Aboriginal Children’s in Residential School

“Reservation Blues” and “Shingwauk’s Vision” are two very sad depressing literatures by Curtis “Shingoose” Jonnie and James miller. These literatures clearly view what the aboriginal children’s had went through when they were in residential school. I feel very repulsive reading and hearing about what the Canadian Government did to the aboriginal children in the residential schools. The aboriginal children’s were treated very tragically by the injustice laws of the Canadian Government. Children’s were forced to live away from their families and communities for a long period of time. Once the children’s were at the boarding s m chool they were not able to speak their own traditional language and they had to dress up in European ways, as they were pressured to give up their tradition. Giving up traditions by force is very pitiful and extremely distressing because tradition is something that comes through your family descendents and your culture. As the author wrote in the Reservation Blues “Now assimilation is all I hear but this life I’m living’, ain’t nowhere near the one my Grandfather lived for thousand of years.” Based on this I can see and feel what the author truly meant. Tradition is a very sensible mark that represents who you really are and when it is gone from you, you will regret it for your whole life. Also when children’s were at the residential school they faced many forms of abuse, as the author in Shingwauk’s Vision wrote “My own dad and brother were sexually abused in residential school, and they both suffer incredible humiliation.” Just imagine being a little kid and being sexually abused is like a deep sorrowful wound engraved deep inside of your heart. No matter what happens it cannot be healed nor can it be erased. Once the harm is done it will suffer you for the rest of your life. Just like the author mentioned in Shingwauk’s Vision “None of us who were abused in our childhood can ever feel an ounce of forgiveness”. From the authors expression I can feel how cruelly they suffered. They suffered so much that most of them turned alcoholics to forget the shame they faced when their proud native culture was destroyed by the cruel people. As the author wrote, “Once-proud native people who have been reduced to drunken shells”. The aboriginal children’s relates to the Métis people because the Métis people faced many hardships and often faced discrimination. The Métis lost their homes and culture just like the aboriginal children’s lost theirs. Even though the government provided them land with many facilities afterward, they saw very little action on the promises that the government made and soon their lands were occupied and their culture and tradition were destroyed by new settlers. Maybe the Canadian Government tried to prepare the aboriginal children’s, so they would fit in with the Canadian society by making residential schools but I feel very angry at those people of the government who did such cruel things because who are they to decide to put the aboriginal children’s in such place and break up their native culture from their families and violate their tradition. Even if the children’s are needed to go to residential schools to learn about the Canadian society, it should be the native parents who should decide.