Throughout this semester, this course has taught me a lot about things to consider when doing historical research, more specifically how to analyze primary sources. In class, we analyzed a photo of residential school students in one of their bedrooms, with a nun who appeared to be supervising the children. With the guidance of our professor Tracy, we began to ask questions about what we noticed that was missing or odd about the photo. One thing thing we noticed immediately was that none of the children were smiling and the nun looked unimpressed and had a stern look on her face. Next, we realized one of the students was not wearing a shirt while the other children appeared to be wearing their pajamas. Instantly, we asked why this could be so? Based on the abuse that we knew happened within residential schools, was he physically punished before the picture was taking? Maybe he got a strap on the back? The sad and defeated look on the child’s face and the fear in all of the children’s eyes, and the unimpressed look from the nun could make this conclusion a possibility. Another thing that I noticed when looking at the picture was that the children were tightly packed in a small room leading me to the conclusion that the residential schools were overcrowded. The quality of beds as well as the state of the room also made us conclude that it appeared the residential school living conditions were poor. Based on what I was taught in this specific lecture, I attempted my own analysis of a primary source I was using for my research paper. The primary source I used was Harry Bertram Hawthorn’s report “A Survey of the Contemporary Indians of Canada Economic, Political, Educational Needs and Policies: Part 2”. This two-part report was done to study Aboriginal peoples’ social, educational, and economic situation after it became apparent that the cultural group was facing serious socio-economic barriers. On this assignment, I got 79% as there was room for more of an analysis. The section of the report I focused on was pages 52-62. In this section, Hawthorn investigated the Anglican, Roman Catholic, United, and Presbyterian Churches reactions to the government takeover of the residential school system (which was prior funded by the federal government and operated by the Churches) and starting the process of integrating the children into public schools. Each Church had a different reaction and my analysis of their reactions and attitudes can be found here: Primary Document Analysis ePortfolio

After getting feedback from Tracy, I realized there were more things I could consider and more questions I could ask. When doing my research for my paper, the research question I was trying to answer was whether the residential school system was established for the purpose of an educational reform of how First Nations children were educated, or for the purpose of social control. When analyzing the Churches’ reactions, it appeared the Anglican and Roman Catholic Church shared similar reactions opposing the government’s decision to take over the operation of the school system and integrating the children into public schools. They believed that an adequate First Nations education required religion as well as academics. Moreover, they also shared the belief that removing the children from their homes was more beneficial for them because their parents were not capable of preparing their children adequately for the developing and changing Euro-Canadian society. On the contrary, the United and Presbyterian Churches appeared to support the government’s decision to integrate the children because they believed it would be good for their development to grow up with other children of varying races. These two Churches also started to believe that removing children from their home reserves and placing them in schools that were far away from their communities and families was wrong. When analyzing the conflicting reactions of the Church, initially I argued that the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches demonstrated motives of social control because they wanted to control both the lives of the Aboriginal peoples as well as to control public opinion. These two Churches argued it was both for the good of the First Nations child because they could not be adequately educated through their traditional means to be functioning members within the Euro-Canadian society. Additionally, they argued it would be good for society because they would not be a burden on the economic well-being of the country if they were educated enough to occupy jobs benefiting the economy rather that depending on the financial support of the country. While the United and Presbyterian Churches appeared to be supportive of the government’s decisions, something I did not initially consider was that they were displaying motives of social control themselves. Questions I could have asked was why did these two Churches decide to change their attitudes toward residential schools when they were a part of the operation of them? Why did they suddenly consider the well-being of the First Nations child? Could their change in heart actually be an attempt to overshadow their past wrong doings with their affiliation with the genocide of the First Nations culture?

In closing, this class has taught me a lot about how to do historical research and how there are always going to be contributions to the wider historiography of any subject because of different perceptions, analyses, and questions historians have asked from their interpretations of primary sources.