A few weeks ago, we watched a 60 Minutes segment on the Native American Residential Schools, prompted by the recent discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at a former school in British Columbia, Canada.
The following is from Wikipedia.
“Beginning in the 1800’s, the goal of these Residential Schools was to assimilate the Indigenous community into the beliefs, tradition, and overall European/Christian culture. In Canada, 139 schools were funded by the government, operated mostly by Christian churches. America funding 350 schools, with similar methods and goals. Hundreds of thousands of children were “processed”, and tens of thousands died.”
“Native American Residential Schools embodied institutionalized victimization to assimilate children into mainstream society by eradicating Native cultures. Children as young as 5 were forcibly removed from their homes. Their tribal names were replaced with English-language names, or sometimes just numbers, as part of assimilation to “Christianize” them. Their long hair, a source of pride for many Native peoples, was cut short. Their traditional clothing was exchanged for uniforms and a life influenced by strict military-style regimentation. Contact with family and community members was discouraged or forbidden altogether.”
“Stripped of their personal possessions, and separated from their families, they were forbidden to speak their native language. If they did, members of the staff would beat and assault them physically or sexually. By abusing the Indigenous children for practicing their own culture, the school was able to install fear and negativity, diminishing the chances the students would still continue to practice their culture.”
“Unclean and overpopulated living conditions led to spread of disease and many students did not receive enough food. Many who died were buried
anonymously. Investigations have revealed documented cases of sexual, manual, physical and mental abuse occurring mostly in church-run schools, where the sexual abusers were the teachers, nuns, and priests who were supposed to educate. Students suffered severe disorders such as depression and PTSD and substance abuse increased. Bounties were offered for students who tried to run away, and many students took their own lives. Boarding schools for Indigenous students were mainly used to torture them into mainstream American culture.”
“Damning evidence of years of abuses in off-reservation boarding schools contributed to the enactment of the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978, giving Native American parents the legal right to refuse their child’s placement in a school, and the last schools closed in the 1990’s.”
After centuries of unrelenting slaughter, these schools were an attempt at cultural genocide of the Native culture. This is a repugnant expression of a dominator society.
It is to Canada’s credit that they established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2007, to begin healing this profound institutional injustice. The 60 Minute segment showed testimony of people sharing the pain of their own experiences. It bought tears to our eyes listening, for the pain could not be denied. The speakers were not condemning, but simple sharing their remembered feelings. They were speaking truth, and everyone could feel it. Despite everything, these people had survived, and to some extent healed, having made a reconnection to their true self through the spiritual roots of their culture. But the trauma produced lifelong consequences of rage, anger, and depression, which were inflicted on their family and society for decades, with untold pain and cost.
Reconciliation is an opportunity for the dominate culture to evolve. Admitting that an injustice happened is an important beginning, and allows for the culture to heal and move forward. The Native American regard for the sacred nature of the Earth is needed these days, an antidote to our dominant culture of mindless, limitless consumption. It is significant that the Catholic Church has yet to fully acknowledge their part in this trauma, even after all these years. That failure may be part of why Church membership is declining.
Americans need to embrace Truth and Reconciliation ourselves, recognizing not only the trauma inflicted on Native Americans, but also the trauma inflicted on African Americans. The current Republican hissy fit over critical race theory, or even the mention that slavery was a traumatic experience, shows how far we have to go for real cultural maturity. A similar reconciliation must happen with regard to the endemic misogyny in our culture. If we continue to deny the uncomfortable realities of our history, we have little hope for a healthy future.
Crispin B. Hollinshead lives in Ukiah. This and previous articles can be found at cbhollinshead.blogspot.com.
