Canada's Genocide

Canadian Studies > First Nations
Canadian Studies > Government and Government Policy
Canadian Studies > History, Culture

Canada's Genocide

An examination of the Canadian government's official policy of eradicating the Aboriginal peoples through residential schools.

2,837 words () | 9 sources | MLA | 2008 Canada

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how the official policy of the Canadian government regarding the Aboriginal peoples became one of eradication through assimilation, mainly through the residential school system. The paper first reveals the shocking abuses to the Native children and the effects on the destruction of aboriginal culture and identity. The paper then explores whether Canada committed genocide and argues that Canada's policy clearly indicated a genocidal policy towards Aboriginal people. The paper concludes that the failed attempts to aggressively civilize the Aboriginal people of Canada left blood on Canadians' hands and generations of traumatized people stripped of their culture.

Outline:
Effects of the Residential School System
Genocide

From the Paper:

"The European relationship with the indigenous people of North America has existed uneasily since contact. From European dependence on Aboriginal knowledge; to mutually beneficial interdependence; to Aboriginal dependence on Europeans, the relationship has been one of utility and of dominance. Very early in the relationship Europeans began their attempt to turn Aboriginals into a simulacrum of themselves by educating Aboriginal children to become European; to "civilize" them. Aboriginal resistance precluded these attempts in the early years of European occupation, and the relationship became one of complex interdependence."

Sample of Sources Used:

Annett, Kevin D., ed. Hidden From History: The Canadian Holocaust: The UntoldStory of the Genocide of Aboriginal Peoples by Churchand State in Canada. Vancouver: Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada, 2001.
Carney, Robert. "Aboriginal Residential Schools Before Confederation: The Early Experience." Historical Studies, 61 (1995):13-40.
Ennamorato, Judith. Sing the Brave Song. Richmond Hill: Raven Press, 1998.
Graham, Elizabeth, ed. The Mush Hole: Life at Two Indian Residential Schools. Waterloo: Heffle Publishers, 1997.
Grant, Agnes. No End of Grief: Indian Residential Schools in Canada. Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications, 1996.