The effects of residential schools on Indigenous children and communities are blatantly shown by Maisie's story. She suffers from the violence she endured physically and emotionally in the residential school, as well as the trauma of being unwillingly torn away from her family and culture. We can see that she deals with the trauma she's endured in unhealthy ways like self-harm, and drugs to eventually end her life. Her experience is like a reminder of the tragic impact that Canada's residential schools had on Indigenous peoples, as well as the continued need for peace and healing. Sociological imagination helps us understand Maisie’s experiences at the micro level. We could look at how her personal experiences of trauma and abuse in residential …show more content…
To get a more thorough knowledge of Maisie's experiences and how they relate to broader social factors, we can use both micro and macro-level analyses. Individual experiences of trauma and abuse can be seen to be interconnected to larger historical and social settings of oppression. By addressing the underlying causes of these problems, we can aim to create an equal society for all. We can see that throughout her life in the novel Maisie is a character that tends to not talk about how she’s truly feeling, as she copes with her trauma in a more self-destructive way. When Lucy comes around we can see that Maisie is accepting but wants Lucy to hurry up and start her own life so that she can get back to hers. She begins to get worse at hiding her nightlife from people and it eventually gets found out. Earlier on in the story, we can see that whenever Jimmy tries to talk to her about things she retorts back, as she takes a simple disagreement as them
Indigenous people across Canada have been suppressed by the government, system, and settlers still to this day. The residential school system was a system of boarding schools that were established by the Canadian government and administered by various churches to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture. Many of these children suffered physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from school staff. Even though residential schools have been abolished they can still affect indigenous people today. The book “Indian Horse” clearly represents the intergenerational trauma of Indigenous communities in Canada.
The atrocities that the children of residential schools had to endure is not something that can be ignored, just as the lessons these children learned, like shame, humiliation, hate, compassion, and forgiveness cannot be overlooked (Borrows 486-7). Borrows raises an important point, which is that the children of the Residential schools, who survived, grew up to eventually become elders (487). Although there are some who feel Residential schools had positive impacts, the high suicide rates in Indigenous communities cannot be
These tarnished relationships make her incapable of having external resources to cope with the excessive amounts of trauma she endures
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good is a moving tale that exposes readers to the brutal truth of Canada's residential school system. The story follows five Indigenous people who, after years of abuse and suffering at these schools, are left to negotiate life as adults in Vancouver. Michelle Good invites readers to confront painful facts about Canadian history via their journeys of healing and reconciling with the past. The backstory for Five Little Indians is similarly interesting. Michelle Good, a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, draws on her personal experiences and significant study to bring this narrative to life.
His major goal is to raise awareness about the terrible history and current ramifications of Canada's residential school system. To do this, he vividly and truthfully depicts the sufferings of indigenous youngsters, highlighting the horrors perpetrated on indigenous nations. He hopes to educate readers, elicits empathy, and spark discussion about these awful occurrences. Wagamese also aspires to inspire readers, particularly those from indigenous backgrounds, to embrace and take pride in their cultural heritage. Furthermore, he seeks to bridge knowledge gaps and promote empathy between indigenous and non-indigenous people.
In Jason Stabler’s article Canadian Identity and Canada’s Indian Residential School Apology he argues that true reconciliation can only be accomplished if Canadians realize the extent of the wrongs done to Indigenous people and come to the terms with the cruelty and illegality of the early settlers. Stabler discusses how Canadians believe in the country’s lawfulness despite its questionable methods of obtaining land. According to Stabler, benevolence, another important part of Canadian Identity, as Canadian’s believe settlers treated the Indigenous people humanely whereas it very much misrepresents the “cultural genocide” that occurred. Stabler maintains that these are enormous obstacles in the way of reconciliation between Canada and Indigenous
Novel/Paper Assignment Shirika Hariram 20952694 Professor Joelle Mcneil PLAN 233: People and Plans Section 1: Five Little Indians and The Sociological Imagination (518) Maisie's story blatantly shows the effects of residential schools on Indigenous children and communities. She suffers from the violence she endured physically and emotionally in the residential school and the trauma of being unwillingly torn away from her family and culture. We can see that she deals with the trauma she's endured in unhealthy ways, like self-harm and drugs, to end her life eventually.
