about 150,000 indigenous children they went through the Canadian “Indian residential schools” between 1880 and 1996, schools of assimilation to bring out “the Indian in them” while they suffered abuse Yes attacks sexual. Some 6,000 children died in these boarding schools, many from malnutrition.

At the end of the 19th century, Canadian society saw that Aboriginal peoples had to integrate into the state project which was consolidating. Otherwise, they would be further marginalized. For this reason, the State, in collaboration with several Christian churches, launched the project of boarding schools for the children of the Inuit peoples, First Nations and Métis. The idea was to integrate them through education.

However, these boarding schools enjoyed impunity because they are not controlled by any public body. Many of them have become authentic centers of abuseboth psychological and physical and even sexual.

cultural genocide

Between 1880 and 1996, some 150,000 indigenous children went through re-education boarding schools

As Canadian anthropologist Ronald Niezen explains, “all schools were different. However, in survivor horror stories, there are similar characteristics. Many testimonies agreed that the discipline was very strict and forced them to dress in strange outfits for them, adds this professor from McGill University in Montreal. “They taught them languages ​​and customs with great intensity. When they returned to their communities, the children had lost their communication skills and many could not connect with their own parents because they did not understand their way of relating to each other,” he said. -he.

Therefore, the process is known as “cultural genocide”. Residential schools were used for the purpose of eliminating Aboriginal culture. For many years, this aggression was not seen as an offense against the Indians, because no cultural value was placed on indigenous traditions. It was thought that, little by little, the Indians would abandon their culture to adapt to a society dominated by European immigrants.

In total, there were 130 schools. Its peak was in the thirties of the last century. In 1931, 80 were operating simultaneously.

Today, however, it remains a vivid memory among Indians as the last school was closed in 1996. Canadian leaders never clearly condemned the events until 2008, when Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper quit. excused but pursued very aggressive policies towards indigenous communities.

abuses

Many miners have suffered abuse, sexual assault and there have even been deaths due to malnutrition

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015, he pledged to compensate the victims of this education system. He supported the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which studied all the abuses committed.

Until the late 1950s, for example, children studied half a day and worked the other half. The excuse was that they had to learn a trade, but the real reason was that they had to work to keep the school running cheaply. On the other hand, the subjects taught were very basic, replete with the cliché that Indians were intellectually inferior.

The Truth Commission was questioned because it did not allow the victims to name their attackers, only to explain their testimony.

Trudeau set a precedent in 2015 by signing on to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Harper, his predecessor, had rejected it in 2007. Accepting the declaration, in any case, did not mean applying the measures it advocates.

A clear example of Trudeau’s lack of sensitivity towards Indian peoples is the decision to extend the TransMountain pipeline from Alberta to the coast of British Columbia, despite their strong opposition. The Indians criticize that the infrastructure crosses sacred territories and constitutes a serious ecological attack.

In the last election in October, Indigenous communities distanced themselves from Trudeau, accusing him of not keeping his promises. While speaking out in the media in favor of these communities, his cabinet was pushing through a law that threatened the reservations.

When asked about the relationship between the government and the Indians, Niezen said that “it remains the same, nothing has changed. The idea that the original peoples of Canada will integrate into society may seem beautiful, but it has not been taken into account that there are racial barriers that will never allow them to be white “, he rocks.

Meanwhile, Indigenous peoples continue to be largely forgotten in Canadian society. The services they receive from the government, unemployment rate, medical coverage; in indigenous communities, all quality of life barometers are below the national average. Canada still has an outstanding debt.