching of democratic principles with the hopes of helping them participate more fully in Canadian (that is, White European Christian) society is simply pure cultural genocide: the eradication of an existing culture and the enforcement into another, alien culture.
He further states that “Most of these people wanted to fulfill their evangelistic calling of committed Christians: to help the poor, tend to the weak and treat the sick”. What arrogance! As if, ALL Aboriginal people in the early part of the 20th C. were poor, weak and sick! Clifton displays an antiquated missiological perspective of the great white missionary coming in to civilize the poor, uneducated savage. Thankfully, most modern missionaries carry out their calling with greater respect and sensitivity to the cultures they come in contact with. Clifton should realize the Bible is available in more languages, then just English.
If these missionaries were really following Christ, they would have communicated their message using culturally appropriate symbols and images, and within the language of the host culture. Not forcing the host culture to conform to the culture of the missionary.
Mr. Clifton, needs to face reality. I’m sure there were many teachers and missionaries who felt they were doing a good thing, but the entire system was flawed. Amends and reconciliation is more then just a government checque: it includes a full and honest admission of the mistakes that were made. Apologies need to be extended and forgiveness needs to be received before Canada can turn her back on this ugly episode in our history.
Comments
Peace,
Jamie
Great comment, I would go further and suggest that actually democracy was taught to and continues to be taught to Europeans and others. Europeans continue to want to enforce a hierarchy. Thanks for sticking up for the brothers.