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Nii Ndahlohke : boys' and girls' work at Mount Elgin Industrial School 1890-1915

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  • Contributor: Tucker, Julie
    Date:
    Created
    2022
    Summary:

    This book takes its title from the phrase for "I work" in Lunaape, the traditional language of Munsee Delaware people, and was inspired by the work of the Munsee Delaware Language and History Group. Written for the descendants and communities of children who attended Mount Elgin and intended as a resource for all Canadians, Nii Ndahlohke tells the story of student life at Mount Elgin Industrial School between 1890 and 1915. Like the school itself, Nii Ndahlohke is structured in two sections. The first focuses on boys' work, including maintenance and farm labour, the second on girls' work, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry. In Nii Ndahlohke readers will find a valuable piece of local, Indigenous, and Canadian history that depicts the nature of "education" provided at Canada's Indian residential schools and the exploitation of children's labour in order to keep school operating costs down. This history honours the students of Mount Elgin even as it reveals the injustice of Indian policy, segregated schooling, and racism in Canada.

    Contents:
    • Introduction : Mount Elgin Industrial School and Student Labour : How this book came to be
    • What this book aims to do and how
    • Background for understanding the history of student work at Mount Elgin
    • Four key points
    • Beyond the book
    • Chapter One. Boys' Work : At the barn, pakahiikanung
    • At the fields, ahkiihaakanung
    • Four key points
    • Beyond the book
    • Chapter two. Girls' Work : At the laundry, kshiixtiikeewakwung
    • At the kitchen, Nehnatpwiinung
    • Four key points
    • Beyond the book
    • Conclusion : Death, Survival, and Forced Child Labour at Mount Elgin
    • Afterword
    • Appendix 1 : Mount Elgin graduates of the era 1890-1915
    • Appendix 2 : Student deaths at Mount Elgin, 1890-1915
    • List of key terms.
    Original Publisher: Altona, Manitoba, Canada, FriesenPress
    Language(s): English
    ISBN: 9781039136830, 1039136834, 9781039136854
    Collection(s)/Series: First Nation Communities Read 2023