Legacy Of Residential Schools Research Articles

Prevalence, Correlates, and Sequelae of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) among Indigenous Canadians: Intersections of Ethnicity, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a severe and concerning public-health problem globally, but some children are at higher risk of experiencing it. The harms caused by colonization and particularly the inter-generational legacy of residential schools would presumably increase the vulnerability of Indigenous children in former British colonies. Among 282 Indigenous participants in Canada recruited from Prime Panels, CSA was reported by 35% of boys, 50% of girls, and 57% of trans and gender non-conforming participants. These rates are substantially higher than global meta-analytic estimates (7.6% of boys and 18.0% of girls). There was evidence of intersectionality based on socioeconomic status. CSA was associated with a variety of other indicators of negative childhood experiences and significantly predicted numerous negative outcomes in adulthood, including mental-health issues (e.g., PTSD), unemployment, and criminal legal-system involvement. Sexual abuse of Indigenous Canadian children is a public-health crisis, and layers of marginalization (e.g., gender, social class) exacerbate this risk. Trauma-informed services to address the harms of colonization are severely needed, in line with recommendations from Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

A Holistic Approach to the Indigenous Torontonian’s Mental Health Inequity

 The prevalence of mental health disorders in Canada is at an all-time high, affecting approximately 6.7 million Canadians, making it the leading cause of disability in the country. This study focuses on the mental health situation in Toronto, one of Canada's biggest cities, and aims to identify the causes of frequent mental health visits by assessing the social determinants of health (SDH) related to mental health. The hypothesis of a correlation between the density of the Aboriginal population in Toronto and mental health prevalence visits is supported by numerous academic studies and prevalent factors. The long lasting trauma caused by residential schools impacts mental health through increased anxiety, depression, and poor relationships with caregivers. Additionally, the assimilation of the Aboriginal population has also caused a significant loss of socioeconomic status (SES). By placing them on reserves with limited financial support. Finally, epigenetics plays a significant role in understanding the intergenerational effects of historical trauma and its impact on the Aboriginal population. This study aims to harness the implications of these factors for social policy and advocacy as well as mental health promotion in Canada and other Anglo-settler nations. This study highlights the need for a sustainable solution to improve the mental health situation in Toronto. It calls for a two-pronged approach, including both prevention and treatment. Preventive measures include addressing the root causes of poor mental health, including the legacy of residential schools, economic disadvantage, and cultural discontinuity, while treatment should aim to provide access to culturally appropriate mental health services and support. By addressing the social determinants of health related to mental health and taking a holistic approach, it is possible to reduce the impact of mental health disorders in Canada and improve the well-being of all Canadians.

Isihcikêwinihk kâkî nâtawihon: Healing Through Ceremony

isihcikêwinihk kâkî nâtawihon (Healing through Ceremony) is an audio-visual learning experience created in ceremony and in relationship with knowledge-keepers, wisdom-holders, language speakers, and the survivors of Indian Residential Schools and their descendants. In ceremony and in language, the authors met with 23 knowledge-keepers and Indigenous community members who shared their experiences of “healing through ceremony.” Through protocol and relationship, the knowledge-keepers and Indigenous community members gave permission to the authors to have the teachings and stories recorded and documented. The audio-visual learning experience came to be understood as an experience of kiskinowapahtam – to heal, teach, and learn by watching and doing. The teachings and stories shared in isihcikêwinihk kâkî nâtawihon guide social workers toward understanding how to support Indigenous communities in healing from the legacy of Residential Schools and the lasting intergenerational impacts of colonization. isihcikêwinihk kâkî nâtawihon supports the preservation of Indigenous knowledge regarding healing and ceremony and directly impacts current and future generations through providing this knowledge to social workers serving Indigenous communities. From this teaching experience, the knowledge-keepers, community members, and authors share a collective vision that Indigenous children, families, and communities encounter social workers who understand, honour, and trust the healing that happens in ceremony.

