Colonialism & Children
Painting by Jerry Whitehead
When the European settlers arrived in Australia and Canada, their agendas were not to integrate themselves into the Indigenous ways of life in those countries but to essentially take over the land for themselves. A significant part of how they would take over the land was to address ‘the issue’ of the Indigenous peoples that lived there.
Removal of Children
The removal of Indigenous children from their homes, families and communities was arguably the foremost tactic used in the European takeover of these countries guided by the objectives of forced assimilation, integration into ‘mainstream’, meaning ‘white’, society, and segregation from their own communities and culture (Lynch, 2001, p.501; Ringel, 2005, p.41). In fact, both Australia and Canada had the forced removal of Indigenous children from their communities as lawful practices that were implemented in accordance with official government policies (Elias, Mignone, Hall, Hong, Hart, Sareen, 2012, p.1561; Cassidy, 2006, p.132). There were specific lines of reasoning behind why children specifically were heavily targeted instead of adults or elders. It was thought that by removing Indigenous children from their families, the connection between a child and their family and culture could be broken and only then they would be suitable to be a part of ‘Canadian’ or ‘Australian’ society (Cassidy, 2006, pp.133-134). Also, it was assumed that if children were removed from their communities at an early age, usually around 5 years old, their Indigenous culture was not fully instilled within them yet and so by separating them from their families and communities, they could be essentially brainwashed into becoming members of the ‘mainstream’ society (Morse, 2008, p.41).
Removal of Children
The removal of Indigenous children from their homes, families and communities was arguably the foremost tactic used in the European takeover of these countries guided by the objectives of forced assimilation, integration into ‘mainstream’, meaning ‘white’, society, and segregation from their own communities and culture (Lynch, 2001, p.501; Ringel, 2005, p.41). In fact, both Australia and Canada had the forced removal of Indigenous children from their communities as lawful practices that were implemented in accordance with official government policies (Elias, Mignone, Hall, Hong, Hart, Sareen, 2012, p.1561; Cassidy, 2006, p.132). There were specific lines of reasoning behind why children specifically were heavily targeted instead of adults or elders. It was thought that by removing Indigenous children from their families, the connection between a child and their family and culture could be broken and only then they would be suitable to be a part of ‘Canadian’ or ‘Australian’ society (Cassidy, 2006, pp.133-134). Also, it was assumed that if children were removed from their communities at an early age, usually around 5 years old, their Indigenous culture was not fully instilled within them yet and so by separating them from their families and communities, they could be essentially brainwashed into becoming members of the ‘mainstream’ society (Morse, 2008, p.41).
Canada: Residential Schools
Rock art depicting first European contact in Kakadu, Australia
In Canada, the primary method of removing children from their communities during colonialism was by taking them and placing them into what were called residential schools. The very first residential schools in Canada were established prior to Confederation in the 1600s by Christian churches as part of their missionary work but in 1874, the Canadian government began taking over the administrative role for these schools (Cassidy, 2006, p.140). An incredibly high number of Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their communities and placed in these schools. It is estimated that, between 1840 and 1983, over 100,000 Indigenous children in Canada were placed in the 130 residential schools that existed (Ringel, 2005, pp.41). As one of the primary objectives was to segregate the children as much as possible from their culture and communities, these schools were usually days away from the children’s communities and sometimes even in other provinces or territories (Cassidy, 2006, p.141).
The children that were placed in these so-called schools suffered unbelievably terrible conditions. The school curriculums were taught by teachers who were sometimes not even qualified to teach and were only designed to prepare the children to work as domestic workers or labourers (Cassidy, 2006, pp.142, 143). Children were heavily punished for speaking their Indigenous languages and were subjected to physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse including rape (Cassidy, 2006, p.143; Ringel, 2005, p.42; Gray, 2011, p.10). Also, the physical conditions of the schools were dismal and incredibly lacking, as there was often not enough food or clothing for the children and the dormitories they were residing in were overcrowded and had no heating (Cassidy, 2006, p.142). Due to insufficient nutrition, children were more susceptible to contagious diseases, such as tuberculosis, and it has been estimated that around 50 percent of children who were placed in residential schools did not survive (Morse, 2008, p.44). Contributing to the death tolls was that, because the conditions of the residential schools were so dire, numerous children tried to escape by one of two means. Some children tried to run away and escape back to their communities and in the process would die from exposure to the extreme elements and some chose to escape through suicide (Morse, 2008, p.51). While residential schools are often assumed to be a relic of the distant past, only in 1996 was the very last federally funded residential school finally closed (Cassidy, 2006, p.142).