The establishment of residential schools marks a dark chapter in Canadian history. The residential school system was a nationwide network of boarding schools with the purpose of destroying the Indigenous identity and assimilating children into the dominant European-Canadian culture. The schools were known for their harsh environments, abuse, and mistreatment, which led to generational trauma and long-lasting effects. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, narrates the life story of Saul Indian Horse, a young Ojibwe boy whose identity is stripped away and who is taken from his family to attend one of these schools. The book examines Saul’s journey, from his traumatic school experiences to his love for hockey.
However, what is presented is even more dark and appalling. This book differs from typical non-fiction works on residential schools in its unflinching revelation of the ugly truths. Benjamin does something remarkable by shifting the focus from the victims to the perpetrators. While most people are familiar with the survivor stories of Indigenous children, with emphasis on the abuse they endured and loss of their cultural identity; few works delve into the actions of the oppressors. Benjamin's approach is not intended to diminish the survivor's experiences, but rather to shine a light on the abuse of power by the priests, nuns, and government, which has gone unchecked for too long.
Ebrahim Radwan NBE3U Ms. Abunassar March 29, 2023 Stripping Identities: Trauma in "Indian Horse" Imagine a world where the innocent and vulnerable children are subjected to abuse, mistreatment, and even death, all because of who they are. This is the heartbreaking reality of Canadian Residential Schools. From 1831 to 1996, Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their homes and communities, and placed in these government-run schools, where they were stripped of their culture, language, and identity. The destruction these schools caused to Indigenous peoples is immeasurable. These schools are the cause of 6000 deaths out of 150000 victims, all of which are vulnerable children.
Within the novel, as Lisa gets older, she begins to understand the struggles of her family that all connect and come back to the leading cause, which is the residential school system. Monkey Beach shows how “Historical trauma coupled with ongoing present-day traumas such as anti-Indigenous racism and a lack of clean drinking water [has] a massive negative impact on Indigenous communities, resulting in (and combining with) issues such as addiction, limited education, incarceration, violence, abuse, suicidality, homelessness and poverty. These symptoms are what many social agencies and service providers focus on addressing. But without considering root causes, one of which is intergenerational trauma, conventional solutions and treatments simply won’t work” (Seto). The residential school system aimed to assimilate indigenous peoples into Western society and strip them of their culture.
Residential schools were indubitably gruesome and immoral acts by the federal government to assimilate the Aboriginal culture to gain power. I was very surprised to learn that 150 000 Aboriginal children were forced to attend residential schools. It is crazy to fathom that so many human beings were tortured, neglected, abused and treated wrongfully while others let it happen for decades. I also found it surprising that the government surveyed the Aboriginal communities and the number one complaint was residential schools and yet no action was taken. If the federal government never intended to listen to the Aboriginals then why did they bother spending time doing surveys in the first place?
We Were Children, the documentary on residential schools, is a re-enactment of two aboriginal children and their first hand experiences in the residential school system. The kinds of problems this documentary presented include mistreatment faced by the children who attended these schools, corruption and scandal inside the administration of the schools, and the false perception about these schools that resonated amongst Canadian society. These two children talk about the bullying they had to endure from the nuns which show that the children were not seen as equal to a child of non-Aboriginal decent. Furthermore, the types of abuse administration would put these kids through was immensely disturbing considering this was a state run institution.
This connects to the recurring theme in the story, the Theme of Survival in a crisis. The book repeatedly presents the adaptability of indigenous people in crisis throughout history using examples of the residential schools in Canada and the challenges the characters in the book are currently
The TRC’s “The History” author appeals to logos through the use quantitative findings. The use of logical evidence from the collection of testimonials made by former residential school students is an effective way to aid the persuasion of a reader. Throughout “The History”, the author describes the memories of known First Nations peoples Frederic Ernest Koe, Marlene Kayseas, Lily Bruce and many others. In addition, the author quotes Vitaline Elsie Jenner’s use of ‘kaya nakasin’ (TRC, 2015, p.38) in describing her experience with residential school. The author’s example that contains the use native language reaffirms his credibility and detailed knowledge of the