Social Effects Of Residential Schools

Residential schools were detrimental to the lives of many Aboriginal People and it is crucial that all people understand and are educated about this piece of history. Since residential schools were the engines of cultural genocide, understanding them is the key to gaining perspective into and fixing many contemporary Aboriginal issues. If all people are not educated on residential schools, there will continue to be a burden on Aboriginal communities and discrimination over contemporary issues that many Aboriginal societies and people face will continue to be a prominent issue in Canada. Educating people on the history of residential schools is also a vital way to get rid of ignorance that many non-Aboriginal Canadians have towards present …show more content…
The trauma that the victims of residential schools suffered through became a downward spiral for many Aboriginal communities and people who were affected by these schools. Due to the effects that residential schools had on their lives many residential school survivors turned to drugs, alcohol, and other, often harmful, coping methods. This abuse of drugs and alcohol often caused poverty and crime, which is what many Aboriginal communities and people are suffering through today. Many of the stereotypes that people have about Aboriginal people and communities were formed because non-Aboriginal people saw the addictions, high crime rates, and poverty without understanding why these issues were so prevalent in one group. I argue that thesestereotypes could be eliminated if people understood and knew the reasons behind these contemporary issues. Aboriginal communities and people have struggled through the trauma of residential schools and now they are trying to recover from the impact that residential schools had on their lives, but one of the only ways to recover is by everyone understanding the reason that these issues are occurring. This is why it is so important for all people to understand the history of residential schools, as without mutual understanding and respect Aboriginal communities and people will have a very hard time recovering from the impact of residential …show more content…
The abuse that occurred inside many residential schools resulted in many of the contemporary issues that are so prevalent in Aboriginal societies and communities. As the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2012) states, “the victims often had no one to turn to, and the perpetrators were the very people who held authority over every aspect of their lives. In many cases, their parents either feared or respected the church officials who ran the schools” (p. 42). Residential school victims were also the victims of the often-harsh disciplines at residential