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Early Indigenous Education
From the early days of Acadian settlement, the Catholic Church played a significant role in the education of Indigenous peoples. The primary goal of the Roman Catholic priests, lay brothers, and nuns who arrived as missionaries was the religious conversion of Indigenous communities, with the spiritual needs of the colonists being a secondary concern. The Récollet and Jesuit religious orders sought to undermine traditional Indigenous cultures and beliefs by establishing schools that focused on teaching the Catholic religion and French customs. Other religious groups, such as the Ursulines, concentrated their educational efforts on Indigenous girls.
Despite these efforts, the Catholic Church's educational initiatives had minimal success and little lasting impact on Indigenous communities. Following the British conquest of New France (1759-60), formal education for both Indigenous and settler children was scarce. However, in the 1800s, the British government began to view education as a tool for assimilating the diverse groups within their colonies. This approach continued after Canada became a self-governing nation, culminating in the introduction of the Indian Act in 1867.
Initially, education for Indigenous children was provided through Day Schools, run by various Christian denominations. These schools allowed students to remain within their communities and attend classes during the day, often on the reserve. While this setup kept children close to home, many suffered physical, verbal, and sometimes sexual abuse at the hands of their educators in these Day Schools.
In 1930, the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School (Shubenacadie, NS) was opened and operated by the Catholic Church as part of the Canadian Residential School System. Initially, the school aimed to provide education for orphans and neglected children from Maritime reserves. However, its mandate was later expanded to serve as an alternative to the Day Schools already established on reserves. It was the only residential school in the Maritimes, with over 1,000 children attending during its operation.
Those who were placed in the Shubenacadie Residential School have recounted traumatic experiences. Many described serious issues with the institution, including poor living conditions, corporal punishment, overcrowding, lack of academic education, forced farm labor, hunger, a racist curriculum, and punishment for speaking their native language. Many children were forcibly removed from their parents and placed in this residential school. After its closure in 1967, many of these children were placed into foster homes.
The Canadian government, much like the French before them, used the introduction of public education as a means of assimilating the Indigenous population. This policy has had, and continues to have, a long-standing negative impact on many Mi'kmaq families in Nova Scotia.
Adapted from Wikipedia.