A Comprehensive Look at the History of Aboriginal Education in Canada

This paper provides an overview of the history of Aboriginal education in Canada, highlighting the shift from traditional teaching methods to European classroom-style education and the subsequent establishment of residential schools. It discusses the challenges faced by Aboriginal students, including cultural dislocation and abuse, and the eventual closure of residential schools in the 1970s. The paper also examines the development of Aboriginal education policies, such as the National Indian Brotherhood's policy on Indian Control of Indian Education, and the integration of Aboriginal studies in post-secondary education. It concludes by emphasizing the ongoing challenges in improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal people in Canada and the need for continued policy development and implementation.

The History of Aboriginal Education in
Canada
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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
History of Aboriginal education in Canada.................................................................................................2
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
The paper will provide a brief knowledge based on the history of Aboriginal education in
Canada. The reformers of Aboriginal education policies are trying to facilitate additional cultural
and language-based care and reintegrate traditional teachings. Such teachings would improve and
enhance the output of Aboriginal people in the system of education. The senior members of the
extended families who provided education to the children used traditional teaching techniques.
Most of the other Aboriginal countries across the world also makes use of similar teaching
techniques. With the help of these techniques, the Aboriginal children in Canada learned
knowledge, skills, beliefs, and values.
History of Aboriginal education in Canada
Aboriginal education is determined to be a loaded and confusing term that has been
defined in several ways historically in Canada. Aboriginal people educated their youth with the
help of traditional means such as oral teachings, skill development, and participation in spiritual
and cultural rituals, group socialization and demonstration before contact with Europeans
(Preston, 2016). The introduction of European classroom-style education is considered to be a
huge objective of integration disturbed resulted and traditional methods in dislocation and
cultural disturbance.
Traditional education
In history, Aboriginal people were given traditional education which was accomplished
with the help of various techniques. The adults those who were responsible for providing
education to the youth includes community elders, fellows of the extended family, grandparents
as well as parents. For instance, in Inuit societies, the males are provided education on the land

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from the oldest person of their extended families. Whereas, Inuk females learned domestic skills
like, child rearing, food preparation, cooking, cutting and sewing and making clothes (Bailey,
2016). At the time while the administration was moved to the secretary of the state for the
colonies in 1830 with the help of donations to church organizations, some money was diverted to
education. With the help of this funding rudimentary schools have been constructed also called
as mission school in the pre-reserve Aboriginal settlements. The Missionaries facilitated specific
education that offers a mixture of basic numeracy and literacy and Christian doctrine (Alexander,
2016). Across Canada by 1900 there possess 64 residential schools which are operated by
missionary teachers who provided religious, manual and vocational education.
Residential schools
Whenever the authorities of the schools are given the duty to remove the children arrived
in Aboriginal communities most of their parents hide their children to protect them to take away
to residential schools. In Canada, the students were not allowed to talk in Aboriginal languages
and were punished physically for any kind of disobedience. The authorities of the schools made
the students feel ashamed of their Aboriginal identities. In residential schools, most of the
students faced the problem of sexual abuse (DesRoches, 2016). However, due to illness
contracted by the students at residential schools, the number of children either died at home or at
residential schools. Therefore, in the 1970s across Canada, the government closed the residential
schools. In 1972, a policy had been produced by the National Indian Brotherhood on Aboriginal
education known as Indian Control of Indian Education. The Aboriginal and Northern Affairs of
Canada have adopted this policy as an unauthorized policy of education. It helped in
demonstrating the significance of the local community to develop education and the requirement
for more Aboriginal teachers in Canada (Kearns & Anuik, 2015). It also played a vital role in the

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development of teaching assets and relevant curricula in Aboriginal schools as well as the
necessity of Aboriginal values and language instruction in Aboriginal education in Canada.
Post-secondary education
Since the late 1960s in Canada, the post-secondary education has made huge efforts to
integrate Aboriginal studies and histories within their developments. Thus, Trent University in
Peterborough is the first Canadian university to develop a program of Native Studies in 1969. In
1976 Northern Quebec Agreement and James Bay created the Cree School Board which is the
largest First Nations-controlled school board in Canada (Pidgeon, 2016). Therefore, from more
than a century improving the educational outcomes of Aboriginal people in Canada is continued
to be an ongoing challenge.

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Conclusion
The paper demonstrated the history of Aboriginal education in Canada. It has been
observed that over the decades providing education to the Aboriginal people in Canada had been
a challenge. The paper provided information regarding traditional, residential and post-secondary
education of Aboriginal people in Canada. It provided the fact that in the history the Aboriginal
people received education through numerous techniques. It can be seen that the Aboriginal
students in Canada faced various unfavorable circumstances while receiving an education.
Presently the government of Canada needs to implement new policies to improve Aboriginal
people to gain education and quality of that education.

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References
Alexander, K. (2016). Childhood and colonialism in Canadian history. History Compass, 14(9),
397-406.
Bailey, K. A. (2016). Racism within the Canadian university: Indigenous students’
experiences. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39(7), 1261-1279.
DesRoches, S. J. (2016). Thinking interculturally: decolonizing history and citizenship education
in Québec. Intercultural Education, 27(3), 245-256.
Kearns, L. L., & Anuik, J. (2015). Métis curricular challenges and possibilities: A discussion
initiated by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit education policy in Ontario. Journal of the
Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 12(2), 6-36.
Pidgeon, M. (2016). More than a checklist: Meaningful Indigenous inclusion in higher
education. Social inclusion, 4(1), 77-91.
Preston, J. P. (2016). Education for Aboriginal peoples in Canada: An overview of four realms of
success. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 10(1), 14-27.