Evaluating the Canadian Governments Apology for Residential Schools for Native American children.

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Government's Response to Residential Schools

“The Government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the Aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly. Nous le regrettons. We are sorry. Nimitatayan. Niminchinowesamin. Mamiattagut.” This is a fragment from Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper’s apology, which was received with mixed emotions. Some were appreciative of this sincere admission of guilt, while others complained that this was not a sufficient apology. Residential schools were designed to assimilate Native American children. Small children were forced to attend school until they were at least sixteen years of age, and were disciplined very harshly. Punishments often got very out of hand, with  death tolls of up to 69 percent.  Deciding whether or not the Canadian Government has done enough to assist residential school survivors with coping is difficult. Three topics that are relevant in this decision are: the intergenerational effects of residential schools, comparing the residential schools to similar situations in history, and examining Steven Harper's apology. The Canadian Government has not only fulfilled, but exceeded its duty to compensate survivors of residential schools for the legacies they have experienced.

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Residential schools not only affected survivors of residential schools, but also left legacies for future generations to come. Negative intergenerational effects include alcohol and drug abuse, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), sexual abuse, physical abuse, low self esteem, dysfunctional families, eating disorders, teen pregnancy, suicide, depression, and others. Although the rates of these go up when comparing the average population to the aboriginal population, the rest of the world deals with them too. Some, like fetal alcohol syndrome, are incurable and hard to live with.  Others, like depression or low self esteem are curable, preventable, and do not necessarily affect everyday ...

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