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In response to
"Ender, the other factor is that these kids had zero choice in going to those schools. They were basically kidnapped. -- nm"
by
zork
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Correct. It was a planned, multi-generational, horrific social experiment.
Posted by
Beryllium (aka grayman)
Oct 6 '15, 13:33
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The whole residential school system system was designed to erase first nations culture and knowledge. It was an exercise stemming from pure xenophobia, intending to integrate them in western culture rather than allowing us to be multicultural.
But that cultural attack, plus the systemic racism that led to the abuse/neglect/deaths, meant they could never truly integrate. The whole concept was flawed from the start - and caused many evils in its execution.
Now, as a people, they have a tremendous wound in their psyche, which has broad ramifications on how they fit into the world. Many of the reservations are underfunded or poorly managed (in one case, a tribal leader absconded with millions of dollars of funding). The people can have trouble finding work, either because they're in a remote area or because of racism (and sometimes both). And it's basically one big shitshow, which leads to the Highway of Tears.
There's an entire class of people in Canada who are prime targets for predators, and it's downright offensive to be dismissing this problem as "putting themselves at risk". They've been abused and neglected for a hundred years, and dismissing them in this way is just further neglect.
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