Native American leader says tribal culture at risk

"It was a policy designed to drum out the core of your being."

At a meeting Tuesday of POL 433: Comparative Politics: Canada and the United States, Canadian Native American leader Phil Fontaine spoke on the legacy of residential schools, which most tribal children in Canada attended until about 10 years ago.

Fontaine, who is National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) — a Canadian term for Native American tribes — said there were 50,000 cases of psychological, physical and sexual abuse in the residential schools, and that he himself suffered sexual abuse in his ten years in the schools.

"The residential schools were designed to eradicate any sense of Indian-ness," Fontaine said. "They denied us the opportunity to learn about ourselves."

In November 2005, the Canadian government signed an agreement with the AFN to pay about $10,000 to each former student of the residential schools.

In response to a question, Fontaine said he did not feel the payment was simply "throwing money at the problem."

"The government is not in the habit of handing out money," Fontaine said. Thanks to a 1996 cap on aid, the money aboriginal people have received from the government has not been adjusted for inflation.

Even with the demise of the residential school system, education remains a major concern, Fontaine said. Today there are 30,000 First Nation students in Canadian universities, which Fontaine called a "turnaround." In 1952, he said, the number was only two. The AFN still aims to double the current number within 10 years to close the gap with the mainstream population.

Princeton currently enrolls 37 Native Americans, according to the Registrar's office. There are 138 Canadians at the University. Politics professor Jameson Doig GS '61, who teaches the seminar, said that around two-thirds of the students in the course were Canadian and one-third were American.

Jamie Loxton '06, who is from Prince George, British Columbia, said he was "surprised" that so many of his classmates were Americans.

"Americans generally don't care about Canada," Loxton said. "Even people who are interested in international relations won't know who our prime minister is."

Fontaine also saw the seminar as an opportunity to get more people interested in his cause.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"We believe in the importance of public education, public information as a vehicle for change," Fontaine said in an interview. "Speaking to a class of 30 may seem to be of little consequence compared to the issues we're dealing with, but it has a sphere of influence beyond that."