Teaching and learning the legacy of residential schools for remembering and reconciliation in Canada

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada released a Final Report containing 94 Calls to Action. Included were calls for reform in how history is taught in Canadian schools, so that students may learn to address such difficult topics in Canadian history as Indian Residential Schools, racism and cultural genocide. Operating somewhat in parallel to these reforms, social studies curricula across Canada have undergone substantial revisions. As a result, historical thinking is now firmly embedded within the curricula of most provinces and territories. Coupled with these developments are various academic debates regarding public pedagogy, difficult knowledge and student beliefs about Canada’s colonial past. Such debates require that researchers develop a better understanding of how knowledge related to Truth and Reconciliation is currently presented within Canadian classrooms, and how this may (or may not) relate to historical thinking. In this paper, I explore this debate as it relates to Indian Residential Schools. I then analyse a selection of classroom resources currently available in Canada for teaching about Truth and Reconciliation. In so doing, I consider how these relate to Peter Seixas’s six concepts of historical thinking (Seixas and Morton, 2013), as well as broader discussions within Canada about Indigenous world views, historical empathy and Reconciliation.

Residential School Saint: The Life, Death, and Turbulent Afterlife of Rose Prince of the Carrier Nation

Rose Prince was a young Indigenous woman who lived during the first half of the twentieth century, spending most of her short life in a Catholic residential school near Fraser Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Shy and retiring in life, Rose's venerators believe that her understated devotion was rewarded by a postmortem miracle generally reserved only for God's greatest saints: incorruption. The Catholic hierarchy and Rose's Carrier people, though at odds on much else, are unanimous that the Lejac Indian Residential School unwittingly hosted a saint between its opening in 1922 and Prince's death in 1949, and the two groups seek together to honor her with an annual pilgrimage to her gravesite. But this fragile unanimity exists in dynamic tension with the two groups’ divergent interpretations of Prince's holiness, particularly as it pertains to the legacy of residential schools. For some within the Catholic hierarchy, Rose's sanctity provides a powerful justification for the much-critiqued assimilative educational system. For many Carrier, however, Prince is its starkest repudiation. For them, Rose was—and is—the heart of a heartless world, incarnating gentle compassion in a system that, while it trumpeted these Christian virtues, itself was notably lacking in them.

School personnel and community members’ perspectives in implementing PAX good behaviour game in first nations grade 1 classrooms

ABSTRACT First Nations peoples in Canada have a history of poor mental health outcomes, as the result of colonisation and the legacy of residential schools. The PAX Good Behaviour Game (PAX-GBG) is a school-based intervention shown to improve student behaviour, academic outcomes, and reduce suicidal thoughts and actions. This study examines the use of PAX-GBG in First Nations Grade 1 classrooms in Manitoba. Researchers collected qualitative data via interviews and focus groups from 23 participants from Swampy Cree Tribal Council (SCTC) communities. Participants reported both positive effects and challenges of implementing PAX-GBG in their classrooms. PAX-GBG created a positive environment where children felt included, recognised, and empowered. Children were calmer, more on-task, and understood the behaviours that are expected of them. However, for many reasons, PAX-GBG is not being used consistently across SCTC schools. Participants described barriers in implementation due to teacher turnover, lack of on-going training and support, developmental and behavioural difficulties of students, and larger community challenges. Participants provided suggestions on how to improve PAX-GBG to be a better fit for these communities, including important cultural and contextual adaptations. PAX-GBG has the potential to improve outcomes for First Nations children, however attention must be given to implementation within community context.

Prioritizing Indigenous Elders’ Knowledge for Intergenerational Well-being

RÉSUMÉLe rapport final de la Commission de vérité et réconciliation du Canada (2015) a souligné la nécessité de soutenir l’autodétermination des Autochtones pour remédier aux séquelles des pensionnats. Cependant, la recherche sur le vieillissement autochtone demeure dominée par les colons. Dans le cadre de cette étude indigéniste menée par une équipe de recherche comprenant des Cris et des colons, des aînés autochtones ont été interrogés pour connaître les éléments qui seraient nécessaires, selon eux, pour le soutien du bien-être des personnes âgées de leurs communautés. Les aînés ont affirmé que la guérison des survivants âgés passe par la reconnexion avec les savoirs culturels que les pensionnats ont cherché à éradiquer. En renouant avec leurs rôles traditionnels dans la transmission des connaissances, les personnes âgées soutiennent non seulement leur propre guérison, mais aussi celle de toute leur communauté. Cette compréhension de la nature profondément interrelationnelle des communautés autochtones implique que le bien-être des personnes âgées dépend de la réappropriation de leur identité culturelle, mais aussi de leur rôle en tant que transmetteurs intergénérationnels de savoirs.

