PUNISHMENT
- Nishnawbe Aski Nation Indian Residential Schools in Ontario, 2005 -
Students were punished when they broke the rules. The punishment of students at the school varied with the type of behavior complained of, the seriousness of the behavior and the attitude of the students. In some instances a reprimand of the students was sufficient, but at other times the student would suffer physically through the use of the strap, usually administered by the principal of the school. At times the strapping incidents escalated into beatings.
On many occasions the strapping would be given to the students in front of other students who were assembled for the purpose. This method was often used as a means to deter other students from doing the same thing as the “guilty student,” the student was used as an example of what would happen if the rules were not followed. A public strapping shamed and humiliated the student who had misbehaved, particularly since it occurred in front of their peers. Sometimes when there was problem particularly in instances where the children were being mistreated, the first sign of a problem was the students ran away from school.
