I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis
Residential Schools
Residential Schools
After having read the story, what is the significance of the photographs below... what is the message?
Language Resources
Two primary objectives of the residential school system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, “to kill the Indian in the child.” Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                     - Prime Minister Stephen Harper, official apology, June 11, 2008  

Mohawk Institute Residential School, Brantford Ontario