Before the arrival of Europeans, Native people in North America had already developed a well-established education system. A crucial aspect of this system was that native children needed to acquire extensive knowledge for their self-sufficiency.
Native elders and parents passed down more than just the skills needed for survival to their children. They also shared their history, artistic abilities, music, language, moral values, and religious beliefs. When European missionaries came into Native communities, they recognized that separating children from their parents as quickly as possible would speed up the process of teaching indigenous people to embrace a civilized lifestyle based on European traditions.
Residential schools were established to separate children from their families because it was believed that Native culture had no value and would eventually vanish as everyone assimilated into the ‘advanced’ European civilization (LeJeune, Fr. Paul). The Indigenous peoples of our country have faced centuries of adversity.
Throughout the history of Canada, since the initial European contact, the indigenous people have been unjustly treated as inferior beings – labeled as savages who lacked religion, intelligence, and even the right to exist (Scott, Duncan). This pervasive belief has persisted over time in our supposedly great nation. This essay aims to analyze the residential school system and its ramifications. Additionally, it will explore the Canadian Government’s actions in both positive and negative aspects regarding residential schools.
In general, the text will focus on how these effects are depicted in a literary text. The novel My Name is Seepeetza by Shirley Sterling, written from a Native viewpoint, shares the story of an Aboriginal girl’s life at a residential school and serves as an effective way to introduce the topic to contemporary students. The book explores various universal themes such as racism and family relationships, as well as the cultural disparities between the main character, Martha Stone, and the priests and nuns at the residential school she attends. Presented in a diary format, the story captures Martha’s thoughts, emotions, reflections, observations, and responses to her experiences at the residential school located in the interior of British Columbia.
Sterling, an Nlakapamux storyteller and writer from the interior Salish territory in British Columbia (LeJeune, Fr. Paul), attended boarding school as a child. She documented her own experiences as well as those of other students. My Name Is Seepeetza is a collective representation of her culture, influenced by interactions with people and cultures she encountered at school.
In my opinion, I strongly believe that Canada’s Native population has a wide range of experiences that cannot be accurately portrayed through a single narrative. Historically, economically, and socially, there is too much diversity among Native individuals to be captured by one account. Additionally, the terrible abuse suffered by Native children in residential schools cannot be fully understood through just one story. These acts of violence are just part of a bigger problem as the emotional and mental abuse endured by Native children in these schools has led to significant social and economic marginalization within Native communities across Canada. Considering this, I would like to explore Martha’s personal experience and compare it with the darker aspects of residential schools.
Martha was among the fortunate ones; numerous students perished during their initial year of school or experienced the loss of siblings due to illnesses. Certain individuals suffered physical or sexual abuse. Meanwhile, others went back to their families and communities feeling like strangers, unable to communicate in their native language and ill-equipped to embrace reservation life. According to historians, the residential schools’ education system aimed to economically and politically marginalize Native people and uphold the existing Canadian societal norms (Scott, Duncan).
Native communities, including the Nuu-chah-nulth, are independently researching the impacts of residential schools, offering an alternative viewpoint that portrays residential schools in a more negative and personal light (Scott, Duncan). I have chosen to juxtapose these personal narratives with Martha’s own experience. Martha’s experience is connected to her great-grandmother, who was a medicine woman in Saskatchewan. She primarily travelled by horse-drawn wagon and resided in a tipi.
Under the Canadian Indian policy, it was mandatory for all status and treaty Indian children to attend residential schools. In compliance with this policy, my mother-in-law’s great-grandmother had her children forcibly taken away by the local Indian agent and RCMP and sent to a residential school. Unfortunately, only three of the children managed to survive their time there. The experiences endured by the great-grandmother at the school greatly contrast with Martha’s portrayal in the story.
In her initial year of school, her great-grandmother experienced sexual abuse which had long-lasting psychological effects. This trauma resulted in her detachment from her cultural roots and the onset of alcohol addiction. Regrettably, she passed away prematurely due to breast cancer. Likewise, both of her brothers also succumbed to illnesses before completing their first year at school.
