The remarkable story of Elizabeth Matheson, one of Canada's first woman doctors, stands out as a biography of an extraordinary woman and a compelling picture of pioneer life on the prairies.
This is the Final Report of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its six-year investigation of the residential school system for Aboriginal youth and the legacy of these schools. This report, the summary volume, includes the history of residential schools, the legacy of that school system, and the full text of the Commission's 94 recommendations for action to address that legacy. This report lays bare a part of Canada's history that until recently was little-known to most non-Aboriginal Canadians. The Commission discusses the logic of the colonization of Canada's territories, and why and how policy and practice developed to end the existence of distinct societies of Aboriginal peoples. Using brief excerpts from the powerful testimony heard from Survivors, this report documents the residential school system which forced children into institutions where they were forbidden to speak their language, required to discard their clothing in favour of institutional wear, given inadequate food, housed in inferior and fire-prone buildings, required to work when they should have been studying, and subjected to emotional, psychological and often physical abuse. In this setting, cruel punishments were all too common, as was sexual abuse. More than 30,000 Survivors have been compensated financially by the Government of Canada for their experiences in residential schools, but the legacy of this experience is ongoing today. This report explains the links to high rates of Aboriginal children being taken from their families, abuse of drugs and alcohol, and high rates of suicide. The report documents the drastic decline in the presence of Aboriginal languages, even as Survivors and others work to maintain their distinctive cultures, traditions, and governance. The report offers 94 calls to action on the part of governments, churches, public institutions and non-Aboriginal Canadians as a path to meaningful reconciliation of Canada today with Aboriginal citizens. Even though the historical experience of residential schools constituted an act of cultural genocide by Canadian government authorities, the United Nation's declaration of the rights of aboriginal peoples and the specific recommendations of the Commission offer a path to move from apology for these events to true reconciliation that can be embraced by all Canadians.
Between 1867 and 2000, the Canadian government sent over 150,000 Aboriginal children to residential schools across the country. Government officials and missionaries agreed that in order to “civilize and Christianize” Aboriginal children, it was necessary to separate them from their parents and their home communities. For children, life in these schools was lonely and alien. Discipline was harsh, and daily life was highly regimented. Aboriginal languages and cultures were denigrated and suppressed. Education and technical training too often gave way to the drudgery of doing the chores necessary to make the schools self-sustaining. Child neglect was institutionalized, and the lack of supervision created situations where students were prey to sexual and physical abusers. Legal action by the schools’ former students led to the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2008. The product of over six years of research, the Commission’s final report outlines the history and legacy of the schools, and charts a pathway towards reconciliation. Canada’s Residential Schools: The History, Part 1, Origins to 1939 places Canada’s residential school system in the historical context of European campaigns to colonize and convert Indigenous people throughout the world. In post-Confederation Canada, the government adopted what amounted to a policy of cultural genocide: suppressing spiritual practices, disrupting traditional economies, and imposing new forms of government. Residential schooling quickly became a central element in this policy. The destructive intent of the schools was compounded by chronic underfunding and ongoing conflict between the federal government and the church missionary societies that had been given responsibility for their day-to-day operation. A failure of leadership and resources meant that the schools failed to control the tuberculosis crisis that gripped the schools for much of this period. Alarmed by high death rates, Aboriginal parents often refused to send their children to the schools, leading the government adopt ever more coercive attendance regulations. While parents became subject to ever more punitive regulations, the government did little to regulate discipline, diet, fire safety, or sanitation at the schools. By the period’s end the government was presiding over a nation-wide series of firetraps that had no clear educational goals and were economically dependent on the unpaid labour of underfed and often sickly children.
