The Lead-Up to Residential Schools
The lead-up to residential schools was contributed to by both international and local factors. Both are covered below.
International Factors Contributing to Residential Schools
The British crown had the view that the non-Christian indigenous peoples of Canada were primitive, and it was their duty to make these peoples civilized Christians. The goal of the crown was to press indigenous peoples to leave behind their “primitive” traditional lifestyle and approach to the world and adopt a British Christian approach. This goal was not pursued only for the indigenous peoples of Canada but also for the indigenous peoples in many other British colonies. The source of this “civilizing mission” approach is Proselytism inherent in Christianity and a feeling that Western Christian civilization was always superior. Missionary activities, which forcefully pursued pressing the “civilizing mission” to make indigenous peoples adopt Christianity, worked side by side with other British colonial activities. The residential school approach was one such approach in pressing Christianity on indigenous peoples. An important term describing the “civilizing mission” approach is Assimilation, which is defined as “the process of adopting the language and culture of a dominant social group or nation, or the state of being socially integrated into the culture of the dominant group in a society.” An appropriate phrase for the goal of the “civilizing mission” is Forced Assimilation, which is defined as follows: “Forced assimilation refers to the process where individuals or groups from one cultural or ethnic background are compelled to abandon their native culture, language, and identity to adopt the customs, norms, and practices of a dominant group. This coercion often happens through policies, societal pressures, or oppressive tactics, stripping people of their cultural heritage.”
Domestic Factors Contributing to Residential Schools
During the late 1700s and early 1800s the British crown still needed the indigenous peoples. However, this changed shortly thereafter and made it easier to pursue an assimilation agenda.
This was due to several reasons as covered below:
The British and French traders relied on indigenous peoples to secure the furs for the lucrative fur trade business. The fur traders established links with indigenous peoples in multiple ways. They secured indigenous intermediaries who would deal directly with those who obtained the fur from beavers. In return, the traders would trade goods such as knives, kettles, beads, needles, and blankets. Alternatively, traders would go directly to the source of the furs instead of relying on these intermediary indigenous peoples. The link between indigenous peoples and traders resulted in the spread of alcohol into indigenous communities. Alcohol products were traded for furs in some cases, and contributed to addiction, cultural disruption, and made it hard to resist colonization. According to some accounts, alcohol was used to get individuals intoxicated to facilitate unfair deals. High levels of alcohol consumption led to violence, neglect of families, and a breakdown in community cohesion. In addition, over time, the fur traders relied less on indigenous peoples as settlers were able to navigate the territory themselves instead of solely relying on indigenous peoples. Also, due to overhunting, the fur trade went into decline in the 19th century, and the focus for settlers moved to agriculture, land speculation, and railways. Many indigenous peoples in Canada also lost their lives due to diseases brought over by the settlers. Diseases included smallpox, measles, influenza, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. These diseases made it harder for indigenous peoples to continue their trading practices. The population of indigenous peoples went into decline instead of growth. These factors linked to trading made it harder for indigenous peoples to fight off the subsequent assimilative agenda of the British crown.
The British crown relied on military alliances with indigenous peoples in order to fight the newly formed United States of America, but this changed over time. Indigenous peoples supported the British Crown during the US War of Independence and the War of 1812. However, several decades after this war, the British no longer needed military alliances with indigenous peoples as peace was secured. In addition, the growing settler population was sufficient to meet the remaining defensive needs. At this point, growing settler populations demanded highly prized land possessed by the indigenous peoples. The position of the indigenous peoples became weaker, thus making it easier for the British to pursue an assimilation agenda.
Other reasons leading to residential schools are below:
The Canadian government wanted to create a homogeneous culture inclusive of indigenous peoples, and this meant assimilating indigenous peoples. Education was a critical part of this assimilation agenda. The homogeneous culture approach was desired as this would create a country that politicians felt would be easy to govern. As indigenous peoples had different legal systems, languages, and cultures, they were viewed as obstacles to national unity.
Indigenous peoples were seen as a roadblock to the growth and development of Canada, as these peoples were residing on prized territory. Education was seen as a way to remove this obstacle through assimilation, resulting in indigenous peoples being part of this growth as opposed to blocking it. This assimilation-based agenda was seen as a way to secure the prized lands for economic growth. Land was wanted for agriculture, railways, and industry.
All of these reasons, both domestic and international, were part of the lead-up to residential schools.
