“A Conscious Policy of Cultural Genocide”: Indian Boarding Schools and Implications for Family
Hilary A. Rose, Ph.D., CFLE, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec; Bev Sellars, LL.B., Haig-Brown House, Campbell River, British Columbia, and First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining
Discussant/Chair: Hilary A. Rose, Ph.D., CFLE, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
- Practice
- Family Policy
About the Session
310-01 - Epigenetics, or Why Indigenous Peoples Can’t “Just Get Over It”: A Model of the Intergenerational Transmission of Historical Trauma
310-03 - Effects of Canada’s Policy of Assimilation: A Residential School Memoir
Part history lesson, part personal memoir, and part research presentation, this symposium focuses on the intergenerational effects of Indian boarding schools in the United States and Canada. We use an interdisciplinary, multi-method approach to create a holistic picture of national policies of cultural genocide by means of assimilation (i.e., “kill the Indian and save the man”). We highlight the removal of children from their families and communities, and the legacy of this historical trauma among boarding school survivors and their descendants. We acknowledge the diversity among Indigenous peoples and consider the 3 Rs: resistance, resilience, and reconciliation (i.e., social justice).
Objectives
Measurable objectives: to analyze policies of assimilation (e.g., Indian boarding schools); to synthesize intergenerational effects among the schools’ survivors and their descendants; and to evaluate the reconciliation process.