Creating New Stories: The Role of Evaluation in Truth and Reconciliation

Abstract: This paper describes the origins of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, with the focus on how evaluators and their professional associations can contribute to truth and reconciliation. At the professional association level, the actions that the Canadian Evaluation Society has taken in committing itself to incorporating truth and reconciliation into its values, principles, and practices are highlighted. At the individual level, evaluators are challenged to reflect on their practice. As storytellers, evaluators have been complicit in telling stories that, while highlighting the damaging legacy of residential schools, have had little influence on changing the status quo for Indigenous peoples and communities. The need to reconsider who should be telling the stories and what stories should be told are critical issues upon which evaluators must reflect. The way forward also needs to include a move toward a more holistic view, incorporating the interaction between human and natural systems, thus better reflecting an Indigenous, rather than a Western, worldview. The imperative for evaluators, both in Canada and globally, to see Indigenous peoples “as creators of their own destinies and experts in their own realities” is essential if evaluation is to become “a source of enrichment … and not a source of depletion or denigration.”

Healing Through Culture for Incarcerated Aboriginal People1

Statistically, Aboriginal people in Canada are over-represented in prisons throughout the country. While representatives from the Canadian government recognize that the Aboriginal incarceration rates are an issue, they have failed to find a solution. A link has been found to demonstrate how the erosion of Aboriginal culture through the legacy of residential schools has contributed to the current inflated Aboriginal incarceration statistics (Waldram, 1997). As such, cultural healing in prisons may be a crucial factor for Aboriginal inmates’ rehabilitation. Cultural healing can be implemented in prisons by: providing inmates with access to Elders, allowing Elders to perform ceremonies, providing inmates with access to sacred medicines, and increasing the number of healing lodges and sacred circles.

Pulling Together: Navigating Indigenisation From Within

In Canada, in 2015 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) brought forward to all Canadians the devastating and lasting effects of residential schools on Indigenous peoples. The TRC published the Calls to Action to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance a process of Canadian reconciliation, which renewed efforts within many sectors. While many post-secondary institutions were already working with Indigenous communities, the TRC’s Calls to Action resulted in project funding from a variety of sources that aimed to address the Calls to Action.From 2016 –18, the BCcampus Indigenization Project formed a collaboration between the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, BCcampus, an Indigenization Project Steering Committee of eight Indigenous educational leaders and thirty Indigenous and ally writers representing fourteen BC post-secondary education institutions to create Indigenization resources. This article highlights the project and how BCcampus approached learning about reconciliation and Indigenization while embarking on the creation of a series of online Indigenization guides for post-secondary institutions.

Management and Traditional Production of Beaked Hazelnut (k'áp'xw-az', Corylus cornuta; Betulaceae) in British Columbia

Hazelnuts (Corylus spp.; Betulaceae) constitute an important food, technology, textile, and medicine resource for Indigenous peoples across Canada. As with other types of traditional ecological knowledge and wisdom, the legacy of residential schools, ongoing colonialism, and continued land degradation and development have affected how people remember and use this vital plant. This contribution focuses on the memories and stories of Elder Wal’ceckwu (Marion Dixon) from the Nlaka’pamux Nation (Interior Salish) of British Columbia to help foster the re-emergence of hazelnut management in her community and beyond. Using ethnoecological, archaeological, and ethnohistoric data, as well as drawing on the memories of other Elders and knowledge holders throughout British Columbia, we hope to draw connections between people and place, and to emphasize how they can preserve knowledge and links to homelands in an ecologically informed and socially just way.

Sitting with truth, language, fences, and healing: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and TYA in Canada

ABSTRACTThis article explores ways that theatre for young audiences artists are working with the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action. These Calls to Action (2015) ask Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians to use education and the arts to “redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.” Using Belarie Zatzman’s concept of “difficult knowledges” and Jill Carter’s provocative questions concerning reconciliation, this article examines four recently developed performances for young people: Minosis Gathers Hope (Alberta Aboriginal Arts and Punctuate! Theatre, Edmonton), (Mistatim (Red Sky Performance, Toronto), We Are All Treaty People (Making Treaty 7 Society and Quest Theatre, Calgary), and Biinoojiinyag Gitgaanmiwaa (WeeFestival, Toronto). During artist interviews and after attending the productions, four themes emerged that emphasize issues connected to making this kind of work in a good way: sitting with truth, careful language use, power dynamics, land and fences, and healing.

