Capítulo 5. Conclusiones 82
5.1. Conclusiones 82
When the Province of Canada passed The Act to encourage the gradual civilization of the Indian Tribes in the Province, and to amend the laws respecting Indians in 1857, it legislated its own assimilationist agenda and put in place the legal mechanism that would end an individual’s Indian status and replace it with British citizenship. An Indian, as defined in the Indian Act, would need to earn citizenship after successfully proving competency in speaking English, attaining a basic level of education, and having good moral character.22 Indian Affairs defined “Indian” in contradistinction to an ideal “citizen.” While Indian Affairs posited a “citizen” as someone who was free, independent, and capable of managing his own affairs, “Indian” was understood by Indian Affairs to be a ward of the state and a recipient of government patronage.23 In other words, Indians were defined as incapable of taking full responsibility for their own affairs.24 Indian Affairs saw enfranchisement as its ultimate objective and successful conclusion of its civilization policy for Indians; the residential school system was a cornerstone to achieving that goal.25
means to be a desirable subject of the state are pursued and developed in a student population.26 The citizenship education policy that was pursued by Indian Affairs and the Committee framed student development as the training of particular character traits that aligned with and facilitated assimilation and enfranchisement. Citizenship education was thus important to both organizations’ overall objectives because they thought that it would instill the proper disposition among a population that was badly in need of training for the new social, political, and economic order. As such, Indian Affairs and the Committee attempted to impart a diverse, but coherent set of desired traits in the boys and girls in their care,27 traits they deemed necessary to the logic of civilization used to transform a ward into a citizen.28 Indeed, Indian character often received more attention by the Committee than did First Nations peoples’ religion or culture.29 Indian Affairs and the Committee sought to promote discipline, health and hygiene, Christian morals, British-Canadian social mores, and individual self-responsibility.30 A related character trait targeted by the Committee was the protestant work ethic, which promoted hard work, frugality, thrift, and diligence as the basis for accumulating individual wealth.31
An example of the Committee attempting to impart character development can be found in a series of pamphlets that were designed to provide instruction and training for the various staff positions in Anglican schools.32 In these pamphlets, the boys’ instructor and matron were directed to promote character in the students by modeling “filial affection, obedience and dutiful respect, in addition to cleanliness, tidiness, and orderly discipline” as Christian parental figures ought to do.33 Mary Jane McCallum’s research on role of Girl Guides in promoting a self-disciplined, trustworthy, and thrifty citizen in female students is particularly strong as it shows the gendered nature of citizenship; the girls received training
that included service for others, for domestic duties and raising the family, and for keeping good health and hygiene.34 For the Committee, the culmination of instilling character traits in students was often framed as “Christian citizenship,” which connected the key goals of citizenship and evangelization as the very purpose of the school system.35 The development of the student for work, health, and life would be achieved through a Christian framework of education that would constitute the successful production of the desirable subject of the state.36
In particular, Indian Affairs and the Committee identified the character trait of self- reliance as a key marker for understanding if a person was fit to handle the various responsibilities of individual freedom that a citizen required. For example, the ideal citizen was thought to be someone who was economically self-sustaining and fiscally prudent; they had to take reasonability for meeting their own needs rather than relying on the state or another person for assistance. Indian Affairs had been using the concept of self-reliance as a focal point of its civilization policy since the 1870s, and it continued to use this idea as part of its conceptualization of the desired citizen throughout the first half of the 20th century.37 Indian Affairs and the Committee believed the concept of self-reliance was useful because it facilitated the development of other desirable character traits, such as thriftiness and industriousness that were essential for their policy to succeed.38
The first superintendent of education in Upper Canada, Egerton Ryerson, had a significant influence on the promotion of physical culture in Canadian provincial education systems, which he envisioned as developing the physical, social, intellectual, and moral dimensions of the self.39 One powerful expression of character development in Canadian students through sport was the notion of Muscular Christianity.40 Muscular Christianity was a
British concept of the development of good Christians through sport and games by instilling character traits such as courage, toughness, self-reliance, and sportsmanship.41 The ideals of Muscular Christianity remained particularly strong within the Anglican Church in Canada during the twentieth century, as they, for example, continued to read Muscular Christian literature produced in England.42 An important function of Muscular Christianity was that the virtues a student developed on the field, for example courage, were understood to be transferable to contexts off the sports field, such as in work, social, and political life.43 Indian Affairs and the Committee used citizenship education as a tool for character development in residential schools that was specific to the transition of First Nations students into British citizens, and was consistent with the ideals with Muscular Christianity.