Pupils of Mohawk Institute, Brantford, Ont., 1934. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.
Egerton Ryerson statue and Truth and Reconciliation Committee plaque on Ryerson University campus. 2020, Heritage Toronto.
Egerton Ryerson’s contribution to residential schools
Though important to Canada’s public education system, Egerton Ryerson was also responsible for the creation of residential schools. In an 1847 report by Ryerson, he recommended the creation of separate schools for Indigenous people where they would be put to work for a couple hours a day and take English and religion classes. It is from this basis that residential schools were created in the 1870s though Ryerson was not alive at the time to oversee the creation
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Harmful Effects
In practice residential schools were even more harmful. Children were taken away from their families and forced to stop speaking their language and practicing their culture. Abuse was common and children often tried to escape by running away or setting fire to the school. For the students it was a miserable and horrifying time which left lasting effects even on today’s generation.
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Working to resolve the trauma
We are all still on the path to reconciliation. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was formed in 2008 to bring public awareness of residential schools so the community can then work towards healing. Ryerson University is working towards truth and reconciliation regarding the colonial past of their namesake.
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On the path to reconciliation
They have erected a plaque beside their statue of E. Ryerson that explains his contribution to the residential school system and the trauma it has inflicted. It’s important these histories are not left forgotten. Though the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was dissolved in 2015, it’s an ongoing process that we will need to continue to work on for many years to come