“The Earth is Our Mother”: Freedom of Religion and the Preservation of Indigenous Sacred Sites in Canada

For centuries, the Canadian state engaged in systematic religious persecution of Indigenous peoples through legal prohibitions, coercive residential schooling, and the dispossession and destruction of sacred sites. Though the Canadian government has abandoned the criminalization of Indigenous religious practices and is beginning to come to grips with the devastating legacy of residential schools, it continues to permit the destruction and desecration of Indigenous sacred sites. Sacred sites play a crucial role in most Indigenous cosmologies and communities; they are as necessary to Indigenous religions as human-made places of worship are to other religious traditions. The ongoing case of Ktunaxa Nation v. British Columbia (Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations) represents the first opportunity for the Supreme Court of Canada to consider whether the destruction of an Indigenous sacred site constitutes a violation of freedom of religion under subsection 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Building on the ground-breaking work of John Borrows and Sarah Morales, we will argue that Indigenous spiritual traditions have a home in this provision and merit a level of protection equal to that enjoyed by other faith groups in Canada. In general, subsection 2(a) will be infringed by non-trivial state (or state-sponsored) interference with an Indigenous sacred site. Moreover, the approval of commercial or industrial development on an Indigenous sacred site without consent and compensation will generally be unjustifiable under section 1 of the Charter. Recognition of these principles would signal respect for the equal religious citizenship of Indigenous Canadians.

Canadian Health Libraries’ Responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action: A Literature Review and Content Analysis

Abstract Introduction: As part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) Final Report on the history and legacy of residential schools in Canada, ninety-four (94) Calls to Action were identified. Of those, seven are health-specific. The objective of this research paper is to determine how Canadian health library websites are responding to these calls to action. Methods: The authors conducted an initial literature review to gain an understanding of the context of Indigenous health in Canada. A content analysis of Canadian health library websites was conducted to track mentions of the TRC and their responses to the need for Indigenous-focused resources. Results: The results of content analysis indicated few online responses to the TRC’s Calls to Action from Canadian health libraries. Only thirty-three per cent of Canadian health libraries had content that was Indigenous-focused, and only about fifteen per cent of health libraries had visible content related to the TRC’s Calls to Action. Academic and consumer health libraries were more likely to have both TRC- and Indigenous-focused content. Discussion: Nuances related to the research question resulted in some challenges to research design. For example, website content analysis is an imperfect indicator of real-world action. Limitations in research design notwithstanding, visibility is an important part of conveying commitment to the TRC, and the information available indicates the Canadian medical community is not living up to that commitment. Conclusion: Canadian health libraries need to do more to show a visible commitment to the TRC’s Calls to Action.

From research to practice: Bridging the gaps for psychologists working in indigenous communities affected by gangs.

Young peoples' involvement with has been identified as a growing issue for Indigenous people in Canada (Comack, Deane, Morrissette, & Silver, 2013; Grekul & LaBoucane-Benson, 2008; Nafekh, 2002; Statistics Canada, 2012) and the United States (Hautala, Sittner, & Whitbeck, 2016; Major, Egley, Howell, Mendenhall, & Armstrong, 2004). Indigenous peoples are overrepresented in multiple systems (i.e., child welfare, judicial systems, community probation), and experience a variety of responses to gang issues (Bell & Lim, 2005; Comack et al., 2013; Goodwill & Ishiyama, 2015). Many survivors of gang life report the trajectory of moving from government foster care to provincial or federal corrections (Comack et al., 2013; Goodwill, 2016; Goodwill & Ishiyama, 2015), replicating patterns established by residential schools (Macdonald, 2016). Yet, most Indigenous people will never be involved with criminal activity or (Sinclair & Grekul, 2012). We agree with Comack's (2012) investigations with Indigenous peoples' and their encounters with police and the evidence that Indigenous peoples and communities are watched more intently because of the racist belief that they will ultimately commit crimes. We also support the claims that Indigenous emerged from Canada's distinctively colonial context (Comack et al., 2013; Deane, Bracken, & Morrissette, 2007; Fontaine, 2014; Grekul & LaBoucane-Benson, 2008; Henry, 2013). The challenge for Canadian psychological practice is to identify sound research evidence from the treatment literature as well as the decolonizing literature and respond to the opportunity to develop antiracist equitable practices in health and human services.BackgroundPsychologists and allied health practitioners working in correctional, child welfare, on and off-reserve settings require treatment models that allow for coordinated interactions across provincial and federal jurisdictions, especially where Indigenous peoples are overrepresented. Overrepresentation in child welfare has roots in systemic racism linked to funding shortfalls in child welfare and education (Blackstock, 2011; Sinha et al., 2012), and the legacy of residential schools and sixties scoop in Canada (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015). Concerns about in Canada prompted conservative tough on crime imposition of law and order solutions, changes in the definition of gangs, and harsher prison terms for those deemed to be in street gangs (Comack et al., 2013). The cumulative effects of racist and neoliberal governance aggravate the sequelae of colonial brutality while failing to address relational traumas or systemic violence plaguing Indigenous communities (Comack et al., 2013).The definition of a gang is essential to our investigations, however there is a lack of consensus among academics, policymakers, and law enforcement regarding what constitutes a gang (Alleyne & Wood, 2010). Having a common definition would help policymakers determine the relative effectiveness of various law enforcement and gang prevention programs operating within different jurisdictions. Although we do not disagree with this point, there are problems with research traditions that result in academics, policymakers, and law enforcement ascending into the role of expert when it comes to gazing upon the changing nature of in Indigenous communities in the context of our colonial predicament. There are many promises to be fulfilled by Canada in their part of the treaty relationship, as well as numerous recommendations made by, for instance, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015), the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996), and Stolen Sisters (Amnesty International, 2004). For the purposes of understanding the research considered in this article, we chose a broad definition for that should be refined by each Indigenous community, urban or rural, on or off reserve. …

