Preface:

The reason why I decided to add this essay into my ePortfolio was because it deals with the same topic as my research project and has similar aspects that I want to discuss throughout my ePortfolio. This essay mainly focuses on the religious instruction Indigenous children had to learn as part of their curriculum. However, it still connects to the education aspect I am looking at throughout my ePortfolio, and how the segregation and discrimination of these schools had on children in this time, and how this effects their childhood and education.

 

In J.R Miller’s book, Shingwauk’s Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools, he provides an in-depth overview of the history of residential schools in Canada. Throughout his book, he explains the emergence of these schools from the early seventeenth-century of New France, through the colonial period and the creation of modern schools in the 1880s, and onward until they eventually start to phase out in the 1960s. Within his overview of residential schools, Miller has an informative yet critical focus on the influence of religion, which is a key aspect in residential schools. Miller’s book has a structured backbone of historical information, combined with a critical focus on religion, making his book well formulated and easy to follow.

Miller starts his overview of residential schools by explaining how they came to be and what the motivation behind their establishment was. In the early years of the seventeenth-century, groups of missionaries came to communities of indigenous peoples in Canada to assimilate them into their ways and religious practices. “The first known boarding-school arrangement for Indian youths in Canada began in 1620 under the auspices of the Récollets… who took a number of boys into what they referred to as their ‘seminary’”[1]. Miller notes in his book that the “primary objective [of these schools was the] evangelization of the Natives”[2]. This is where Miller begins to bring in the religious aspect of these schools and how the main reason for these schools was to convert the Native children into becoming Christians, or at least following the religious practices of Christianity and implementing it into their lives. Miller does a good job at integrating the aspect of religion into his argument of the book, primarily because religion played such a big role in these schools and it cannot be disregarded. He draws on historical evidence such as facts from missionaries and important noted dates to support his statement of religion being so prominent in these schools. This is very beneficial for both the reader of the book and Miller’s argument, primarily because he is able to give us more knowledge of residential schools and the religious background that is being integrated in this time.

Miller uses religious groups and individuals, like the Récollets, Jesuits, Ursulines, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marie de L’Incarnation, and amongst others, as some of the main influences in integrating Christianity into the schooling of Native children, in the early seventeenth-century to the latter half of the 1700s. Miller draws on a variety of reliable sources as evidence to support his notion of these various religious groups making such an impact. He uses a strong credible source, The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents which helps him to backup and incorporate facts from this period of time he is dealing with. In addition to this, he uses excerpts of letters written by Ursuline Nuns clearly expressing the challenges while trying to implement religious instruction into residential schools and the Indigenous population. Miller uses these sources to his advantage by helping to explain how big of a role religion played in residential schools. Throughout this time period, the establishment of these schools posed a challenge with implementing religion. Miller acknowledges in his book that “the European’s realized fairly quickly that, to achieve the purposes that brought them to North America, it was not essential to assimilate and educate the inhabitants”[3] into their Christian European views because the peoples “made assimilative efforts futile”[4]. This evidently shows that it was hard to Christianize these groups of people within school and other learning facilities if the Native population seemingly did not want to follow the ways and teachings of the missionaries. Consequently, these missionaries had to formulate a different approach to succeed in their purposes of being in North America.

As we progress through the centuries, we begin to see more acknowledgement of residential schools within the indigenous population. However, as Miller states, “Indian parents proved reluctant to make their children available”[5], for reasons such as the labour the children did within the schools, what they were taught in terms of curriculum and its religious structure, the abuse the children endured while attending these schools, and the distance the children were having to travel away from their families. The schools tried “to combine new Christian and sedentary ways with traditional practices [which had] a noticeable discouragement of Native ways”[6], and they would have been given “basic learning for the common person, training in agriculture of trades, and a large dose of religion”[7]. Miller shows a critical view on the Christian religious aspect of residential schools and how it played an influential role in the indigenous child’s education, however, disregarding the traditional practices and customs of the indigenous peoples. Miller’s approach to integrate what the curriculum was broken down into in these schools, and expressing how strong of an influence religion played, was very strategic and overall helped to enforce his argument of religion being an important aspect in the residential schools.

