Residential Schools

This guide highlights books and videos that we have at Butler Library on this topic.

Pay attention to the publication date, as some older materials may be problematic or otherwise out-of-date.

What were residential schools?

"Residential schools... were based on the Carlisle Indian Industrial School model founded in 1879 by Lieutenant Richard Henry Pratt in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The aim of such a schooling system was the forced assimilation of aboriginal people into the colonial society. This was to be achieved by wiping out their past ethnic and cultural associations and replacing them with European ones. Driven by a kind of missionary zeal, Pratt believed it was important to remove all aspects of being aboriginal from the child and to immerse that child, as a kind of baptism, into white socialization. The duty to 'civilize' lay on the shoulders of the white man. This was rationalized as a viable alternative to war and the slaughter of people. In spite of this rationalization, however, economic considerations were their actual driving force. Trade with the aboriginal peoples in the United States had begun to diminish, and was replaced with a scramble by white settlers to lay claim to aboriginal lands. To facilitate this, [Native Americans] were herded onto reservations, enabling the white settler community to claim the 'new' territories. It was thought that residential schools would assist this process, because assimilation would make the taking of lands easier, at little or no financial cost to the settler communities."

Jaichand, Vinodh. "Residential Schools." Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, edited by Dinah L. Shelton, vol. 2, Macmillan Reference USA, 2005, pp. 899-902. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3434600293/GVRL?u=buffalostate&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=cc9822fe. Accessed 14 Sept. 2023.

What is Orange Shirt Day?

Orange Shirt Day (Sept. 30) is a movement to recognize and remember Indigenous children who attended residential schools; both survivors still with us and ancestors lost within these schools. The origin of Orange Shirt Day comes from residential school survivor Phyllis (Jack) Webstad who tells the story of her orange shirt and experiences in residential school.

Land Acknowledgement

Buffalo State University acknowledges that the college is situated within the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, including the Seneca, Tuscarora, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk nations, and of their Indigenous relations and neighbors, the Erie and the Wenro. We hope to demonstrate respect for the treaties that were made on these territories and we pledge to work toward partnership with a spirit of collaboration with our current Indigenous neighbors, the Seneca and Tuscaroras.

Sources

This guide has benefited from the work of Tristin Salter, as well as from materials previously gathered and organized by librarians at a variety of institutions.