We Were Children Sparknotes

Since time immemorial, First Nations lived throughout Canada. They had their own culture and political systems. The way they lived changed after colonists took their land and tried to assimilate their communities into Canadian society. The life and culture of the Frist Nation tribes was barbaric and savage in the eyes of the Canadian people and the government. The government set up residential schools with the purpose of assimilating First Nations children into the white anglophone dominated society of Canada. We Were Children is a Canadian documentary that tells the story of two first nations survivors and what they experienced at the schools. First, I will explain the purpose of residential schools. Next, I will critique the strengths and weaknesses of the documentary and talk about what was missing in the documentary and finally I will incorporate some of the class readings with the focus on the health and nutrition of …show more content…
The schools were run by the church before it was taken over by the federal government. According to the documentary, over 150,000 children were taken away from their families and forced into school. The schools main purpose was to assimilate First Nations children into Canadian society. In other words, the motto for residential schools was to “kill the Indian in the child.” The school officials did this by teaching children how to live and thrive in Canadian Society. First Nation people were thought to be inferior and unequal to the white dominant society. The government believed that First Nations communities were disappearing and the schools taught them that the language and culture of their ancestors was savage. The main purpose of the residential schools was to assimilate First Nation children. They were taught that their culture was barbaric and the correct way to live was as the majority of Canadas