A friend once said to her, ‘If I wished to increase your height two and a half inches, I would attempt to press you down, and you would grow upward from sheer resentment.’ Divorced at eighteen from an abusive husband in 1859 (scandalous at the time), and with a little baby to care for, Bethenia Angelina Owens was determined to make her way in the world. Her family begged her to let them support her but she wanted to earn her own livelihood. Taking in laundry, teaching school, and making cheese were among the tasks she set herself to. She eventually built a thriving business as a milliner that allowed her to send her son to college and to fulfill her own dream of becoming a doctor. Against all odds and a tidal wave of objections by friends, family, and male doctors, she prevailed. Despite the sentiment of the times that it was disgraceful for a woman to practice medicine, she enrolled in 1878 at the University of Michigan. By 1884, she was making $7,000 per year, an astronomical sum, as a physician. For all of her life she was a strong and vocal advocate of women's rights. As a doctor, she gave the shocking advice, "Nothing will preserve woman’s grace and her symmetrical form so much as vigorous and systematic exercise, and horseback riding stands at the head of the list, providing she has a foot in each stirrup, instead of having the right limb twisted around a horn." She also provides accounts of other pioneer women of her acquaintance. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above. Buy it today!
The real victories of our lives frequently can be found after the storms, in glimpses of small glories. In the midst of the storms of our lives, we often find mountains which appear impossible to climb. Many times we reach the top, only to discover there is yet a higher mountain to climb. Sometimes the rocks of despair and fear cause our steps to falter in defeat. In the dark of sleepless nights, we ask ourselves, What have I achieved? Where is the victory? Where is the joy? Frequently, the answers can be found to exist in the illusive and fragile moments of small glories. Away from the storm racked mountains, in the cool valleys of time, live the small glories. They echo forth in friendships, love, laughter, fantasy, and inspiration. Small glories are brief, high intensity moments of pure joy or an unexpected gift of insight in time of trouble. It is my belief that God sends these moments to us, over and over again, with HIS affirming touch. They are nurturing and vivid reminders to keep us on the pathway of life and increase our sense of direction. Some glories are humorous, some are subtle and sweet. Others, explode in a rush to rescue us from inevitable moments of darkness. It is imperative that we be aware and open to their arrival. Journey with me beyond the storms. Perhaps you will be reminded of a similar legacy of memories. Reach out to them and let them envelop you in the joy of intangible victories. Let the facets of truth warm your heart. Finally, let the legacy of small glories whisper the calm affirmation of hope. Interesting to Note: While researching for this book, the Author consulted with friends in the marketing field. Upon their advice, she decided to test market twelve readers on their reactions to the vignettes. Six of the readers were very secure in their faith and the other six were somewhat tough and cynical about religion, and had very little joy or hope in their attitudes. All twelve found that Vignettes of Small Glories had touched them in ways that they had not expected. The six that were more spiritual felt that it had offered religious values in a subtle way without preaching or using a lot of Bible quotes. Each found themselves sharing a tear or two in pain and joy. The six who were a tougher audience, were surprisingly more verbal and openly admitted that they shed a number of tears and laughter because the book gave them such a good feeling, deep in their hearts. One of them commented that she felt such a sense of victory at the end. Another felt as though she had: Taken a quiet walk on a stepping stone pathway, surrounded by vines and flowers and finally came to a small cottage. Once inside the cottage she felt welcome and loved. Her statement seemed to provide a kindred comfort level and a willingness to be led to a feeling of eventual serenity. The twelve readers opinions reinforced the Authors belief in the timing of the book. Various television networks are adding more spiritual awareness programs with stories about angels and faith in God. Many books are following a similar trend. In todays troubled times, joy is an exceptional event and hope has become a priority. People are anxious, and grasping for hope wherever they can find it. Although Vignettes of Small Glories is written mostly as an inspiration to women, men will also enjoy sharing it with their wives or partners. It is intended to touch readers, from teens to seniors, who may need a fragment of proof that there is a way to grasp for joy and ultimately receive the gift of hope. The Authors files contained over one hundred vignettes written throughout her lifetime. When death almost touched her own life twice, she began her search into the past for solutions in her faith, a