Final Report on Métis Education and Boarding School Literature and Sources Review

FINAL REPORT ON MÉTIS EDUCATION AND BOARDING SCHOOL LITERATURE AND SOURCES REVIEW

By, Lee Marmon

February 2010

Introduction and Overview

The study and understanding of the Métis school experience has been impeded by three fundamental factors: (1) the unwillingness of the federal and provincial governments thus far to formally recognize that the provinces and religious denominations have a duty to accept responsibility for the Métis educational experience equivalent to federal recognition and compensation; (2) the research focus on federal residential schools largely dominated by the experience of First Nations students as a consequence of this perspective; (3) the scarcity of Métis-specific educational research at any level.

While AFN and ITK have won notable educational victories at the national level, the Métis provincial and religious school concerns remain unaddressed. This unresolved controversy endures as a major social justice issue for Métis people as recently pointed out by President Chartier at a Senate hearing in June

2009.

Although various studies and research on aboriginal education date from the 1870s (if not before), it was only with the RCAP reports of 1996 that national attention was focused on the plight of aboriginal students in government-sponsored schools. The formal Settlement Agreement was concluded in 2006 and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in June 2008.

It has been estimated that INAC has spent more than $100 million on its own research to determine residential school eligibility; rulings are made by the National Administration Committee (no Métis representatives). Some 99,000 people have applied for the Common Experience Payment; only

24,000 have qualified under the Federal Accountability Act; because of significant gaps, much of this research has been conducted in provincial archives to supplement holes in the federal data.

It is most unfortunate that INAC/NAC has been unwilling to share any information on how it compiles its settlement data and what sources it uses. Various groups have attempted, without success, to obtain inventories of federal/provincial records used. Such inventories would be of immeasurable assistance in expediting further Métis school research.

The Final Report of this Literature Review project documents the available known literature and archival sources with the following goals in mind:

(1) To emphasize the provincial/denominational Métis boarding school experience, while also covering the Métis educational experience in general and relevant data regarding federal residential schools. While many Métis attended federal residential schools throughout the 19th and 20th centuries (and especially before 1910 federal funds occasionally subsidized schools primarily attended by Métis), the term “residential school” has been associated with the federal mandate to officially admit only First Nations people after 1910. To avoid confusion, “boarding school” will be the preferred term to be used in the Report, even if some “boarding” schools were officially classified as industrial, residential, or other types of schools.

(2) To provide a comprehensive account (with brief annotations) of published books and articles, as well as theses and dissertations, that is either Métis specific or reflect on the Métis educational experience (between Confederation and the founding of MNC in 1983) in a significant way. This will include the general Métis educational experience, provincial and religious boarding schools, as well as federal residential schools. Such sources also include Métis specific memoirs, and literature. Although some bibliographies already exist, they typically reflect the First Nations experience, are out of date, and neglect the provincial context.

(3) To provide a review of archival and non-textual sources (federal, provincial and ecclesiastical) that illuminate Métis education, especially the provincial boarding school experience. To my knowledge, no such educational archival review has ever been attempted in depth for any aboriginal group. Although information on relevant provincial archives (both secular and ecclesiastical) was obtained only from Ottawa and without travel time and expenses, this is a practical goal because inventory overviews can (in principle) be obtained through correspondence.

An archival search is particularly useful because it helps to fill the significant gaps in the secondary literature and reveals what can be accomplished in future work. An overview of relevant archival holdings points the way to both futurehistorical research and justifies future INAC/OFI funding to explore these holdings. Non-textual sources include photographs and compilations of oral histories.

(4) To provide recommendations on how MNC can proceed with the Boarding School research/funding/compensation/recognition. This literature review is simply the necessary first step for broader research on Métis education and boarding schools. Since OFI/INAC has endorsed this literature review, it provides the framework for future negotiations with both the federal and provincial governments.

