What Is Racism In Residential Schools

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At the roots of Saul’s trauma is the racism at the residential schools.Residential schools were the roots of most Indigenous kids at the time. The schools were made as an attempt to erase Indigenous cultures, languages and their identity which made it a place filled with racism.Saul experiences real racism for once through his peers. As he sees a boy say that he doesn't want to change his name because it was his fathers name and the nun said god was their new father and his father Loonie is a heathen because he's ojibway when the boy doesnt accept that so he gets beat brutally.“She twisted Loonie around by the collar and pushed him to his knees. He screamed as the paddle struck his back. The nun yanked him to his feet as though he were a rag toy …show more content…
The violence inflicted on Loonie for standing on his identity and heritage shows how the nuns are racist. Saul witnessed a kid choke on soap and die and nobody tried to help just because he was speaking ojibway. Saul noticed the kids learned how to speak ojibwe without moving their lips, but once he learned he was treated like an outsider. “Curtis White Fox had his mouth washed out with lye soap to speak ojibway. He choked on it and died right there in the classroom. He was ten.” (wagamese 48)When the indigenous kids speak ojibwe it would result in punishment or ostracism. This made Saul fear more knowing that their identities were slowly being stripped. Saul was transported to the residential school, where they cut all his hair and bathed him. They were scrubbing very hard as if they were trying to change their skin colour from brown to white. “They rubbed us nearly raw. It felt like they were trying to remove more than grime and odour. It felt as though they were trying to remove our skin.” (Wagamese 44) This was a symbolic gesture from the nuns washing Saul to change his skin