“When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with its parents, who are savages, and though he may learn to read and write, his habits and training mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who can read and write. It has been strongly impressed upon myself, as head of the Department, that Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men." 1879 John A. MacDonald
Thanks Dione
It would be interesting to know where this paper was found. I know that we can not change the past, that is a given, but acknowledging the past and participating in creating a new dialog will move the country, both Canada and the US, into a kinder, more empathetic future.
Acknowledging the past, not feeling the need to apologize for the sins of our forefathers, but accepting it, will help those thousands who suffered under the hands of the residential school staff, heal and in doing so can create a bright future for themselves and their children.
Carrying around the guilt associated with being called a "dirty Indian", being beaten for speaking your language, hair cutting and similar demoralizing acts, can be discarded by celebrating the lives of the children buried in unmarked graves.