By the time of the 1880s and onward, we see a greater emergence of residential schools in Canada. Priest and nun ran residential schools began to be established increasingly throughout Canada, with religious instruction from a variety of Christianity denomination. Miller highlights throughout this era that there was Roman Catholic ran residential schools, Christian, and within this religious denomination there was Anglican, Methodist, Protestant ran schools, amongst others. Within this time, Miller strategically draws on the fact that there was some tension between “Anglicans, Methodists, and Catholics… [even though] they seemed to be doing the same thing”[8]. It is noted that the “Catholics and Anglicans in British Columbia operated their missions and schools from the European metropole, whether in England or in France… [whereas] the Methodists [used the] evangelical structure that was anchored to church headquarters in Toronto”[9]. Integrating this information about tension amongst religious denominations shows how well formulated Miller’s approach is by bringing in issues and controversy to enhance his statement that religion had a large influence in residential school. He shows how there was a variety of different schools with different religious structures, and how this influenced the type of residential schools that were running, which evidently gives the reader a better understanding of these schools in this time.

Towards the early twentieth-century to the latter half of the century, the schools continued to focus on “English, ‘general knowledge,’ writing… reading… and religious instruction”[10]. However, there was a shift and schools began to focus more on domestic skills, labour intensive tasks, and religious instruction rather than the normal curriculum being taught in other schools that were primarily catered to the white race. It is stated in Miller’s book that “attitudes manifested themselves in what is sometimes referred to as Canada’s ‘policy of the Bible and the plough’… this complex legislation and programs embraced the missions and schools which residential schools were subset, campaigns to control and reshape Aboriginal behaviour”[11]. Miller incorporates this piece of information about how closely linked religion and agricultural tasks were within the school curriculum, which clearly shows how influential religion was in these school. Miller successfully uses this information by integrating this into his argument and reinforcing his claims of religion being a prominent aspect in residential schools.

Religion continued to play a key role in residential schools until the schools started to phase out in the 1960s. In this time, the schools were beginning to veer away from religious domination in terms of teachers, curriculum, and way of life, which is noted in Miller’s book; “in the 1960s [they] were moving away from a largely evangelical emphasis to a concern with the social and economic needs of Native peoples”[12]. As the residential schools started to vanish, so did the influence of religion within them, however, there was some changing views of the residential schools. In this time, residential schools began to be thought of as something inhumane and an unjust thing to force upon a population of people, in comparison to the early view of assimilation, religious instruction and cutting off of all traditions and customs related to the indigenous child’s background. Throughout Miller’s book he was able to outline these changing views, to make a more fluent argument of the history of residential schools in Canada. He uses a source from the latter half of the 1960s, which backs up his statement that the religious aspect of these schools began to fad away and become less prominent in this time. His ability to incorporate this information shows how he is still able to integrate the aspect of religion into his argument, even though it may not have that big of an influence in theses schools anymore.

Throughout J.R Miller’s book he was able to capture the history of residential schools in Canada from the New France era to the 1960s in an informative and easy to follow way. He integrates into his book the aspect of religion in terms of the curriculum and instructions, the instructors, and the implementation of these ways into their everyday life. The way Miller overviewed the history of residential schools and had a strong focus on the religious portion of these schools shows he formed a convincing and coherent argument throughout his book. In addition to this, Miller draws on a variety of sources which helps him to support his claim of religion being a prominent aspect within these school, overall enhancing his argument.

 

Endnotes:

[1] J.R. Miller, Shingwauk’s Vision: The History of Native Residential Schools, 1996, p. 39.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 58.

[4] Ibid., 59.

[5] Ibid., 64.

[6] Ibid., 69.

[7] Ibid., 83.

[8] Ibid., 94.

[9] Ibid., 95.

[10] Ibid., 155.

[11] Ibid., 186.

[12] Ibid., 398.

Bibliography:

Miller, J.R. Shingwauk’s Vision: The History of Native Residential Schools. 1996.

 

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