A brief history of 19th–20th century genocidal Indian education in British Columbia and oral history of Gitxsan resistance and resurgence
Date
2019-09-04
Authors
Mowatt, Gina
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Abstract
Indian Education, including but not limited to Indian Residential Schools and Indian Day schools, are one part of an ongoing system of elimination of Indigenous people in Canada. I argue that Indian Education in 19th – 20th century British Columbia, controlled and operated by churches and state, intended to destroy Indigenous collectives, constituting genocide. I follow this analysis with a oral history of four Gitxsan elders who experienced Indian Education in different forms. These interviews reveal the impact on Indian Education on self, family, community and nation. Most importantly, the elders express their vision for Gitxsan people to know who they are, to heal and to thrive in their homelands.
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Keywords
Indigenous, Oral History, Genocide, Indian Education