(June 29, 2021 at 11:48 am)The Grand Nudger Wrote: We do and can choose differently, and so could they have, then- they simply did not. I think that it’s a mistake to think that things like this just happen or are an inextricable part of human nature. They don’t and they aren’t. It’s hard to hurt people. It takes effort and conditioning and a massive network of funding and provisioning and constant recruiting.
The program was popular at the time, and most saw it as helping the kids.
If this had simply been putting schools on reserves (and letting the native people help craft curriculum) it would've been a good thing.
The U.S.A. also had the same programs of residential schools, though I don't know if their administration was better or worse (the Catholic sect that ran most in Canada seems to have been particularly abusive and secretive). It was well known that many died of disease. Unmarked graves are now being searched for in the U.S., but there isn't a peep in the U.S. media.