The children that were placed in these so-called schools suffered unbelievably terrible conditions. The school curriculums were taught by teachers who were sometimes not even qualified to teach and were only designed to prepare the children to work as domestic workers or labourers (Cassidy, 2006, pp.142, 143). Children were heavily punished for speaking their Indigenous languages and were subjected to physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse including rape (Cassidy, 2006, p.143; Ringel, 2005, p.42; Gray, 2011, p.10). Also, the physical conditions of the schools were dismal and incredibly lacking, as there was often not enough food or clothing for the children and the dormitories they were residing in were overcrowded and had no heating (Cassidy, 2006, p.142). Due to insufficient nutrition, children were more susceptible to contagious diseases, such as tuberculosis, and it has been estimated that around 50 percent of children who were placed in residential schools did not survive (Morse, 2008, p.44). Contributing to the death tolls was that, because the conditions of the residential schools were so dire, numerous children tried to escape by one of two means. Some children tried to run away and escape back to their communities and in the process would die from exposure to the extreme elements and some chose to escape through suicide (Morse, 2008, p.51). While residential schools are often assumed to be a relic of the distant past, only in 1996 was the very last federally funded residential school finally closed (Cassidy, 2006, p.142).
Canada: The Sixties Scoop
Medicine Wheel, Canada
When the residential schools began closing, the Canadian government’s new tool for assimilation became the child welfare system (Menzies, 2008, p.42). The ‘Sixties Scoop’ refers to the period from the 1960s to 1990s in which immense numbers of Indigenous children were removed from their homes without warning by child welfare authorities and subsequently made wards of the Crown or placed into permanent foster care with non-Indigenous caregivers (Menzies, 2007, pp.370-371; Bombay, Matheson, & Anisman, 2009, p.14). The term was coined by Patrick Johnston in 1983 for a research report in which he estimated that while, Indigenous peoples made up 3.5 percent of the total population, Indigenous children made up an astounding 20 percent of child welfare placements (Lynch, 2001, p.503). Therefore, even though the period of residential schools gradually faded away, the practice of removing Indigenous children from their communities continued on, simply in a different form.
Australia: The Stolen Generations
While the residential school system in Canada was implemented on a larger scale and for a much longer time period, the case of Australia’s Stolen Generations holds incredible similarities (Morse, 2008, p.42). The term, Stolen Generations, is now widely used in Australia to refer to the children who were removed from their families by government agencies and church missions, where the focus was more on Indigenous children who had mixed parentage, referred to as the ‘half-caste’ children (Cassidy, 2006, pp.134-135; Barta, 2008, p.208). It was assumed by the colonialists that fully ethnic Indigenous peoples, or ‘full-blood blacks’, would eventually die out and so the focus should be on removing the ‘half-caste’ children and promoting inter-marriage with the colonizers as to essentially breed out all the Indigenous blood in Australia (Barta, 2008, p.208).
Like in Canada, high numbers of Indigenous children were impacted by these forced removals. It is estimated that from 1910 to 1970, somewhere between 1 out of 3 to 1 out of 10 Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their communities and, over the course of the 1900s, around 40,000 Indigenous children were taken and placed into various missions and institutions (Cassidy, 2006, p.148). Like the residential schools in Canada, these institutions did not have the resources to sufficiently feed, clothe or shelter the children and the education provided was only to prepare the children to work as labourers and domestic workers (Cassidy, 2006, p.148, 149). And also like in the Canadian residential schools, children were punished for speaking their Indigenous languages and were subjected to serious abuse including physical and sexual abuse (Cassidy, 2006, p.149).
Australia: The Stolen Generations
While the residential school system in Canada was implemented on a larger scale and for a much longer time period, the case of Australia’s Stolen Generations holds incredible similarities (Morse, 2008, p.42). The term, Stolen Generations, is now widely used in Australia to refer to the children who were removed from their families by government agencies and church missions, where the focus was more on Indigenous children who had mixed parentage, referred to as the ‘half-caste’ children (Cassidy, 2006, pp.134-135; Barta, 2008, p.208). It was assumed by the colonialists that fully ethnic Indigenous peoples, or ‘full-blood blacks’, would eventually die out and so the focus should be on removing the ‘half-caste’ children and promoting inter-marriage with the colonizers as to essentially breed out all the Indigenous blood in Australia (Barta, 2008, p.208).
Like in Canada, high numbers of Indigenous children were impacted by these forced removals. It is estimated that from 1910 to 1970, somewhere between 1 out of 3 to 1 out of 10 Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their communities and, over the course of the 1900s, around 40,000 Indigenous children were taken and placed into various missions and institutions (Cassidy, 2006, p.148). Like the residential schools in Canada, these institutions did not have the resources to sufficiently feed, clothe or shelter the children and the education provided was only to prepare the children to work as labourers and domestic workers (Cassidy, 2006, p.148, 149). And also like in the Canadian residential schools, children were punished for speaking their Indigenous languages and were subjected to serious abuse including physical and sexual abuse (Cassidy, 2006, p.149).