NIL

1. Case statement 2: The remains of hundreds of indigenous children who had been forcibly
removed from their families and placed in government residential schools in Canada were
recently discovered.
In recent years, evidence of the remains of hundreds of indigenous children who attended
Canada’s government residential schools sparked great outrage across the country and calls for
more searches of unmarked graves. There have been multiple reports of unmarked graves and
discoveries of bodies of Indigenous children in former residential boarding schools in Canada
from May to July of 2021. Within these three months, there were at least four locations where
these unmarked graves and remains of indigenous children have been discovered. Amongst
these four locations, a total of 1,308 unmarked graves and remains of indigenous children were
found. The authorities chose not to deliver the children's remains back to their families in order
to save on shipping costs, which led to the creation of these unmarked graves.
For more than a century, the Canadian government forcefully took thousands of indigenous
children away from their families, isolated them and sent them to government residential
schools. Their goal was to assimilate indigenous children into mainstream white Canadian
society while stripping away their unique indigenous identity, hoping to essentially eradicate their
customs and languages. According to research, numerous indigenous children are still interred
in abandoned graves after dying in these residential schools even till this day.
These all began when the early European settlers saw the indigenous people as "savage" and
“backward” because of their sociocultural differences and felt impelled to civilize and educate
the indigenous people. These indigenous children were subjected to structural violence when
they were forcefully removed from their family and familiar surroundings and placed in a
completely foreign environment. The British colonists who had barged into their country and
claimed it as their own had treated them unfairly and without an ounce of respect. The Indian
Act was passed by the British parliament in 1876, forcing Native Americans to remain in
reservations and preventing them from leaving without permission. Along with their land, these
people also lost their freedom and the liberty to live as they pleased. The government gained
authority over the Indigenous people thanks to this statute, subjecting them to unfair treatment.
This act was responsible for forcing indigenous children to attend residential schools, away from
their families.
The children were harshly punished if they defied the rules - no speaking of their languages or
practicing their culture. They often experience bullying from their non-indigenous peers and
were abused physically, sexually, emotionally, and psychologically by school officials. The
children's quality of life was adversely impacted by their living conditions, which included
overcrowding, bad sanitation, poor water quality, limited food, and inadequate medical
treatment. This made them highly susceptible to severe health problems like malnutrition and
influenza. Without proper healthcare, many of these children end up succumbing to their
illnesses, contributing to high mortality rates.

2. The fact that there were still rumors of these institutions existing in 2020 makes them all the
more terrifying. According to research by The National Native American Boarding School
Healing Coalition, 15 boarding schools and 73 open schools will still be operating in 2020. The
existence of such schools is extremely troubling because they have a profoundly harmful impact
on children's physical and mental health. The children's overall health declined, and the
prevalence of chronic and infectious disorders spiked. Additionally, they experienced mental
trauma, depression, compulsive behaviors, substance abuse, tension, and suicidal thoughts and
actions. Such impacts are long-term, and children continue to carry this burden into adulthood.
Both survivors and their descendants from the indigenous communities are still being affected
negatively by these terrible consequences. The impacts of the trauma and the resulting loss of
language, culture, traditional teachings, and mental health are being experienced through
generations by the indigenous people (Hanson, 2009). Moreover, the early separation from
their families and assimilation into mainstream society left the kids unable to speak in their
native tongues, posing a threat to language extinction and cultural loss. They lose contact with
their native tongues, distinctive skills, and important information.
Not only do these institutions pose adverse effects on an individual’s mental and physical
health, it also has lasting effects on the indigenous community as a whole. The continuous
presence of such schools would mean that more people will suffer the aftermath of these
inhumane and unjust conditions.
This case brings up the issue of residential schools' actions, repercussions, and teachings.
Children in these schools were separated from their families, and the vast majority of them
never returned. Those who returned had long-term detrimental consequences as a result of
their mistreatment. To prevent any more innocent children from being victims of such a callous
system, operations of such schools must be put to an end.
Although the Canadian government has expressed regret for the residential school systems, it
will undoubtedly take generations for people to recover from these horrific experiences.
Indigenous languages continue to be in danger of going extinct, along with their associated
cultures. There have been more indigenous-supporting movements in recent years, like the
Land Back Movement, which aims to put pressure on the government to give the indigenous
people their land back. It is to be hoped that indigenous groups will be able to preserve their
cultural continuity and identity with more knowledge and effort.

3. References
Hanson, E. (2009). The residential school systems.
https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_residential_school_system/