Hi LINC 7 Students and Presenters!

Here's the information for today's online assignment using the BC Archives....

The History of BC...

You're going to use the on-line BC Archives to find information on First Nations in B.C.

The BC Archives are part of the Royal BC Museum (in Victoria). They contain the historical records of the Government of British Columbia, providing research material for both the provincial government and public researchers.

On this link, you will find the information you need on three pages. The first page is titled "Introduction." The second page is titled "Historical Overview." The third page is titled "First Nations." You can get from one page to the other by clicking "Forward" or "Back" at the bottom of each page.


The History of Canada...

Cultural assimilation is the process by which a person or a group's language and/or culture come to resemble those of another group. 

Residential schools were government-sponsored religious schools established to assimilate Aboriginal children into Euro-Canadian culture. Although the first residential facilities were established in New France, the term usually refers to the custodial schools established after 1880.

Here's the link to a short 1955 government film showing a residential school in northern Canada. Notice how great the school seems and how happy the children seem.... This is propaganda. 

In contrast, here's the link to a CBC report on the survivors of residential schools. It's called "Stolen Children" and it's about 18 minutes long. Please watch at least the first 6 minutes.

Finally, here's the link to a CBC News report on how the residential school system was a kind of "cultural genocide". Genocide usually refers to the mass killing of one type of people in the world, such Jewish people during the Holocaust in World War II or the massacres of the Tutsi tribe in Rwanda.