The British Empire: A source for good or evil? January 2014 | Page 21

VOCAB:
1 : All the native's religions aren't the
same but most of them believe in reincarnation of the spirit or soul and that
animals or plats soul are
interchangeable.
2: The First Nations are the various
Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are
neither Inuit or Métis.

Brainwashing of First
Nation's children

Extract from: Imperial Federation, map of the world
showing the extent of the British Empire in 1886

In Canada, Today, Native peoples represent 4,3% of the population, so 1, 400, 685 people.
In 1840, the first school for (2) First Nation’s children openned. Between 1840 and 1996 children were taken from their
families to go in those kind of school to undergo an immersion program. In this program, they were prohibited from
speaking their own language or practicing their own faith, and, if they were too undisciplined, they suffered physical
violences.
Those young boys and girls were isolated in those camp, where they can’t see their
parents for months or years. The children were sterilized
when they entered the “school”, but there were a lot of
physical and sexual abuses, 4000 of them died there.
The children receive d corporal punishment to « save
their souls » or « civilize the savages », They were
treated like animals ! . They lacked hygiene so the
schools were often ravaged by epidemics.
In 1960, everybody knew about this camps and all the
treatment done to the native's children, but the Crown
hushed up it. It's only in 2007 that the Canadian Prime
Minister made a public apology, because the Candian
governement was considered responsible of First Nation
cultural genocide

St. Paul's Indian Industrial School, Middlechurch,
Manitoba, 1901
From page 23
5- Are native peoples a big part of Canadian population
today ?
6- Could the children often see their parents ?
7- Did they received good treatments ? Justify your
answer.
8- What was the situation in 1960 ? in 2007 ?

Activities :
Activity 1: Did you understand everything ?
From page 22
1- Why did the Britain wanted to remove the
children from their family ?
2- Where did they bring the children ?
3- Were half breed children sent to the same
places ?
4- What are the beliefs of the native ?

Activity 2: Organize and synthesize your ideas

23

From the documents and your knowledge write a
paragraph about : “Why was the british empire a
force for evil to the native's cultures in Australia and
Canada ?”