This Literature Review is thus structured according to the following categories:

I. General Métis Education/Provincial Studies

II.Secondary Literature Review of Métis Experience with Provincial and Religious Boarding Schools

III. Secondary Literature Review of Métis in the Federal Residential School System

IV. Primary/Archival Provincial Sources

V. Church Archives

VI. Primary/Archival Federal Sources VII. Métis GMO/Community Studies

VIII. Case Studies

IX. Recommendations for Future Action and Research

X. Contacts for Future Research and Information

Appendix I. Approved Federal Residential Schools Impacting Métis

Appendix II. The IRS Federal Settlement Agreement Listing Non-Approved Schools

I. Literature Review of General Métis Education/Provincial Studies

I have consulted or viewed citations for more than 500 books, journal articles, theses and dissertations dealing with one or more aspects of Métis/aboriginal education. This material has been obtained through various printed and online bibliographies as well as databases available at Library and Archives Canada and detailed Internet subject searches.

Much of this material is not Métis specific, for example, Lawrence Barkwell, Leah Dorion and Darren R. Prefontaine compiled an “Annotated Bibliography and References” in Métis Legacy: A Métis Historiography and Annotated Bibliography, Louis Riel Institute, Winnipeg, 2001, pp. 273-505, which provides very few citations relating to educational issues.

Such a thorough search, however, has been necessary to familiarize myself with the available literature to weed out that which is not germane, get a better understanding of how Métisstudies have been relatively neglected in overall educational research, and to make use of more general studies to partially fill in some gaps dealing with Métis education.

There are various works on Native education in the homeland provinces, notably Jean Barman et. al., eds. Indian Education in Canada, 2 vols., 1986-1987; and J.W. Chalmers, Education Behind the Buckskin Curtain: A History of Native Education in Canada, 1974 (which includes material on Métis schools in the prairie provinces).

For some examples of studies of Métis education before Confederation, see Jonathan Anuik, “Forming Civilization at Red River: 19th-century Missionary Education of Métis and First Nations Children” in Prairie Forum 31.1(2006) pp. 1-16; Martha McCarthy, To Evangelize the Nations: Roman Catholic Missions in Manitoba 1818-1870 (Winnipeg, 1990); Keith R. Widder, Battle for the Soul: Métis Children Encounter Evangelical Protestants at Mackinaw Mission, 1823-1837 (East Lansing, 1999).

Journal literature written on any Métis topics before 1976 is scarce, much less articles dealing with Métis education. This assertion is confirmed by a detailed perusal of the Canadian Periodical Index from 1938.

To my knowledge, there is no published or unpublished account providing a national synopsis of Métis education, and there are few provincial wide studies of Métis education. See D. Bruce Sealey, Education of the ManitobaMétis: An Historical sketch, Winnipeg, 1977; and Howard Adams, The Outsiders: An Educational Survey of Métis and Non-Treaty Indians of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, 1972.

Certainly the most comprehensive and broadly analytical exception to this lacunae has been provided by Jonathan Anuik, “Métis Families and Schools: The Decline and Reclamation of MétisIdentities in Saskatchewan, 1885-1980, doctoral dissertation in history, University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon), March 2009. This is a tour-de-force dealing with the interaction of Métis and the mission schools (both Catholic and Protestant) and public schoolsin Saskatchewan. Beyond extensive archival research covering an extensive time span, Anuik conducted a number of oral history interviews. Anuik acknowledges the assistance of various Métis groups and individuals, including the Gabriel Dumont Institute and Eastern Region III of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan.

Sources for the critical period of the early twentieth-century are covered by Father Guy Lavallee, Métis History 1910-1940: A Guide to Selected Sources Relating to the Métis of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta (Ottawa, 1993). The Métis National Council sponsored this guide.

There are various works dealing with school districts in northern territories with large Métis populations that discuss the Métis educational experience. See, for example, John W. Chalmers, “Northland: The Founding of a Wilderness School Division,” in the Canadian Journal of Native Education, vol. 12, #2,1985, pp. 2-49 (covering the area’s significant Métis school population to 1960). One of the latest innovations affecting Métis during this time-period was the establishment of Community [elementary] Schools in Saskatchewan in 1980.

Some biographies exist of prominent Métis figures whose educational experience is outlined: see, for example, Hugh A. Dempsey, The Gentle Persuader: A Biography of James Gladstone, Indian Senator,

1987 [although the title is something of a misnomer given Gladstone’s ethnic background].

