About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

66 Sask. L. Rev. 357 (2003)
Troubled Legacy: A History of Native Residential Schools

handle is hein.journals/sasklr66 and id is 359 raw text is: A SASKATCHEWAN LAW REVIEW Troubled Legacy: A History of Native Residential Schools* J.R. Miller** Between the seventeenth and late twentieth centuries, Canada was the site of an experiment in Aboriginal social engineering known as residential schools. These institutions were begun in colonial times by a variety of Christian groups, and after Confederation the missionary bodies operated them on behalf of the Government of Canada. Because the schools were unsuccessful and provoked parental and community opposition, the federal government phased them out after 1969. Although Native residential schools never housed more than a minority of status Indian, Inuit, or M9tis children, they had a profound impact on Native societies. Inadequate government financing from the inception of modern residential schools in 1883 contributed to inadequate pedagogy, insufficient child care, and various forms of abuse. The consequence of these deficiencies was that Native communities, which usually supported access to Euro-Canadian schools for their children, generally turned against the institutions. Native residential schools have bequeathed Canada a legacy of social problems and litigation. Residential school abuse and abuse litigation have been in the news so much lately that Canadians tend to think of these institutions as a relatively recent phenomenon in the Canadian national story. In October 2002, a Court of Queen's Bench Justice in Alberta handed down a ruling on the division of liability between the Anglican Church and the Government of Canada, the most recent incident in an ongoing point of dispute in the depressing saga of residential schools and their legacy.1 In spite of the immediacy of the issue in This article was originally presented as the 2002 Culliton Lecture at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan. It is based on J.R. Miller, Shingwauk's Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), where documentation can be found. F.R.S.C., Canada Research Chair and Professor of History, University of Saskatchewan. Re Residential Indian Schools (2002), 222 D.L.R. (4th) 124, [20021 A.J. No. 1265, 2002 ABQB 667 (Alta. Q.B.). McMahon J. found the Anglicans' national body, the General Synod, had played no role in operating the schools and that it could not be sued for abuse that occurred in schools under Anglican management. See Carol

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most