Books and e-books
A National Crime : The Canadian Government and the Residential School System
Using previously unreleased government documents, historian John S. Milloy provides a full picture of the history and reality of the residential school system. He begins by tracing the ideological roots of the system, and follows the paper trail of internal memoranda, reports from field inspectors, and letters of complaint. In the early decades, the system grew without planning or restraint.
Magic Weapons : Aboriginal Writers Remaking Community After Residential School
Magic Weapons is the first major survey of Indigenous writings on the residential school system, and provides groundbreaking readings of life writings by Rita Joe (Mi'kmaq) and Anthony Apakark Thrasher (Inuit) as well as in-depth critical studies of better known life writings by Basil Johnston (Ojibway) and Tomson Highway (Cree). Magic Weapons examines the ways in which Indigenous survivors of residential school mobilize narrative in their struggles for personal and communal empowerment in the shadow of attempted cultural genocide.
Did You See Us? : Reunion, Remembrance, and Reclamation at an Urban Indian Residential School
The Assiniboia school is unique within Canada's Indian Residential School system. It was the first residential high school in Manitoba and one of the only residential schools in Canada to be located in a large urban setting. Operating between 1958 and 1973 in a period when the residential school system was in decline, it produced several future leaders, artists, educators, knowledge keepers, and other notable figures. It was in many ways an experiment within the broader destructive framework of Canadian residential schools.
Voice of the Drum
This book is based on an 11-day international gathering of Indigenous Elders and educators in 1998. The readings are organized within four areas of Indigenous education and culture: worldview, curriculum change, governance and policies, and spiritual reflections.
Picking up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of the Witness Blanket
Picking Up the Pieces tells the story of the making of the Witness Blanket, a living work of art conceived and created by Indigenous artist Carey Newman. It includes hundreds of items collected from residential schools across Canada, everything from bricks, photos and letters to hockey skates, dolls and braids. Every object tells a story. Carey takes the reader on a journey from the initial idea behind the Witness Blanket to the challenges in making it work to its completion. The story is told through the objects and the Survivors who donated them to the project.
Government Documents
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of CanadaThe Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history, began to be implemented in 2007. One of the elements of the agreement was the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada to facilitate reconciliation among former students, their families, their communities and all Canadians.
Canada's Residential Schools: The History, Part 1, Origins to 1939 : The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume I by Call Number: ONLINEISBN: 9780773546493Publication Date: 2015-12-09Canada's Residential Schools: The History, Part 1, Origins to 1939 places Canada's residential school system in the historical context of European campaigns to colonize and convert Indigenous people throughout the world. In post-Confederation Canada, the government adopted what amounted to a policy of cultural genocide: suppressing spiritual practices, disrupting traditional economies, and imposing new forms of government. Residential schooling quickly became a central element in this policy.
Canada's Residential Schools: The History, Part 2, 1939 to 2000 : The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume I by Call Number: ONLINEISBN: 9780773546516Publication Date: 2015-12-09Between 1867 and 2000, the Canadian government sent over 150,000 Aboriginal children to residential schools across the country. Legal action by the schools' former students led to the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2008. The product of over six years of research, the Commission's final report outlines the history and legacy of the schools, and charts a pathway towards reconciliation.
