Adler University Library: Orange Shirt Day: Indian Residential Schools

Indian Residential Schools

Residential Schools in Canada
Residential schools were government-sponsored religious schools that were established to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture. Although the first residential facilities were established in New France, the term usually refers to schools established after 1880. Residential schools were created by Christian churches and the Canadian government as an attempt to both educate and convert Indigenous youth and to assimilate them into Canadian society. However, the schools disrupted lives and communities, causing long-term problems among Indigenous peoples. The last residential school closed in 1996. (Grollier Hall, which closed in 1997, was not a state-run residential school in that year.) Since then, former students have demanded recognition and restitution, resulting in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in 2007 and a formal public apology by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008. In total, an estimated 150,000 First Nation, Inuit, and Métis children attended residential schools.
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Miller, J.R.. "Residential Schools in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 02 September 2020, Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools. Accessed 15 September 2020.

Educate

Indigenous Canada
Indigenous Canada is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada.From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores key issues facing Indigenous peoples today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations. Indigenous Canada is for students from faculties outside the Faculty of Native Studies with an interest in acquiring a basic familiarity with Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal relationships.
The Legacy of Hope Foundation
"We are a national Indigenous charitable organization with the mandate to educate and create awareness and understanding about the Residential School System, including the intergenerational impacts such as the removal of generations of Indigenous children from their families, including the Sixties Scoop, the post-traumatic stress disorders that many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis continue to experience, all while trying to address racism, foster empathy and understanding and inspire action to improve the situation of Indigenous Peoples today. The LHF supports the ongoing healing process of Residential School Survivors, and their families and seeks their input on projects that honour them."

The Secret Path

Maps

Did you live near a residential school? - CBC.ca
The residential school system separated 150,000 Indigenous children from their families — and the last one closed in 1996.
Was one of those schools in the community where you grew up?
Use our interactive map to find out.
Interactive map from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR)
Displays residential schools, events and/or hearings associated with the schools, and includes a time-line to see when they were active.
Note: after arriving on NCTR page, scroll down for map.
Recognized Indian Residential Schools (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC))
Schools included in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. (2012).
Canada's Residential Schools - Google Earth
Residential Schools Land Memory Atlas
This atlas involves: a specific focus on residential schools and aims to enrich knowledge and education relating to Residential Schools, their sites and Survivors’ perspectives; expanding research, education and community network; increasing awareness of critical approaches to cartography.
Work under the project to develop this atlas has involved: a cybercartographic approach to the collaborative creation of maps that incorporates both archival and experience-based knowledge of the schools and their sites; involving a broad base of collaborators with distinct tasks and functions in collaborative processes related to cybercartographic atlas development; creating and using cybercartographic map strategies for organizing and documenting the project.
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This atlas project provides an opportunity to build on previous work in a number of significant areas, including: involvement of a broader range of collaborators in both online and “on the ground” cybercartographic mapping; map enrichment as the result of input by a diverse range of contributors; special interest in Residential School buildings and their sites.
The Atlas builds on theoretical and methodological developments in Cybercartography. It takes a holistic approach that is consistent with Indigenous worldviews. This relationship-focused approach involves:

reciprocity
engaging people in the production of maps to tell the stories they wish to tell
giving these stories back to communities for education and further input.

Survivor testimony

The Legacy of Hope Foundation
"We are a national Indigenous charitable organization with the mandate to educate and create awareness and understanding about the Residential School System, including the intergenerational impacts such as the removal of generations of Indigenous children from their families, including the Sixties Scoop, the post-traumatic stress disorders that many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis continue to experience, all while trying to address racism, foster empathy and understanding and inspire action to improve the situation of Indigenous Peoples today. The LHF supports the ongoing healing process of Residential School Survivors, and their families and seeks their input on projects that honour them."

Residential School Podcast Series

Residential Schools is a three-part podcast series created by Historica Canada and hosted by Shaneen Robinson-Desjarlais. It aims to commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools, and honour the stories of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Survivors, their families, and communities. The series is part of a larger awareness campaign created by Historica Canada and funded by the Government of Canada. Along with the podcast, Historica also offers a video series, an education guide, and several new entries on The Canadian Encyclopedia about the history and legacy of residential schools.