Kathy Hodgson-Smith prepared a paper “State of Métis Nation Learning” in September 2005 that provides a broad perspective on contemporary developments, trends, and issues; as does Paul Cappon, “Measuring Success in First Nations, Inuit and Métis learning,” in Policy Options, May 2008, pp. 60-66.

II. Secondary Literature Review of Métis Experience with Provincial and Religious Boarding Schools

I have found little dealing specifically with this topic. One of the few analyses has been a paper presented by Jonathan Anuik at the 2009 annual meeting of the Canadian Historical Association, “The Early History of Church-State Collaboration forSaskatchewan’s Métis Schools: A Tale of Cognitive Imperialism.” This was based on his 2009 doctoral dissertation at the University of Saskatchewan, “Métis Families and Schools: The Decline and Reclamation of MétisIdentities in Saskatchewan, 1885-1980”, which is more extensively discussed in the preceding section.

The Frontier Collegiate Institute, a northern Manitoba boarding high school in Cranberry Portage with a significant Métisenrolment [from Gillam and Duck Bay primarily], is the subject of A.C. Goucher, “The Dropout Problem among Indian and Métis Students,” Calgary, 1967. Frontier Collegiatewas the only high school in the sprawling Frontier School Division (of 34 other schools), which extended from north of Thompson to Lake Winnipeg. Some students traveled as far as 375 miles to reach the community.

There are also monographs on provincial politics and social policy (especially Saskatchewan during the administration of Tommy Douglas and the CCF in the 1940s and 1950s and the creation of the Métis Settlements in northern Alberta in the 1930s. One such study is a book by F. Laurie Barron of the Department of Native Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Walking in Indian Moccasins: The Native Policies of Tommy Douglas and the CCF, 1997 (chapter 3, pp. 29-57, deals with the evolution of Métis policy, including schools).

There are also usefulstudies detailing religious missionary dealings with the Métis (e.g., Catholic Oblates, Anglican Church Missionary Society) The establishment of schools were a vital part of these efforts. The provincial historical societies contain a wealth of information on various topics, including Native education. See, for example, Robert Coquette, The Oblate Assault on Canada’s Northwest (Ottawa, 1996); Barrry Ferguson, ed., The Anglican Church and the World of Western Canada, 1820-1970 (Regina, 1991); Raymond Huel, Proclaiming the Gospel to the Indians and the Métis (Edmonton, 1996); and the issues of Etudes oblates de l’Ouest/Western Oblate Studies, 1995.

III. Secondary Literature Review of the Métis in the Federal Residential School System

Most of the recent, literature dealing with aboriginal education concerns the implementation of federal residential school policy and the Native [largely First Nations] response to the schools. One somewhat dated academic essay on the emerging bibliography is Scot R. Trevithick, “Native Residential Schooling in Canada: A Review of the Literature, “Canadian Journal of Native Studies, vol. 18, #1, 1998, pp. 49-86, which does mention Métis but without differentiating their experience. The two classic works are James R. Miller, Shingwauk’s Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools, 1996; and John S. Milloy, A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System: 1879-1986, published in1999. The timing of both was influenced by the release of the RCAP reports on the 1990s.

Although specific references to Métis receive short shrift in these well-known volumes, both works are important for understanding the context of early and usually unofficial Métis admittance to many of these schools. The survivor stories of all Native peoples certainly has pan-aboriginal aspects, but even in federal residential schools the Métisoften had significantly different experiences because they were generally accepted on the sufferance of individual school administrators, were largely expected to perform chores and manual labour rather than receive formal education, frequently encountered discrimination by both staff and First Nations students, and literally fell between the cracks in treatment and financial arrangements.

The only attempted national overview of Métis residential school students has been Larry N. Chartrand, et.al, Métis History and Experience and Residential Schools in Canada, prepared for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in 2006. The report includes various articles and bibliographies and provides useful information, but it includes considerable extraneous material not dealing with the post-Confederation educational history of the Métis, along with omitting much recent literature, and there is no attempt to discuss Métis provincial boarding schools.

