How were First Peoples Mistreated?
Residential Schools
Residential Schools are schools in which European colonizers and Christian churches tried to "educate and convert" (Miller, J. R. “Residential Schools in Canada | the Canadian Encyclopedia.” Residential Schools in Canada, The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2012, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools.) Indigenous children to "assimilate them into Canadian society". In mid-2021, the remains of 215 children were found in mass graves near the Kamloops residential school. The Kamloops residential school was used in 1890-1969 until being converted into a day school until 1978. During that time, the Kamloops residential school was considered the biggest residential school in Canada. The bodies were found after a survey search was conducted using a Ground Penetrating Radar which detected anomalies in the ground where the bodies are claimed to be. However, to this day, no bodies have been reported.
Kamloops Residential School
Smallpox and Colonization
In the early 17th century, the French settlers brought forth a disease called smallpox onto the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. This disease caused rapid decrease in population of the Indigenous peoples. The Indigenous Peoples did not have the natural immunity or resistance to smallpox that the European colonizers had. Starting in the 19th century, vaccines for smallpox in Canada began. However, many people began protesting and opposing the mandatory vaccinations, saying that the vaccines would cause pain and suffering. In Montreal, after a major smallpox outbreak, people rioted, forcing the government to take crowd control measures. The 20th century saw the eradication of smallpox, when modern vaccines were developed and given to people. However, in 1924, an outbreak occurred in Windsor, Ontario, infecting 67 people and 32 died.
Smallpox variola virus