He said they were terrible. I’m also sure the people who started them thought they were doing them a favour by erasing their culture.
Yeah, they sure did. And the fact that the schools were about erasing culture, front and centre, should never be downplayed by anyone, especially not an MP and the leader of the opposition.
Downplaying the reasons for the schools also downplays indigenous people’s experiences at the hands of these “teachers”.
“The fact is, that if you wish to educate those children you must separate them from their parents during the time they are being educated. If you leave them in the family they may know how to read and write, but they still remain savages, whereas by separating them in the way proposed, they acquire the habits and tastes — it is to be hoped only the good tastes — of civilized people.”
- Langevin, Public Works Commissioner speech in the House of Commons
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