Critical Response

Canada has 150 years of history, and some of it is not something I’m proud of. The thing that I wish I could change the most are the Indian Residential Schools. There were thousands of aboriginal children taken from their homes and forced to attend the schools across Canada. The schools were created by the Canadian government in the 19th century, stemming from the belief that the aboriginal people's best chance for success was to learn English and adopt Canadian customs, such as Christianity. The government thought that the children would pass their adopted lifestyle onto their children, and native traditions and language would completely abolished in a few generations. If the aboriginal children were caught speaking their own language or practicing their traditions, they would be severely punished. In all, about 150 000 children were taken from their families and attended the Residential schools, sometimes year round. There are many other things about Canadian history I wish I could change, such as the Chinese Head Tax, the expulsion of Japanese Canadians, the Commercial seal hunt, the ban on black immigrants and many more, but the residential schools have always stood out in my memory.