Alcohol Addictions and Residential Schools

In my blog post I am going to reflect on the current social issue around mental disabilities through an indigenous perspective in connection with residential schools and substance abuse. Alcohol addictions are just one of the injustices facing Indigenous people and their ongoing fight with oppression. I am going to examine the implications of residential schools in Canada where Aboriginal children were forced from their homes and had to endure serious emotion, physical, and sexual abuse (Llewellyn, 2002). The pain and suffering, coupled with years of neglect, left residential survivors unable to cope emotionally causing a generational ripple effect on their families. I believe this led to the social problem of alcoholism on reservations. Through video documentation from residential survivors (The Projector), alcohol is a common outlet used to help cope and heal from the psychological trauma they were faced with. I will display the positive progression Aboriginals are taking with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as indicated in the newspaper article “Truth commissioners evaluate 1^st event,” from CBC News Manitoba. Lastly through my personal experiences with First Nations friends, I will share stories depicting the ongoing generational repercussions of residential schools and substance abuse.

Historically, Europeans believed Christianity was considered “fundamental to civilization” (Mawhiney & Hardy, 2009, p. 97) and they deemed it necessary to convert, the already self-governing, Aboriginals into replicas of the Europeans. Through assimilation, in the form of residential schools, Aboriginals were to become productive members in European society (Mawhiney & Hardy, 2009). According to Mawhiney and Hardy, the Europeans did not appreciate “that aboriginal cultures had achieved integrated systems for ensuring the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of all community members” (Mawhiney & Hardy, 2009, p. 97). Aboriginal children were taken from their parents, off the reservations, and housed in Church run schools that were supported by the government.  At the hands of their care givers, they suffered years of abuse and neglect, stripping them of their culture and identities.  The children were allowed to return back to their homes when they became adults at the age of 18 (“A history of residential,” 2010).

I believe decades later, that in trying to force the Aboriginals to conform to European standards, the Government of Canada has stripped the positive values of Aboriginal culture. Also, the self-governance previously part of the indigenous civilization should not have been disrupted, allowing the Aboriginal children to grow up with a positive sense of identity, fostered from a nurturing environment. In the schools Aboriginals lost their culture, language, and identity (Fenwick, 2000). According to Fenwick “many native people blame some of the identified difficulties in native communities such as family breakdown, sexual and physical abuse, and alcoholism on the residential school system” (Fenwick, 2000, p.33). I strongly believe there is an obvious correlation. The mental turmoil faced by the survivors, not only from the abuse, but when trying to adjust back into the Aboriginal culture lead many to turn to alcohol. Through the negative conditioning most Aboriginal children, now parents, imitate the abuse and neglect they learnt in the residential schools. A form of ripple effect on the rest of Aboriginal culture has introduced these alcohol addictions into the youth and the legacy of alcoholism is in light of the overall dislocation and disruption

According to a CBC News article, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission held a national event in Winnipeg, Manitoba in June 2010 at the Forks historic site. The purpose of this event was public information and the chance for the survivors to have their voices heard; sharing experiences (“Truth commissioners,” 2010). The importance of this event, for the purpose of mental illness and alcohol addictions, was to have a positive outlet to help deal with the sufferings and distress resulting from residential schools and “show those individuals that they no longer walk alone” (“Truth commissioners,” 2010, para.2). Sharing and talking with others about experiences allows for another avenue for healing, making the use of alcohol less important.    

I actually grew up near a First Nations reserve in Northern Manitoba. Many of my friends were Aboriginal and as an adult I witness firsthand the addictions issues overwhelming the Indigenous population. Many of these friends still live on the reserve, and decades later, are imitating the substance abuse issues related to the influences of residential school on their elders through the generations. Unfortunately several indigenous social problems, such as CFS dealings, alcohol and drug abuse, and criminal histories are common place in their lives. As children, and now as adults, my friends are very good people dealing with some very unfortunate historical implications of residential schools, oppression, and cultural genocide.

In conclusion, “In total, well over 100,000 Aboriginal children, or approximately 20 to 30 per cent of the Native population in Canada, attended residential schools. In practical terms, this means that as many as nine out of every ten Native people know someone who went to a residential school” (Llewellyn, 2002, p. 258). These residential schools are responsible for the problems indigenous people face in our current society. The survivors of residential schools and the generations of families have residual effects from the emotional trauma that the indigenous people still currently face through healing. Through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, hopefully the Aboriginals will find a better outlet for helping them deal with their emotional injustices as a better alternative to alcohol abuse.

-Darcie B.

(2010, June 14). A history of residential schools in Canada. CBC News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/16/f-faqs-residential-schools.html

(2010, June 21). Truth commissioners evaluate 1^st event. CBC News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/06/21/mb-truth-reconciliation-event-wrap-winnipeg.html

Fenwick, F. (2000). Residential School Update. LawNow, 25(3), 33-36.

Llewellyn, J. (2002). Dealing with the legacy of Native residential school abuse in Canada: Litigation, ADR, and restorative justice. University of Toronto Law Journal, 52, 254-300.

Mawhiney, A., Hardy, S. (2009). Aboriginal peoples in Canada. In J. C. Turner and F. J. Turner (Eds). Canadian social welfare (pp. 95-109). Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada.

Where are the Children? Healing the legacy of the residential schools. Retrieved from http://www.wherearethechildren.ca/