Despite hoping for a joyful reunion like in Sterling’s book, Mrs. Okweehow, the great-grandmother, found no such happiness when she went back to the spring to find her children. She patiently waited outside the school, but her two sons never came out. The nuns failed to inform her about her brothers’ deaths and even when they eventually revealed the sad news, they refused to reveal where they were buried.
There are many similar stories that have importance in sharing because they are linked to the present economic, social, and political marginalization of Native individuals. Additionally, these stories illuminate the causes behind the prevalence of social problems within Native communities nowadays. Furthermore, they offer perspective on the legal actions initiated by Native communities and individuals across Canada against the government and churches for the physical, sexual, and mental mistreatment they suffered in residential schools (LeJeune, Fr. Paul).
It is crucial to acknowledge that within a culture, there exists a range of experiences. Although my mother-in-law’s great-grandmother and many others encountered discrimination due to racial biases against Native tribes in the plains, other Native individuals throughout Canada had more favorable encounters in residential schools. It is essential to analyze their narratives from a historical angle. Moreover, there exist notable disparities among Native peoples in Canada concerning history, region, and culture. For instance, provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba had larger non-Native populations compared to the interior of British Columbia where Martha lived.
Martha’s family in the story had ownership of a ranch, which is a concept that the plains’ tribes overwhelmingly reject. This rejection is the reason why reserves exist there today. In British Columbia, not all Native tribes signed treaties and lived on reservations, but they were still subject to Indian policies (Mowat, Blake). Like many Native parents, Martha’s father recognized that their way of life was evolving and that it was necessary for their children to receive an education in order to ensure their survival and adaptation as a nation.
During the negotiations for education, the Native communities were unaware that it would entail sending their children to residential schools. Presently, Native communities across Canada are conducting studies that shed light on personal perspectives and experiences that have long been overlooked in historical and political contexts. In the Nuu-chah-multh study of residential schools in Northern British Columbia, Elders from the community were interviewed to gather their thoughts, feelings, and experiences of residential schools (Hooks, Bell). The study revealed various social and political themes, one of which was alienation.
After coming back from residential school, Martha remained close to her parents. Nevertheless, numerous Indigenous students held anger towards their parents for sending them away, while some felt ashamed of their parents’ perceived “primitive” lifestyle. Those who performed well academically often felt detached from their own family and community and had difficulty speaking their native language. In the study, elders criticized the inadequate education offered at residential schools, which left students unprepared to compete with non-Indigenous individuals for employment opportunities beyond the reservation. Moreover, job prospects within the reservation were limited (Bell).
Martha was fortunate to go home for the summer holidays and be with her family, continuing her traditions. However, students from Northern communities were not as fortunate and would stay at school year-round, away from their families and communities. As a result, many of them never had the opportunity to return home and eventually became homeless due to limited job options. Although Martha’s residential school experience was less severe than other Native students’, Sterling’s book is an important resource for educating current students about the experiences of Native individuals in these institutions.
It is crucial to acknowledge the vast diversity among First Nations in Canada and emphasize that Martha’s story is just one example of many diverse experiences. This book can provide insight into the current social issues faced by Native people, demonstrating that these problems are not due to our nation’s inferiority. I understand that Euro-Canadians have faced challenges when confronting their own history and the crimes committed against First Nation’s peoples by their ancestors. Historically and politically, it was easier for them to attribute today’s social problems to our alleged laziness and inferiority as a race. This perspective was reinforced by historians and anthropologists who analyzed our social and political structures through a European lens to explain why our society has become marginalized.
I believe it would be beneficial for Sterling’s book to be included in English and Social Studies classes, and not solely categorized as Native history but as Canadian history. The book serves as a great starting point for students, as it is written in a style that is accessible for most. Additionally, it offers historical information that is more easily understood than traditional texts on residential schools. Most importantly, the book delves into the thoughts, emotions, and observations of a young girl as she navigates through her own experiences.
While it is impossible for a single story to fully capture the Native experience in Canada, My Name is Seepeetza serves as a significant narrative that is crucial to listen to. It delves into the historical repercussions on today’s Elders.