Other works on Métis and federal residential schools include Carol Hansen and Trygve Lee, “The Impact of Residential Schools and Other Institutions on the Métis People of Saskatchewan (Law Commission of Canada, 1999); Métis Nation of Alberta, MétisMemories of Residential School: A Testament to theStrength of the Métis, 2004; and Tricia Elizabeth Logan, “We Were Outsiders: The Métis and Residential Schools,” master’s thesis, University of Manitoba, 2007. Ms. Logan researched materials in the Manitoba Archives and conducted oral history interviews. Having formerly worked at the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Métis Centre of NAHO, she is now studying in the United Kingdom. Alberta and other Governing Member Organizations of the Métis National Council have organized initiatives to assist the well being of school survivors.

A potentially helpful source for further information is the National Residential School Survivors Association,which has anMétisrepresentative (John Morrisseau of Manitoba). Like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, its primary mandate is to record the testimony of federal residential school survivors, but both organizations have indicated interest in recording stories fromMétis as well as former students of provincial and local religious schools. The First International Residential School Conference, held in Edmonton in 2001, included Métis representatives.

For comparative purposes, AFN and ITK were contacted to determine if any independent research on residential/boarding schools was being undertaken by either aboriginal organization. The AFN headquarters office indicated no such work had been or was being conducted under their auspices, although extensive literature continues to be produced on the First Nations residential schools.

Library and Archives Canada did host an exhibit on the Inuit residential school experiencefrom January to September 2009 with the collaboration of the Legacy of Hope Foundation and the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

Some interesting comparative research has also been initiated in the United States regarding Indian boarding schools, although as it is well known; the United States has no formal “Métis” classification of indigenous people. However, the Turtle Mountain Chippewa of Belcourt, North Dakota have strong cultural and ancestral links to the Red River, ManitobaMétis. Like their northern brethren, the Turtle Mountain Chippewa were often subjected to the alienating vicissitudes of residential and boarding schools. See, for example, Carole Barrett and Marcia Wolter Button, “ ‘You Didn’t Dare Try to be Indian’: Oral Histories of Former Indian Boarding School Students,” in North Dakota History, 64.2, 1997, pp. 4-25.

I received much useful information from Professor Ed Sadowski at the Shingwauk Project of Algoma University College. The Shingwauk Project not only houses residential school records (including some transferred Catholic diocesan materials) but also operates a Visitor Centre. The only other potential residential school museum is located in Manitoba at Portage La Prairie. The museum had been suspended before the summer of 2009 because of financial difficulties (personal communication from an on-site visit) but may perhaps be revived.

IV. Primary/Archival Provincial Sources

Depending on the community, records of provincially supervised schools may be held by the provincial archives, private research facilities, local school boards or (less frequently) provincial education ministries.

Ontario

•Archives of Ontario (Toronto).

This facility contains some local school board records prior to 1968 but is only easily accessible by individual school name (if held by the archives), and perhaps searchable by county or town. Supposedly, the Archives hold no records of religiously run schools. The Archives staff is willing to check for individual schools. This information is derived from conversations with Archivist Serge Paquet who indicates local school boards may retain significant numbers of pre-1968 files.

Manitoba

•Provincial Archives of Manitoba (Winnipeg)

Including Métisoral histories, public school records andchurch files. The Department ofEducation was established in 1901.

St. Boniface Historical Society/Societé historique de Saint-Boniface (St. Boniface)

The Heritage Centre is the repository for various archival records relatingto the Native andMétis educational experience that include Saskatchewan as well as Manitoba. These holdings include Oblate school records for St. Laurent, other Oblate records by community and the Province of Manitoba (including some transferred from the Deschatelets Archives in Ottawa), and at least one Winnipeg academy. One of the most significant collections is the core of the archdiocesan records of Keewatin-Le Pas,which includes theOblast de Marie-Immaculate Keewatin-Le Pas, 1846-1925, as well as other miscellaneous and more extensive Keewatin-Le Pas records from 1918-1979. These materials were donated in two allocations: 2005 and 2006. Some off these records relate to residential and boarding schools affecting Métis students, but there are as yet no finding aids for this collection. The materials are roughly alphabetized by community and include volumes of the codex historicus (diaries of religious [inc. Oblates] administrators for various communities. Records after 1925 have restricted access and require permission from the Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas before examination.