Residential Schools 1

Transcription

1 1 Residential Schools

2 Big Ideas During this period predominant attitudes towards women and towards immigrants, First Nations, Metis, Inuit and other minority groups affected the development of Canadian identity and citizenship Government attitudes towards individuals and groups changed the way in which people were dealt with. 2

3 Residential School System At the beginning of the 20th Century the Canadian government continued its policy of assimilation of its Indigenous peoples 1895: 45 residential schools, mostly located in Western Canada 3

4 Living Conditions an estimated 20-30% of Indigenous children died while living in residential schools Disease, malnutrition, abuse and accidents were the main causes of death 4

5 Changes in Indigenous Policies It created a number of civil servants in the Department of Indian Affairs Introductions of band councils were tightly monitored 5

6 Changes in Indigenous Policies Government paternalistic approach to the First Nations was even more pronounced Attempts were made to limit the territorial claims of the First Nations 1927 the Indian Act was amended to prohibit the First Nations people from hiring lawyers Lifted in

7 Governance of Inuit Populations Contact between Euro-Canadians and the Inuit came later than contact with the First Nations. At the beginning the relations between the two were economic Some Inuit worked on whaling ships and the establishments of trading posts in their territories Given these very limited relations the Inuit continued to live according to their traditional way of life 7

8 Governance of Inuit Populations 1939: Responsibility therefore would fall to the federal government. However they were not made subject to the Indian Act During the same period, fur prices collapsed leading to famine in the Inuit communities The Canadian government intervened within the populations, by giving them occasional assistance 1940s: the federal government introduced medical services and administrative infrastructure 8

9 Transformation of Society at the beginning of the 20th century

10 Big Ideas During this period Canada s social reform movements were major factors in shaping the new nation Many groups, individuals and events helped to shape the development of Canada during this period National and international events, trends and developments during this period affected various groups and people 10

11 Union Movement Continued to defend workers interests and to try and improve their working conditions Even though they made gains at the end of 19th century, working conditions continued to be very difficult Unions continued to demand reduced working hours and better protection for workers injured American Unions 20th century unions in Quebec were mostly members of American organizations The organization was soon surpassed by another American organizations American Federation of Labor 11

12 Labour Legislation Even though there were new labour legislation adopted in the first phase of industry, workers continued to be powerless. Unions had a hard time getting demands heard as employers refused to consider union representatives Unfortunately these measures were not always applied 12

13 Strikes With unions having limited negotiating powers, some resorted to strikes to make their voices heard Governments did not always see this in a positive way They sometimes intervened in labour disputes and used forces to repress striking situations Sometimes they even used the police to intervene to protect strikebreakers Strikebreaker: 13

14 Catholic Church The unions were also secular and therefore the Church had no influence to their decisions The Church attempted to find ways to invest in social action and promote its values The measures for the church to fulfill their plans were Advocated charity and solidarity 14

15 Ecole Sociale populaire and Cooperatives Played a very important role in applying the Catholic Church s social beliefs It trained activities to work in the associations associated with the Catholic Church The Church also collaborated with Catholic Unions and created cooperatives Cooperatives: This idea was especially strong among the farming community. They were able to get bank loans easily and could invest in the development of their members farms 15

16 Services The government began to create steps to offer a better quality of life to citizens living in the cities Cities started to gradually take measures to improve their hygiene in working class neighbourhoods and invested in areas like garbage collection and the construction of urban infrastructure (sewers) Child mortality rates were very high during these years. The average was 1 in 4. Governments started filtration systems for water and clinics called Goutte de lait which gave out quality milk and information to urban populations 16

17 Education Most francophones did not complete elementary school and stopped their formal education at the age of 12. Many were in the workforce by then A bill on MANDATORY school attendance was proposed in 1901 and was rejected due to pressures from the Church (they saw this as a threat) Nevertheless, many educated related measures were adopted. 17

18 Women Feminists movements became more organized in order to raise awareness Marie Lacoste Gerin-Lajoie was a feminist reformer and sought to raise women's awareness for their legal status She, along with Caroline Beige found the first French Canadian reformist association The goal was to improve the living conditions of the least fortunate - especially women and children Marie Lacoste believed in the importance of education for women 18

19 Women and the Right to Vote Many feminists or suffragettes demanded the right to vote Suffragettes: There was strong opposition in Quebec; the clergy and the conservative nationalists wanted traditional roles and values - this did not include women voting and being involved in politics They believed that granting some the right to vote was therefore a threat to their social order and family. 19