Archival photographs in perspective: Indian residential school images of health

Photographs are some of the most visceral archival sources relating to the legacy of residential schools. Residential school images can be used to supplement textual records when creating historical narratives, as tools for sparking conversation and memory, and as the start of community healing. Images of sport and recreation at residential schools provide insight into the school experience, student life, and dynamics of power within the school system. This article uses an archival understanding of residential school photography to examine student experiences in sport and recreation at residential schools. Using photographs from the Rev. Father William Maurice Fonds at the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, this article addresses the challenges associated with present-day usage of residential school photographs, the ways in which these photographs can contribute to ongoing discussions about healing and reconciliation, and the use of archival photographs within the residential school survivor community.

Four Views on Archival Decolonization Inspired by the TRC's Calls to Action

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada issued 94 Calls to Action to“redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.”  Four of these Calls to Action were directly addressed to Canadian museums and archives, with several other Calls potentially affecting archival practice.  In this article, originally presented as a panel presentation at the 2016 Archives Society of Alberta conference held in Canmore, Alberta, four perspectives on archival decolonization as related to the Calls to Action are offered.

Reconciling America's Research Response to Binge Drinking among American Indians and Alaskan Natives.

Binge drinking among American Indians and Alaskan Natives is an acute health issue in the United States. The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University convened a one-day meeting with North American experts to identify key elements for developing research methodologies to measure treatment outcomes founded in Indigenous cultural ways of knowing. Three were identified: recognize culture as treatment, overcome Western interpretations of research, and apply culturally appropriate research methodologies. Common across the elements is respectful relationship development, which mirrors the efforts of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was established to address the destructive legacy of residential schools among First Nations. Reconciling America's research response to binge drinking among American Indians and Alaskan Natives requires a similar commitment.

Arts-based HIV and STI prevention intervention with Northern and Indigenous youth in the Northwest Territories: study protocol for a non-randomised cohort pilot study

IntroductionIndigenous youth are disproportionately represented in new HIV infection rates in Canada. Current and historical contexts of colonisation and racism, disconnection from culture and land, as well as intergenerational trauma...

Shifting the academic lens: Development of an interdisciplinary Indigenous health nursing course

In Canada, Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Calls to Action (2015) calls on nursing schools to requires in part, all students to take Aboriginal health issues inclusive of the history and legacy of residential schools, Aboriginal rights and Indigenous teachings and practices (TRC, 2015, p.3). Further, the TRC calls upon governments to increase the number of Aboriginal professionals working in the health-care field. The development of an interdisciplinary Indigenous health nursing course was timely in response to the TRC Calls to Action (2015) and an opportunity to weave interdisciplinary tenets of western nursing ontologies and epistemologies with Indigenous ways of knowing and being into a shared tapestry to insure future sustainability of health services and has secondary impacts on nursing recruitment and retention. Honoring protocols, engagement of Aboriginal Peoples through lessons learnt in northern, rural roots, partnerships and embracing a student-centered teaching pedagogy prompts a shift in the academic lens.