2.2 Colonising hair

Cutting hair was a key part of assimilation processes and was often one of the first experiences children encountered when entering school. Cutting hair signified more than a mere physical change. For many communities, hair carries deep meaning, embodying and reflecting their values, experiences and relationships.

Watch the following video, where a survivor of a residential school, Fred, shares the impact that cutting hair had on him:

Video 1: Fred recalls hair cutting in residential school as an attack on identity
Transcript (opens in new window)

Activity 4 Religion and colonialism

Allow approximately 10 minutes to complete this activity.

In this part of the course, you learned about Tuhiwai Smith’s understanding of colonialism and residential schools for Indigenous children in North America. Complete the questions below based on what you have learned about the role of religious institutions in colonialism:

1) Who ran the residential schools for Indigenous children in Canada?

Catholic Church

60 per cent of residential schools were run by

Anglican Church

30 per cent by the

other Christian denominations

and the remaining 10 per cent were run by

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

  1. Catholic Church

  2. Anglican Church

  3. other Christian denominations

  1. 60 per cent of residential schools were run by

  2. 30 per cent by the

  3. and the remaining 10 per cent were run by

The correct answers are:
  • 1 =
  • 2 =
  • 3 =

2) When did the last residential schools for Indigenous children close in the United States and Canada?

 

3) What was the role of Christianity in residential schools for Schools to assimilate Indigenous children in the USA and Canada? (Select two correct answers.)

 

OpenLearn - Who gets to be a human? Religion in colonial histories and Indigenous resistance
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